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Russia Sent Doctors & Aid To Hard-Hit Countries Early On; President Donald Trump To Visit Ford Factory Making Ventilators; Students Back In School After Denmark Accelerates Reopening; Astronaut Reflects On Returning To "A Different Planet"; U.S. Nursing Homes Alarmed Over Lack Of Supplies; The Changing Space Of COVID-Era Office. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired May 21, 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 ANCHOR: Hello and welcome, I'm Hala Gorani, this hour a grim milestone. 5 million people have now been with Coronavirus around the
world. Meanwhile in the U.S., another 2.4 million people filed for their first jobless benefits last week, bringing the total close to 40 million.
And in Europe, we take a look at how one country plans to accelerate reopening its society.
The world has reached a grave new milestone, making it clear we have a long way to go before the pandemic is under control. According to Johns Hopkins
University, global Coronavirus cases have now surpassed 5 million. More than 328,000 people have died. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization is
reporting the biggest one-day spike in new infections yet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: In the last 24 hours, there have been 106,000 cases reported
to W.H.O. the most in a single day since the outbreak began. Almost two- thirds of these cases were reported in just four countries.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, those four countries are the United States, Russia, Brazil, and India. And they have something in common. Three of their leaders have
been criticized for not taking the virus more seriously in the early days of the outbreak, and indeed in the case of Brazil, even now.
In Russia, COVID-19 cases have now topped 300,000. And besides the virus risk, some health workers are being arrested and silenced for speaking out
about terrible hospital conditions and equipment shortages. Matthew Chance joins me now live with that. Matthew?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hala, thanks very much. Actually, within the past few minutes, there's been confirmation from
Moscow that a first shipment of American medical aid has touched down in the Russian Capital, carrying 50 ventilators made in America, and for use
for Russia to combat the Coronavirus pandemic.
It's been applauded in Moscow as an example of humanitarian cooperation between Moscow and Washington. But it's something much more than that, as
well. It is an admission by Vladimir Putin that Russia needs help.
These are the first images of a batch of U.S.-made ventilators being loaded on a military transporter bound for Moscow. Now it's America's turn to send
Russia medical aid. U.S. officials say there are 50 in this shipment, another 150 will be sent soon.
But a few months ago, it was Russia sending aid, including doctors and medical equipment to Italy at the height of the pandemic there. From Russia
with love is what Moscow called it, but for critics, it was more like propaganda from the Kremlin.
Russia was projecting an image of control, even the U.S. got a handout, a planeload of Russian aid sent to New York, as that city became the American
epicenter of COVID-19. No matter it later emerged the Russian ventilators were unsafe.
The fact Moscow was helping America in a crisis was a PR coup for the Kremlin. With extremely few recorded infections back then, Russia appeared
to bask in its performance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT: Thanks to the prompt measures taken in the first week of the epidemic, we managed to contain the spread in Russia.
Now despite the potentially high level of risk, the situation is generally under control.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE: But it wasn't and it still isn't. Perhaps the first sign was this. Putin in full plague garb visiting Moscow's main Coronavirus hospital in
March previously, he'd appeared unprotected. Soon, Russia had record daily infections.
The grim truth of Russia's pandemic emerging as key figures including the Prime Minister then Putin's longtime spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, were
hospitalized, feeling concerns about Putin's own health.
Soon, with the highest number of infections after the U.S., Russia seemed to descend into a Coronavirus hell. Images of infected medics coughing in
makeshift wards exposed conditions. Here, a doctor is arrested trying to deliver much-needed medical supplies.
She argued the country was in denial about its coronavirus problem. At least three more critical of the pandemic response mysteriously fell out of
hospital windows more out of desperation with their workloads, said colleagues, than a conspiracy to silence critics.
[11:05:00]
CHANCE: Two died of their injuries. It's why this first shipment of U.S. aid to Russia is so significant. Not just the return favor to the next-
worst affected country in the world, but also an admission by Russia, finally, that it needs help.
All right, when the latest figures Hala coming out of Russia seem to underline that fact, as well. More than 317,000 people now confirmed as
having been affected with the virus. The death toll is just over 3,000 people.
But even Russian officials say that the real figure, when that finally comes out, is likely to be much, much higher than that. It's certainly
having a political impact in Russia. Vladimir Putin's approval ratings, for instance, usually in the high 80 percent, have now been reduced in the
latest polls to just 59 percent still high, but the lowest ever for the Russian leader.
GORANI: Okay, thanks, Matthew Chance. Brazil is reporting its highest number of daily cases nearly 20,000 new infections. CNN reporter Shasta
Darlington joins us now from Sao Paulo. So with this infection rate curve still very much on the incline, is the President, Bolsonaro, who's been
accused of really not taking this whole thing seriously enough, is he changing his tune, at all?
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN REPORTER: Unfortunately, Hala, we haven't seen that happen. From the very beginning, back in March, when Governors declared a
number of quarantines throughout the country, Bolsonaro fought back saying, this is just a little flu, Brazilians need to go back to work, because
hunger and unemployment will kill more people than the virus.
And he's really fought every step of the way, trying to convince Brazilians that they can do something called vertical social isolation, keeping just
people - older people and people with pre-existing conditions at home, and everybody else can head back out.
We haven't seen him change his tune. As you mentioned, we've seen some really grim records here. Yesterday was the highest daily number of cases
recorded nearly 20,000. The total number of cases is nearing 300,000, and the death toll is nearing 20,000.
These are just terrifying figures, especially when you consider that health experts say we are far from peaking here. And Bolsonaro's latest move has
actually been like his counterpart in the United States, to promote the use of Chloroquine to treat covid-19.
He actually got the Health Ministry to publish new guidelines, expanding the use of the anti-malarial drug, so that now people with even mild cases
can use it, with the consent of their doctors.
But this, again, at a time when Governors are trying desperately to bring these numbers down, and when this is something that Bolsonaro has clashed
with health ministers over. In fact, his second health minister resigned last week after disagreeing about the use of Chloroquine, and Bolsonaro has
yet to name his replacement, Hala.
GORANI: Thank you very much, Shasta Darlington. Now, the United States may be slowly opening up again, state by state, but a staggering number of
people have lost their jobs. Another 2.4 million Americans filed for first- time unemployment benefits last week the nine-week total since the beginning of the lockdowns approaching 39 million Americans.
Those abysmal numbers come as President Trump heads to Michigan. He will be touring this automobile plant that has been repurposed to make ventilators.
It is the third time he is visiting an election battleground state in recent weeks.
And it comes as a new model predicts that the economy will cost him the election in November. Oxford Economics predicts he will suffer an historic
defeat, capturing only 35 percent of the popular vote. And the model has correctly predicted the popular vote in almost every election since 1948.
This, of course, is the popular vote, that this organization is predicting. Let's go live to Washington. Joe Johns is there. And Joe, let's talk a
little bit about these - I mean, these jobless claims numbers, because almost 40 million Americans in nine weeks, is the President addressing this
in his appearances?
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: You know the President is not an empathetic person when it comes to stuff like this, at least so far.
He addresses it, he does what he can, he also addresses the pain that Americans are feeling, because of the situation with the pandemic in
general.
But a lot of that is scripted and it's not very empathetic, quite frankly. And I've got to tell you, just - I've never imagined that I would be saying
on TV that we've reached a point that these are the highest unemployment numbers since the great depression here in the United States.
[11:10:00]
JOHNS: But that's where we are. And the administration, instead, has tried to paint a rosy scenario, if you will, saying the focus on the overall
economy, but the end of the fourth quarter, we're going to see a 20 or 21 percent increase in the overall economy. And that will be a new record,
since the time they started keeping such numbers.
Still, if you dig down into the numbers, for example, from the Congressional Budget Office, what they show is that the jobless rate is not
going to go down anymore, but it's also not going to go away as fast as a lot of people would like.
In fact, we could still see according to this office something like 8 percent unemployment by the end of Fiscal 21. So that means there's
potential gap out there. Not everybody who lost their jobs due to the pandemic is going to get those jobs back anytime soon.
And the question is what do you do about that? There's a lot of talk here in Washington about whether they ought to extend the unemployment benefits
that they created for people at the beginning of the pandemic.
But there are a lot of Republicans up on Capitol Hill, and even some over here at the White House who say, they don't want to create a disincentive
to work, so that's where we are. It is just not clear that we're going to get anymore of that sort of Trumped up jobless benefits for people, in this
political environment, Hala.
GORANI: And the President is in Michigan. It's a battleground state. The U.S. system, obviously, hinges on which candidate captures the battleground
states. Michigan is the swing state he's visiting today.
And he's falsely claimed that Michigan sent out absentee ballots to all registered voters and he's also floating the idea somehow that this could
increase fraud. He, himself, voted via absentee ballot last election. So what is he trying to achieve here by just floating these inaccurate
statements and these factual - these factually incorrect statements?
JOHNS: Right. First of all, there's just no evidence in the American elections that absentee ballots equal more fraud in the system in
elections. That is, you know something that's been debunked again and again.
Occasionally, the United States, you have a little tiny bit of fraud, but nothing like the President is alleging. And the - frankly, what seems to be
the real concern for this President is the fact that if there are more absentee ballots in battleground states like Michigan, which are critical
to his re-election, there's a greater chance that people opposed to the President will end up voting against him.
So there's a bit of concern, just about whether he's going to have the deck stacked against him in a fair as opposed to unfair way, when the election
rolls around. So the President actually issued a threat to Michigan, suggesting he would withhold federal funds, if Michigan did something to
basically get the absentee ballots out there--
GORANI: But is he able to do that? Joe is he - I know he's threatening that, but is he able to do that? Does he have the power to withhold federal
funds from a U.S. State?
JOHNS: I mean there are people who say, it sounds like extortion. It sounds like something that could be construed, at least by his critics, as almost
criminal.
So there's that. But the long and short of it is, this money, frankly, has been appropriated by the United States Congress for a particular purpose
and the President could run afoul of the law if he decided not to give whatever money it is he's suggesting he might withhold. If he didn't give
that money, he could end up afoul of the law just by not doing that.
GORANI: All right, Joe Johns, thank you very much. Coming up on the program cyclone Amphan slams India and Bangladesh, dozens of people are dead. We
have the very latest next. And Denmark is speeding up its reopening, we'll take a look at how schools coping as they open two months early.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:15:00]
GORANI: Well, all that wind and rain you see there is cyclone Amphan, absolutely battering the State of West Bengal in Eastern India. 72 people
are dead there another ten in neighboring Bangladesh. The cyclone demolished homes, washed away trees and bridges and left the area without
power.
Meteorologist Chad Myers joins me now with more. So, that is the devastating impact of the cyclone, is plain to see. I mean, what is the
situation on the ground for people thinking of returning to those areas now?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, like you talked about the trees, so many of the roadways are completely impassable because there are trees and
parts of buildings and other things in the way.
So that's the first order of magnitude, is to get a route to these people's homes so they can actually get back to what they have left because if
you're within five meters above sea level, you're not going to be going back to anything. That's just how a storm surge works if you're along the
coast.
Really, the storm is gone right now. So things are getting better. There will be thunderstorms throughout the afternoon. The sun heats up the
ground, the clouds billow, the ground is very wet already. And those billowing clouds make more rain, so that's not going to be stopping for
anytime soon maybe in the next four or five days.
And 200 to 300 millimeters of rainfall has pretty much already come down, and another 200 or 300 probably still to go for some people. And you think,
that's great, not when you're really just trying to clean up. This moisture is going to be with this area for at least the next four days, with showers
and thunderstorms the entire time especially afternoon.
But something else that goes on here. When you push this moisture up a hill, it's like making its own cold front. And the rain is going to be on
that hill. And it's going to rain for four days on that hill. And that water is going to want to run back down toward the Bay of Bengal.
And so this is where the flash flooding the other direction is going to be coming in. They have a long, long cleanup. Now, this was a 270-kilometer-
per-hour storm in the ocean, in the Bay of Bengal, and it wasn't when it made landfall, it was 140 to 160. Even some wind gusts of 130 in Calcutta.
But that was enough of a storm to really tear a place with an infrastructure like we have here, tear it really apart a lot more rain.
Anywhere that that's purple there, Hala, that's another 250 millimeters of rainfall still to go.
GORANI: All right, Chad, thanks very much. Well, for parents all around the world, it's an anxious time, when do my kids go back to school? What safety
precautions will be in place? How much are they unlearning by being home- schooled?
In Denmark, they are trying to solve that problem and answer those questions quicker than planned. High schools, museums, theaters, they're
all opening back up, weeks ahead of schedule. The government has sped up its reopening plan following a steady decline of Coronavirus
hospitalizations.
[11:20:00]
GORANI: CNN's Fred Pleitgen has more from Copenhagen.
FREDERICK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Math lessons from the pulpit. When the Vekose School outside of Copenhagen didn't have enough space for all
kids because of physical distancing rules, the local church became a classroom. Students don't mind.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARIE ERIKSEN BOEGNER, STUDENT: It's different, but I like it. And we learn a lot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: To help with their statistics lessons, they needed a place with lots of numbers. So they just moved the church's graveyard. Denmark's
government is encouraging as many lessons as possible outside, the teacher says.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANETTE DA CRUZ, TEACHER VEKOSE SCHOOL: We have to start in statistics, in math so instead of doing it inside the school, now we can use the cemetery.
They can collect data and we can work with it and they get much more curious.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: Denmark is rapidly reopening its schools under very strict hygiene measures. Arrival times are staggered, so there aren't too many
kids at school at once. You won't see students or teachers wearing masks, though.
Instead, here at the Hendriksholm School in Copenhagen, they use police tape to make sure children don't cross paths on the stairs and in the
schoolyard children should keep at least 3 feet apart. And they wash their hands and sanitize at least every two hours, a new experience for many.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDY CHANG JOHANSEN, STUDENT: It is a little hard to get used to, but when you get used to it, it definitely feels more normal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FLEITGEN: With that concept, Denmark first brought the youngest students back to school and now the older ones, as well. The Head of Secondary
Education at the Hendriksholm School, Jimmy Adetunji says the key to making it work, trusts the kids to be responsible.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY SKOV GLASDAM ADETUNJI, HEAD OF SECONDARY EDUCATION, HENDRIKSHOLM SCHOOL: Given if you keep distance if you make sure to wash your hands keep
sanitizing, coughing in your sleeve and not in your hand and so on and so forth, I think we'll be safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: With many parent fearing for their kids' safety, the Danish government worked with parents and teachers' groups to build support for
the plan, the country's Education Minister tells me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PERNILLE ROSENKRANTZ-THIEL, DANISH HEALTH MINISTER: Without that dialogue, I think many people would have felt that it wasn't safe to send the
children to school. I think the guidelines that we would have made wouldn't have hit the target. And then we would have outbreaks in different schools
and that would have made other parents uncertain about the situation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: Opening schools does not appear to have led to a spike in Coronavirus infections in Denmark. And while some might find math lessons
on a graveyard a bit awkward, well, so far, Danes say their way of bringing school back is working.
GORANI: And that was Fred Pleitgen reporting. Now, churches across the globe are slowly reopening, as well. But health officials still caution
against crowded events. Those concerns are on display in the U.S., as new cases forced some churches to close again. Brian Todd has that story.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: New indications of the dangers of reopening churches during this pandemic. The Catoosa Baptist Tabernacle Church in
Ringgold, Georgia and The Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Houston have closed their doors for the second time several parishioners and leaders of those
churches reportedly testing positive for Coronavirus after they reopened in recent weeks. Officials investigating whether a priest at the Houston
Church who died recently died of COVID-19.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. CARLOS DEL RIO, EPIDEMIOLOGIST, EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: You bring a lot of people together, you put them in a small, enclosed
quarters, you have a lot of, you know, proximity, people touching, people singing, you know, bringing people together in religious events where
frequently there could be crying, there could be shouting, there could be singing, I think all of those may bring significant risk of infection.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: A church in rural, Arkansas, according to a new CDC report, was what some call a super spreader. Two people who went to events there in early
March initiating a chain reaction, which infected at least 30 parishioners and killed at least 3 of them. But experts are warning it's not just the
formal services associated with churches which are dangerous, but also their ancillary events.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. LEANA WEN, PUBLIC HEALTH PROFESSOR, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: There was a - the case of a choir, where one infected individual spread it to
more than 50 just from choir practice. Birthdays, funerals, and other events where people are hugging and touching would also be such types of
events, too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: The State of New York is testing religious communities in New York City for antibodies of Coronavirus and is starting to allow religious
gatherings, again, but only with a maximum of ten people at a time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): The last time we want to do is have a religious ceremony that winds up having more people infected.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:25:00]
TODD: As thousands of churches reopen around the world, our ideas of a typical service are going out the window. This week, Pope Francis
celebrated the first public mass in two months in Saint Peters Basilica but only with a limited number of worshippers.
Father Timothy Pelc in Gross Point Park Michigan got creative on Easter Sunday, using a short gun to dispense Holy Water to parishioners driving
by. Health experts are recommending changes like drive-in services in parking lots, virtual services, temporary suspensions of church day care.
But one expert says it shouldn't be doctor or public officials who mandate those changes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. RIO: I think it is not me as a physician who needs to tell them, the community. I think it's I work with the leaders of that community who then
tell the congregation and the people that go to those church and those synagogues and to those mosques what they need do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: So is this the end of large religious gatherings like on Christmas Eve, Easter, the Jewish and Muslim holidays? The health experts we spoke to
say it should be more of a pause, but it could with a long one. One expert says there could be recommendations coming that the next large religious
gatherings we see should not be held until around Christmas of 2021. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
GORANI: Well, you can follow the latest developments of the Coronavirus pandemic around the world. Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta will be
holding a Town Hall as they do every Thursday. This special event will include pre-recorded marks from U.S. First Lady Melania Trump who's
expected to address the nation's students that's at 8:00 Thursday evening in New York, 8:00 am Friday morning in Hong Kong on CNN.
Still ahead, she spent months in space and when she returned home, all she wanted was a hug. But the world she came back to is a very different place
now. We're live with U.S. Astronaut Jessica Meir. And the streets of Paris are a lot less busy as coronavirus keeps tourists away. How France is
planning to bail out its tourism industry?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Welcome back. The Coronavirus has spread across the globe, but there's one place, one place it hasn't touched. And that is space The
International Space Station. Astronaut Jessica Meir just spent seven months in space. Last month she came back to a world battling the Coronavirus
pandemic returning to earth only to experience further isolation this time from a virus.
[11:30:00]
GORANI: And let's bring in Jessica Meir, who joins us from the ground in Houston. First of all, welcome back. What was it like returning to earth?
Obviously, you knew there was a pandemic, but I understand the first people you saw were wearing face masks.
JESSICA MEIR, U.S. ASTRONAUT: Yes, that's right. First of all, thank you so much. It is quite an interesting experience to be back here on earth in
this setting and it was a very strange experience for us to realize that we were returning to a completely different planet from the one that we left.
And it really became quite surreal for us, as we watched it all unfold from the International Space Station, since we were still going about our normal
day occupy there, our normal routine, completing our mission.
Nothing was really changed, despite the fact, of course, that everything had changed completely for everyone on the world below and to have that
feeling that we were really only three humans who were unaffected by it at the current time. It was a little bit difficult for us to wrap our heads
around.
GORANI: So you were the only three humans out of 7.5 billion unaffected, immune, in effect, because you're in space away from it all. I read that
you said you feel more isolated now than when were in space. Why is that?
MEIR: It does actually feel a bit more isolating down here on earth than it did in the space station, mostly because that is part of our normal
environment up there. We expect that in our mission, and it's for a very good reason. The vacuum of space is completely inhospitable, so we are very
isolated from everything else.
But here on earth, our society is really not built that way. As humans, we crave that human interaction and our society is built so that we do often
go out, you know, to conduct our work, to go out for pleasure, as well, to see families, to see friends, to go to restaurants and have all of that
social interaction.
To not have that on earth feels like much more of a harsh change than it would to expect that isolation in space.
GORANI: How long does it usually take astronauts - this was your first trip, but how long does it usually take astronauts? What were you told
about how long it would normally take you to readjust to everyday normal life on earth after all of these months in isolation?
MEIR: Well, I think for everybody, it's a little bit different. There's a lot of individual variability there. One of the big differences for us is
when we first came back, normally astronauts here will spend maybe one night in our facility at the NASA Johnson Space Center, and then they're
allowed to go home on the second night and just come back and forth for their different physiological and medical testing regimes that are very
important to collect data in those first few weeks.
But for us, one of the hallmarks of space flight is that we actually have a dis-regulation of our immune system, they were very even more careful for
us and wanted to make sure we were in more of a controlled quarantine period so that we weren't exposed to the virus, since our bodies might not
have been able to deal with that quite the same way.
So we spent the whole first week actually in quarantine down at the NASA Johnson Space Center.
GORANI: So it's interesting, because what you mentioned, I didn't know. That being in space affects your immune system, so you have to be extra
careful. How are you now? Are you readjusted? Do you feel okay with the situation or are you - is it psychologically different, because you really
wanted to be able to connect with people after all of these months away and you're not really able to do it in the way you were hoping when you first
went to space?
MEIR: Yes, well, we've been back for about a month now, so physiologically, I actually feel almost normal again. Our immune systems, they were
measuring our T-Cells and other parameters of our immune systems, so those were back in about a week.
So they weren't too worried that we would be able to at least deal with the virus in the same way that everybody else would. And now we actually have
two hours of our reconditioning physically each day to make sure that we get our bones and muscles and our bodies and our balance and all of the
coordination, used to dealing gravity again, that does take a little bit of time.
Now it's been a month, I feel almost completely normal. I can't run quite as fast. Running is one of the things that take a little bit more time to
come back, because it is a complex movement. And that was quite interesting, in the beginning.
You actually could feel the sort of disconnect between your brain and the muscles in your leg, as you were trying to run. And just felt so
differently from the way that we would run up on the treadmill in the space station, given the reduced gravity situation.
GORANI: Well, I feel that without having been into space, so I kind of know what you're talking about. So let me ask you about the conversations that
were happening in space, because there were only three of you. You were following the news you knew what was going on, on earth. What were the
conversations like? Were you discussing it at all?
MEIR: Yes, absolutely. As I mentioned, we were going about our normal day. It was a little bit difficult for us to process it fully, since we were
still so focused and immersed and busy with the at hand.
[11:35:00]
MEIR: But with the ground was keeping us informed, we were of course speaking to family and friends. And we had news sources being piped up to
us as well. So we were tracking, but it was a stark contrast, because we would look out the window and see the earth looking as equally as beautiful
as it did before and it was hard to believe that this chaos was ensuing down there and everything was really grinding to a halt.
But we did talk a lot about it as a crew, about what it would mean for us and our return, and my crewmate Drew Morgan and I actually recorded some of
these conversations, because we thought, wow, this is something we might really want to preserve.
This is a pretty unique situation that we're seeing from such a separate and distinct vantage point. But it was - I think in the beginning, it just
seemed very surreal to me. I used the word a lot, but it is the way I felt. Sometimes you feel that way even when you're looking out the window anyway
in space, realizing where you are and that you're separate from the entire planet above.
And given all of these situations that were happening, something that affected the entire planet. The scale of it was really difficult to
comprehend. Astronauts have been in space for other important events, of course, or other deeply personal events, like losing a loved one or frank
Cullportson was the lone American Astronaut Space Station during 9/11 attacks. He saw that unfold from up above.
And this just seemed even one more level of greater magnitude for us since it was the entire planet wrapping our head around that fact of being only
three of the 7.5 billion humans that weren't currently susceptible to the disease. It was just a very strange feeling.
GORANI: Yes, I can imagine. Well, welcome back. And I'm glad you're physically feeling almost 100 percent. Jessica Meir, an Astronaut back a
few weeks ago from a trip to space and watching this pandemic unfold from great heights. Thank you so much.
Coronavirus has killed more than 28,000 people in France and cases now top 181,000. Not only has the virus taken thousands of lives, it is crippling
the economy. It is crippling the country's tourism industry, leaving places that normally would be packed virtually empty.
Can you imagine? This is the L'odore, you saw the Eiffel Tower - empty basically. The government is now stepping in to help, rolling out a nearly
$20 billion stimulus. Let's go to Paris where Cyril Vanier has been covering this and joins me now live. So what is it like sort of walking the
streets of Paris with all of these landmarks, you know, empty of tourists?
CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Well Hala, it's really strange. Paris is in the red zone, what French authorities here refer to as the red zone.
That means a part of France where the virus hasn't slowed down enough where the health indicators are not good enough to start reopening as fast as in
other parts of the country known as green zones.
Here in Paris, the restaurants haven't opened. The main attractions like the Eiffel Tower haven't reopened. And it is very strange because Paris is
the top - the most-visited city in the world. And it hasn't looked this way in several months.
So we wanted to find out how this tourism city, which is so important for France from an economic standpoint and a psychological standpoint, as well
how it is going to fair just ahead of the key summer season? Take a look.
Stunning views, majestic castles, centuries of history L'odore Valley is one of the crowned jewels of French tourism, drawing 6 million visitors a
year from all over the world. An industry crippled by the Coronavirus.
After a nearly two-month national confinement and with borders mostly shut to outside travel, tourists are now a rare commodity. Chateau Chamont once
owned by the Queen of France is one of the first in the region to reopen.
It is so calm and it is so peaceful here. It's tempting to forget that there is a Coronavirus epidemic but of course you can't. In fact the only
reason the Chateau was table to reopen is because here, too, there are strict social distancing guidelines, mask on, gel on your hands. There's a
predetermined route that you must follow through the domain, and the number of visitors has been capped in order to avoid crowds.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARL FOUCHET, VISITOR: It's been a while since we haven't been out, so it feels good.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VANIER: Just a trickle of visitors today, all of them locals. Travel is still limited to a 100-kilometer radius. Martine Harrouet had plans to
visit Demark and Uzbekistan this summer. That will have to wait.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTINE HARROUET, VISITOR: In a way, this period is very good. We often forget to visit these beautiful sites in France, but it's a magnificent
country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VANIER: The Chateau doesn't expect to see its usual foreign visitors this summer. About a third of its business, they say. But the domain manager
does see a silver lining.
[11:40:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHANTAL COLLEU-DUMOND, DIRECTOR, CHATEAU CHAUMONT: I hope that the increase in French visitors who will come because they can't travel abroad will make
up for the foreign visitor who is sadly won't be able to come.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VANIER: Here is in Paris, however, there's no silver lining on the horizon. The main attractions remain shut. The Eiffel Tower and the river boats, not
far from here, the L'odore museum all closed. Not to mention restaurants and cafes. And with Paris still considered a red zone for the Coronavirus,
there's no telling when any of them might be allowed to reopen.
With almost 90 million tourists a year, France is the most visited country in the world. Last week, the French Prime Minister said saving the industry
was a national priority. The government's bailout package for the sector includes guaranteeing bank loans to businesses and paying 80 percent of the
salaries of furloughed workers.
For Yann, owner and manager of two hotels and a restaurant in the heart of Paris, it's a lifeline. His last booking was on March 12th. Thanks to a
$250,000 euro loan, he hopes to be able to survive the next few months, but desperately needs borders to reopen and travel to pick up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YANN CHEVANCE, HOTEL OWNER: We need people to fly again. Tourism is airplanes. No airplanes, it really limits the amount of tourists that we
can have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VANIER: Until then, Parisians will have the streets of the capital to themselves. And Hala, I would like to p out that the government bailout for
the tourism industry is among the most generous in Europe.
All told, if you count the tax breaks, the government-guaranteed loans as well as the money that they're actually sending to businesses, it amounts
to 18 billion Euros, which is just a huge amount of money relative to the size of the French economy, but the government's calculation is this.
They believe that as expensive as it is right now, it would be more expensive to let those businesses fail and to let people be laid off in the
long run.
GORANI: All right. Cyril Vanier thanks very much. Now for the latest developments away from COVID, you'll remember this story, the latest
developments in the U.S. college admissions scandal. Actress Lori Loughlin and her husband, Fashion Designer Mossimo Giannulli have pled guilty to
conspiracy.
Under the plea deal, Loughlin will serve two months in prison. Her husband will serve five months in prison. Both will pay hefty fines and serve
community service as well. The two are accused of paying $500,000 to get their two daughters into college and this was uncovered during the so-
called "Operation Varsity Blues Sting" by the FBI. Other celebrities were also exposed as having taken part in similar schemes to get either their
kids into college or to get their - help with their testing results.
Coming up, nursing homes have been hit hard by Coronavirus. Not only taking the lives of patients, but also staffers. CNN's alarming investigation into
a lack of personal protective gear is ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:45:00]
GORANI: In the U.S., there's growing concern about the safety of nursing home employees. For months, they've been fighting the pandemic from the
front lines and they often do it without proper equipment. As CNN's Drew Griffin reports, hundreds have now come forward, fearing for their lives.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: For 25 years, Maurice Dotson worked as a Nurse's Assistant at West Oaks Nursing Home in Austin,
Texas, changing bedpans, diapers, sheets and just being a friend to those elderly who no longer had any friends. That ended when he died on April
17th the cause, COVID-19.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He wasn't given basic personal protective equipment, such as a mask.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Maurice Dotson was one of 111 cases of COVID-19 at this nursing home. The State sent in Texas National Guard soldiers to disinfect West
Oaks and other facilities. Quentin Brogdon his attorney representing Dotson's family in a lawsuit which says the nursing home failed to properly
prepare, respond, and provide its employees with personal protection equipment, as required.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUENTIN BROGDON, ATTORNEY FOR DOTSON FAMILY: He gave his life to care for the residents of West Oaks. They were his second family. He could have
called in sick. He could have quit. But it just wasn't in his DNA. He protected them, but he wasn't protected.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: West Oaks will not comment on the lawsuit, but in a statement, the company said our operations and protocols changed profoundly with the
release of the CDC guidelines. Nursing homes and long-term care facilities from the start of this pandemic have been hotbeds of illness and death.
One study shows 41 percent of Coronavirus deaths in 36 states are connected to nursing homes. The virus spreads quickly to patients and staffs that
then leave work, and spread it to others.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEBBIE BERKOWITZ, NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT LAW PROJECT: In this pandemic, if a worker is infected with COVID-19, then they cannot only spread to it to
their coworkers, but they spread it out into the community.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: A CNN review of hundreds of complaints to federal and state governments show that workers at long-term facilities feel their own lives
are at risk, writing complaints like, employees are not provided personal protective equipment such as masks. Using coffee filters as masks and
garbage bags as gowns. Health care workers have died from the COVID-19 and the employer is unwilling to report it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK PARKINSON, CEO, AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ASSOCIATION: We have been begging for additional equipment in nursing homes for the last two months, and
unfortunately, no one has listened. In some cases, we've had to go without it and the results have been tragic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Mark Parkinson, President of the American Health Care Association says in the rush to find protective gears for unprepared hospitals, nursing
homes have been ignored.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PARKINSON: Unfortunately, the resources that were denied to nursing homes and instead were sent to hospitals had really tragic results, because it's
impossible to stop this virus if you don't have the fantastic masks that you need to keep it from spreading.
BERKOWITZ: It's like government malfeasance on how little they have done?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Debora Berkowitz is Former Chief of Staff at OSHA, the government agency charged with protecting workers. She says the government has failed
by silently allowing nursing home deaths to multiply without acting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BERKOWITZ: OSHA put out no specific guidance to just recently and has no mandates. And, you know, guidance is voluntary. Employers can follow it or
ignore it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: OSHA's guidelines on protecting nursing home workers during the COVID-19 pandemic were published only this past week, three months after
the first deaths were recorded at a nursing facility in Washington. Far too late to help workers like Maurice Dotson.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was 51-years-old. He didn't need to die.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration say it investigates all complaints and has been paying particular attention to
protections for those health workers who have high exposure to Coronavirus. That is of little comfort to the family of Maurice Dotson. Drew Griffin,
CNN, Atlanta.
GORANI: Well, in the United States, millions of people who are out of work during this health care crisis are frustrated by the difficulty of getting
their unemployment benefits. Now, some are finding a surprising new resource to help them keep the faith during this confusing process. Vanessa
Yurkevich reports.
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sunday - look different these days at River Church in Durham, North Carolina. That's because Bishop Ronald Godbee
Senior is now leading them online.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BISHOP RONALD GODBEE, SR, RIVER CHURCH: We want to make sure that we're serving you. That's right. We're here for you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:50:00]
YURKEVICH: And their mission is different, too.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GODBEE, SR: We're seeing people come to us for things that otherwise we wouldn't have to deal with. But they're looking for guidance and direction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH: Bishop Godbee and his team are helping parishioners to file for unemployment, something the church has never done before. 18 percent of the
workforce in North Carolina has filed for unemployment due to COVID-19. And the national unemployment rate for black Americans soared to have 16.7
percent in April, nearly triple the rate in February.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GODBEE, DR: Unfortunately, we see the disparities existing in the everyday life, in the everyday life of people, but now we just see it exacerbated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH: The unemployment system is strained. Many Americans are still waiting to get through. Leaving applicants frustrated without answers and
praying for divine intervention. Faith groups are stepping in to help.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GODBEE SR: A number of people at our congregation went to apply for unemployment and couldn't log in. So not only were we able to provide
direction and insight, but also encouragement, so that they could go back and try again. And they've been successful in their efforts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH: The Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association, a faith-based community service group, also shifted direction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are the links to apply for unemployment benefits.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH: The group is now holding online unemployment tutorials and blasting out a step-by-step resource guide in English and Urdu to their
25,000 members, while also walking people through the process one on one.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SALMAAN BHATTI, AHMADIYYA MUSLIM YOUTH ASSOCIATION: In the age of technology, we're able to do screen sharing to help walk people through
doing the applications.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH: Walid Khan is one of those members who didn't know where to turn?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH: If you hadn't had the help of this group, do you think you would have gotten your unemployment?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe not.
YURKEVICH: So they were a huge help?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, absolutely.
YURKEVICH: Is helping with things like unemployment, is that the role of a faith-based organization?
BHATTI: Yes, it is, because faith groups aren't just to come together once a week or five times a day and pray together. There is so much more that
happens as a result of that faith. Where we are there for each other, so we need to be able to rally and marshal our resources and help each other out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH: Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN, New York.
GORANI: After the break, the COVID era office plan looks a lot like the old one, except it doesn't look like the old one, because it will have
Plexiglas, masks, arrows to tell you which direction to walk in. 6 feet of distance between you and your coworkers. We'll tell you about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Well, as businesses reopen around the world, maybe your workplace is slowly inching toward a full reopening. The workplaces are getting a
radical makeover. The days of open meeting spaces, hot desking, mingling at the water cooler, those appear to be over for now.
In the COVID world, companies have to reinvent how we will all coexist. And for some, the office of the future is already here. Whether you like it or
not is another question. Clare Sebastian reports.
[11:55:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they move my desk one more, then I'm quitting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This from the movie "Office Space" is what offices used to look like, confined spaces, minimum contact. Over the
past few decades, they've evolved to this. Open plan social hubs like the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELIZABETH PINKHAM, EXECUTIVE VP GLOBAL REAL ESTATE, SALESFORCE: We love to come together, we love to collaborate. We love to have face-to-face
meetings. We loved it when the offices were crowded.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEBASTIAN: Salesforce has spent the last eight weeks turning those principles on their head. Inspired by this model from real estate firm
Cushman & Wakefield dubbed the 6-feet office, it's not exactly a return to cubicles, but there are eerie similarities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PINKHAM: There may be Plexiglas dividers between workstations on the open floor plans and then even meeting rooms will have big capacity signs,
because they are not able to hold as many people as before. It's really about giving people visual cues to help remember about that physical
distancing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEBASTIAN: Plans are still being finalized, but masks will be mandatory, shifts will be staggered, temperatures checked, elevators in the company's
many towers socially distanced. Across the corporate world, high-rise offices represent a particular challenge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT RECHLER, CHAIRMAN & CEO, RXR REALTY: We're changing technology to be able to use blue tooth to go touch-less into the elevators.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEBASTIAN: Scott Rechler runs RAR Realty, the fourth largest office handled in Manhattan. He is re-evaluate everything details of his buildings.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RECHLER: All the H-AC systems have been changed so that they have filters that are the highest rate filters that pick up the smallest particles.
Where possible, we're changing locations for like pantries and printers that usually are in corners where they get congested to more open spaces.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEBASTIAN: And technology also critical to his plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RECHLER: They'll have an app that before they even come to work, they'll actually look to see what the health index of the building is? When you go
into your space, there's going to be a tool on your app that actually will monitor your social distancing. And at the end of the day, you'll be able
to see, was I 70, 75 percent?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEBASTIAN: Amidst all of that change, there's one part of this new office reality that's already here. And that's working from home. Many companies
are planning to stagger shifts; others are telling staff who can work from home that they can keep going. Twitter has even told its employees, that if
they want to, they can work from home forever.
It's clear in this world where the virus is still a threat the ultimate trick to keeping offices safe is having fewer people in them. Clare
Sebastian, CNN, New York.
GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani. Thanks for watching. John King is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
