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Connect the World
U.S. Expected to Hit 100K Deaths; More than 23K Deaths Reported in Brazil; Peru Cases Rise to Nearly 124K; Infections on the Rise in Mexico; Interview with Sao Paulo Governor Joao Dona on Imposing Statewide Quarantine; WHO Warns of Second Peak; U.K. Announces Phase Two of Reopening; New York Stock Exchange Partially Reopens Trading Floor; Hong Kong Protests; The Power of a Cough. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired May 26, 2020 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
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ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and a very warm welcome to CNN's continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. I'm Isa Soares.
A U.S. travel ban on Brazil is brought forward by two days as the death toll there gets higher and higher.
Unlike Brazil, Peru took strict measures. Coronavirus measures.
So why has it become one of the hardest hit countries?
And in the United States, the death toll creeps toward a grim milestone, 100,000 people. They didn't stop thousands from heading to the beach.
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SOARES: I want to start this hour with a really dire, increasingly dire situation coming out of Brazil. The country now has nearly 375,000
coronavirus cases. The second most in the world and that's behind the United States.
The U.S. travel ban on Brazil goes into effect just before midnight tonight, Eastern time. Meanwhile, Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro
continues to play down the danger. Over the weekend, he mingled with crowds in Brazil. We showed it yesterday, sometimes with a mask, sometimes
without.
Near the start of the outbreak he dismissed COVID-19 as, quote, "a little flu." Nick Paton Walsh joins me now from Sao Paulo.
Nick, this travel ban has been moved up by two days.
How damaging, Nick, is this for Brazil's image around the world?
And also how much of a blow is this to Jair Bolsonaro?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: I think probably to be honest if you were paying attention to what is happening in the world
generally, then the idea of travel being banned between countries wouldn't be too much of a shock.
It would try to dent the pride of anyone who thinks Brazil hasn't remotely been affected by this virus at all. You'd have to be completely living on
a separate planet not to realize that 374,000 confirmed cases, even given the limited nature of testing in Brazil, is a very bad number indeed.
As is the thousand or so dead they have been seeing every 24-hour period.
Why was it brought forward 48 hours?
Unclear. You see people planning their travel in a surge before a deadline comes in. It may be the White House saw there were a lot of people trying
to get into the U.S. before midnight on Thursday and wanted to be sure that surge didn't happen to the U.S. and so brought it forward.
I am speculating there. But those lessons seem to be learned elsewhere around the world. Jair Bolsonaro very much under pressure here, he gives
out messaging by not wearing a mask in crowds to suggest that what is coming for Brazil may not be as bad as everyone else seems to have learned
in the world that it is.
Here in Sao Paulo, masks are mandatory. There has been a lockdown. That's the same in Rio de Janeiro and Manaus. The local governors and mayors have
been the brunt of some foul language by the president, caught in a recorded cabinet video, later released by the supreme court, calling local officials
various bad names to do with excrement.
We spoke to the mayor of Manaus and he respond by saying Jair Bolsonaro would have been a military dictator if he wasn't too stupid to organize
that, said he should shut up and stay at home.
All this political infighting is distracting many from the broader problem here. And we saw the mayor of Manaus admitted it that many people are still
listening to the president because he is the president, even though his governments have recommended hydroxychloroquine, the medication which
President Trump in the U.S. says he took, which was possibly briefly thought to have some benefits against coronavirus.
That was later proven not to be the case and now the World Health Organization said it may be very harmful to people as well. So a lot of
confusing signals here in Brazil and all of this is doing nothing to prepare the country for the fact that the worst is yet to come here in Sao
Paulo, the peak in the next week to a fortnight we were told by doctors.
SOARES: I'll be speaking to the governor of Sao Paulo, Nick, in the next few minutes. We're now at 23,000 deaths reported.
But from what you see, is there reason to believe that figure, that number could be much higher?
WALSH: It is very hard to tell.
[10:05:00]
WALSH: From countries all around the world, you see countries struggling with the reality and catching up with the numbers, it is a difficult job.
Here in Brazil there have been problems because often a diffuse widespread nature of this territory, because some states report differently. Some put
in suspected cases with confirmed cases. Testing is sporadic.
I'll give you one example, though, in Manaus in a graveyard, one area they bury positive cases of coronavirus. In another area, suspected. The
suspected cases outnumber 4:1 roughly my count the positive cases. That isn't scientific but it shows you there are a lot more people out there, it
seems, who may have had coronavirus in there as a factor, didn't necessarily have tests to prove that for a fact.
Just the simple math of a virus like this spreading through the population, it is going to generate some terrifying numbers of cases and deaths.
But I should point out, we don't hear the whole picture at this point, because testing isn't widespread enough. You need three coronavirus
symptoms to get a test in Brazil. And, of course, too, as well because we have yet to see the peak here.
All of this infighting, all of the deaths, all of the new cases and the troubles here are all before the worst sets in.
SOARES: Like you said, maybe one, two weeks away from the peak. I was speaking to several doctors in Rio as well as in Sao Paulo and they were
saying to me the situation is a dire state. The healthcare system is practically on its knees and some haven't been paid in months.
From what you've seen inside the hospitals, what is it like?
Can they take any more cases, given the fact that we still are one or two weeks away from the peak?
WALSH: I have to say in Manaus it appears that the peak, the worst moments, are behind them. Those hospitals, as in many places, they deal
with devastating, overwhelming need for intensive care. And then often they have to adapt their systems, they get the capacity, the need goes down and
they find themselves in a better place.
Some hospitals we saw, probably not a reflection of the entire situation there, did seem more able to cope.
But here in Sao Paulo, the biggest, wealthiest city, where there is money, we were still in one of the best ICUs they have got here and they told us -
- this is nearly a week ago now -- they were full. They didn't have any more beds. The ambulance bay outside was quiet not because the virus is
suddenly gone away but because there was no ability to take any new patients in.
That is possibly a reflection of how the need now is outstripping the possibility of -- the capacity to deal with patients. It is an uneven
picture across the country. Even here, in the wealthiest parts of Brazil, they are struggling.
Rio de Janeiro is said to have significantly worse problems because the healthcare system isn't as well funded or some accuse it of not being as
well organized. We'll learn problems like, sadly, so many countries have around the world as we go through the next fortnight and the numbers
continue to spike upwards.
SOARES: The mayor of Sao Paulo saying 95 percent of ICUs have really run almost at full capacity. Nick Paton Walsh in Sao Paulo, thank you very
much.
I'll be speaking to the governor of Sao Paulo throughout this hour, in the next few minutes, I'm hoping. I'll speak to him this hour here on CONNECT
THE WORLD.
Next door to Peru, the number of coronavirus cases has risen to nearly 124,000 and over 3,600 deaths. The country now has the second highest
number of coronavirus cases in Latin America, behind Brazil. And the crisis is a far cry from Peru's earlier efforts to try to mitigate the outbreak.
Rafael Romo shows us how severe the situation is there now.
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RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SR. LATIN AFFAIRS EDITOR (voice-over): Field hospitals have become a necessity. And inside public clinics, the situation has
turned chaotic.
This video obtained by CNN shows the government medical center in Lima, Peru's capital, with dozens of patients waiting for care in wheelchairs
because there are no beds available.
The leader of Peru's main medical association describes the coronavirus pandemic in the South American country as a health catastrophe. Peru's
health system doctor says it's already overwhelmed by the pandemic. The country of 32 million of South America's Pacific coast has a coronavirus
mortality rate of around 10 per 100,000 people.
[10:10:00]
ROMO (voice-over): It is just as bad as Brazil, its much larger neighbor to the east, with nearly seven times Peru's population and the world's
second highest number of COVID-19 cases.
The health system is so overwhelmed, the doctors say they must make hard decisions. Since there aren't enough beds available, some say critical
healthcare is prioritized for those with better survival chances.
The president of the intensive care medical association says it is not about discriminating against the elderly. But he admits there is a points
system based on each patient's outlook.
The president has stayed away from the controversy, choosing instead to take action, including forming a COVID-19 task force. The task force's
chief and a former health minister says it is neither the health ministry nor the task force's policy to dictate whether patients get access to
medical care based on their age.
Prioritizing healthcare based on the patient's outlook is not yet happening, although she doesn't rule out it may be necessary in the future.
Those on the front lines have no time for disagreements. Teams of nurses and doctors are traveling to the hardest hit areas. Along with Lima, the
capital, the jungle region and the north have become Peru's new COVID-19 epicenter.
It is a dangerous mission. According to Peru's medical association, more than 30 doctors have died so far fighting the virus. Health professionals,
the group is now paying homage at its headquarters in Lima -- Rafael Romo, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Now we have shown you the picture in Brazil, also in Peru you saw there from Rafael Romo.
COVID-19 cases are also in the rise in Mexico. And amid doubts over official numbers. And a new study shows that Mexico City reported 8,000
more deaths for the first months of the year. That's compared to the same time over the past four years.
Only 1,600 deaths in Mexico City are blamed on the virus but health officials fear the actual numbers are much higher. Matt Rivers is in live
for us in Mexico City this hour.
So, Matt, health officials really acknowledging the true death toll could be potentially much higher. I'm guessing, Matt, this is due to a lack of
testing.
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right. It has everything to do with the testing rates here in Mexico. You cannot decouple the
relatively low numbers of confirmed cases and the death toll here without talking about the low number of testing.
As of last night, which is the latest numbers that we have got from the government, they only tested in total 225,000 people or so, compared to the
millions and millions and millions and millions of people tested in the United States.
And the U.S. has been criticized for not testing that many people. So by not testing that many people down here in Mexico, the government is
admitting not only is it confirmed case total, which stands north of 70,000, the actual number could be into the millions.
We have spoken to health officials who say the actual death toll in Mexico could be double the officially reported numbers or even higher. It all
comes down to testing, if you did mass testing, you find more cases, you acknowledge more deaths come from COVID-19.
But until that happens, these numbers that are officially confirmed do not tell the full picture, full story of what this outbreak is really doing to
this country.
SOARES: Matt, we have seen the president who claimed the country has tamed coronavirus, seems to be pushing ahead with plans to open the economy. Talk
us through that.
RIVERS: This will be a phased reopening, June 1st for a majority of the country and admittedly slow. Not all of a sudden, all businesses go back to
work, schools remain closed. It is a phased reopening.
But people are concerned. In the last week we have set new daily records both in coronavirus confirmed cases, in the number of dead in a 24 hour
period. We are without question in the worst days of this outbreak so far.
So the government is trying to walk a fine line between reopening the economy, an economy not doing well before this outbreak and is doing even
worse now. They're trying to get people back to work.
But they are dealing with the very real reality that this outbreak is far from over in Mexico. We're in the worst days of this outbreak we have seen
so far. And that's why you are going to hear critics say it is too early to begin to reopen this economy.
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RIVERS: But the government is definitely trying to play both sides of the same coin, keeping people safe while acknowledging the massive financial
hit this country has taken overall.
SOARES: Matt Rivers in Mexico City, 9:14 in the morning. Good to see you. Matt.
I want to take you back to Sao Paulo, where we started the show in Brazil. The governor of Sao Paulo, he joins me now, now live by Skype.
Thank you very much, Governor. Good morning to you.
How damaging is this to the image of Brazil and is it a blow, do you think, to president Jair Bolsonaro?
GOV. JOAO DONA, SAO PAULO: Good morning. It is a big damage to Brazil and, in my opinion, especially through the relationship that we have, the
economic relationship that we have to the U.S. and especially when we suspend flights to Brazil, from Brazil and the tourism is very adapted on
that.
And in my opinion, my personal opinion, even the diplomatic and economic relationship with the U.S., will be affected by this Mr. Trump decision.
SOARES: And we're seeing, Governor, you're wearing a mask, we have the hashtag below you, #FiqueEmCasa, stay home. Yet over the weekend, we saw
president Jair Bolsonaro holding anti-lockdown rallies, sometimes with a mask, sometimes not with a mask, touching people as well, greeting people,
I should say.
And at the same time we also heard here on CNN from the mayor of Manaus, who told Nick Paton Walsh that president Jair Bolsonaro was co-responsible
for the vast death count of Brazil.
How much responsibility does the president hold here?
DONA: A part of the responsibility. Because the behavior of president Bolsonaro is the wrong behavior. He's against social isolation. He's
against orientation of the science and the medicine.
And we do here in Sao Paulo the opposite. We support the social isolation. We recommend to the people to use masks and to stay home.
Exactly what Mr. Bolsonaro, he does the opposite. He goes to the streets without masks, making a wrong behavior and a wrong indication. This is very
sad to Brazil and makes everything more difficult to the governors in the states of Brazil.
SOARES: Yes, as you mentioned, Sao Paulo has imposed tough curbs and has an active campaign, I think fair to say, on social distancing. Yet you look
at the percentages of people actually abiding by those rules, are they quite low.
So why do you think, Governor, that is?
Do you think president Jair Bolsonaro is undermining your message?
DONA: Yes, every day. With the bad examples of the president of Brazil, everything is more difficult to us.
When we suggest we are re-entered people to stay home, to use masks, to respect the medicine, to not use chloroquine as a solution for the
coronavirus, the president of Brazil used the opposite message to the people. So becomes very difficult to us. In fact, we have today two virus
to come back in Brazil, the coronavirus and Bolsonaro virus.
SOARES: It is a huge frustration, I can see, ion your part, having to try and push with your message to try and save lives at the same time you also
have the president seeming taking a different tact (sic) and the tone and the optics as well playing against you.
DONA: Yes. All the time. it's not just my position. We have 27 states in Brazil. We are a federation. All these governors are doing the right job,
making and promoting and assimilating the social isolation and the right message to the people to use masks, to stay at home.
[10:20:00]
DONA: And once again, President Bolsonaro all the time is conducting to the opposite. So becomes very, very difficult to us, to support the right
to orientation. But here, in Sao Paulo, I have to say, we still go to the health orientation and we follow the health work organization and we will
still going on this way.
SOARES: Let me ask you this, Governor, president Bolsonaro has said before -- and I'm guessing in his argument will continue to be the same -- that
any curbs, any lockdowns will do more harm to Brazil's economy than coronavirus may do.
What do you say to his argument there, that people -- he may argue that people are dying because they can't put food on the table, can't feed their
families.
How do you attack that argument?
DONA: This is not a real argument. Our big comeback is not against is not against economy, it is against the coronavirus. It is not an economy
problem. Right now we have a health problem in Brazil and in other 215 countries around the world.
We have to save people and then save the economy. We cannot save the economy and doesn't have a care with the people. We have to go in and
follow steps. The step right now is to save lives. Save lives is the priority. And then we can go to the economy.
We have time to do that. But with the health conditions to do that, it is not a good argument, well, open everything because we need jobs, we need to
protect poor people, putting these people on the streets. It is not the right way.
The way is protect and to give to the poor people social support, even giving food to the people, giving health orientation and health support.
And then after the coronavirus, we can increase the Brazilian economy.
SOARES: Finally, let me ask you this, the mayor of Sao Paulo has said about a week or so ago that the healthcare system was near collapse, I
think he said ICUs were running at 95 percent or so. Give us a sense of what you've seen, what the reality is like there.
DONA: Not now. We had a week ago some problems on that. I had a meeting and we provide ventilators to the city and investment support for the
hospitals in the city of Sao Paulo. And now exactly now we are under control. We are not in collapse or expecting to have collapse in Sao Paulo
city. It is under control. I have to say that once again.
SOARES: That is very good news indeed. Governor Joao Dona, the Sao Paulo governor, joining us live from Sao Paulo. Thank you very much. Best of
luck.
DONA: Thank you. Thank you very much.
Coming up after the break, the World Health Organization has put hydroxychloroquine study on hold and issued a warning about countries
opening up too soon. We'll bring you both those stories after a short break. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD.
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SOARES: Welcome back.
The World Health Organization is warning countries about the consequences of opening too soon. The panel said a second peak of infections is possible
and that it is dangerous to assume that the next surge won't be several months. Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARIA VAN KERKHOVE, WHO: All countries need to remain on high alert here, all countries need to be ready to rapidly detect cases, even countries that
have seen a decline in cases must remain ready.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Now the WHO also put an international hydroxychloroquine study on hold after a different study showed seriously ill patients were more likely
to die if given the drug. Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins me now for more.
And, Elizabeth, the who Halting the trial of this anti-malarial drug, to me, it seems because of concerns over safety as we just outlined there.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. After a study came out on Friday, showing that people who took this drug, not only
were they not protected against COVID, they were actually more likely to die than people who didn't take the drugs.
Suspending this trial the way that they did is highly unusual. Let's take a listen to the director general of the WHO.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: The executive group has implemented a temporary pause of the hydroxychloroquine arm
within the solidarity trial while the data is reviewed by the data monitoring board.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: It really speaks volumes that the WHO decided to set aside this trial. They had invested a lot in it, both financially and in terms of
human resources. This was something -- this was a trial really going to hopefully answer the question.
But when they realized they might actually be putting people at risk and that's highly unethical, they decided it was time to stop at least for now
-- Isa.
SOARES: Elizabeth, let's talk about this -- another potential coronavirus vaccine, the 10th or so under way.
This is just preliminary at this stage, correct?
COHEN: Right. All of this is preliminary. We won't know the answers as to whether any of these vaccines work for months. So this is now the 10th
vaccine that has gone into clinical trials when you look at the entire world. It is good news we have more and more vaccines that are going into
clinical trials because, as public health experts have been saying for a while now, we need lots of shots on goal, because many of these shots will
miss. Some of these just won't work.
It is not likely we're going to have 10 vaccines out there. Some of them won't work. But we need to try many of them in order to get a few that
will. Let's take a look at how many are out there.
So we have 10 worldwide. This is according to the World Health Organization. Four are in the U.S. This new one, Novavax. Five are in
China, one in the U.K. and 14 are in preclinical stages, in the lab or being tried out on animals.
This one from Novavax, we have no reason to think it is any more or less promising than any other vaccines. They say they vaccinated their first
patient last night in Australia.
SOARES: Well, the preliminary but good to see there is a worldwide effort, isn't it, Elizabeth, to try and find this. Elizabeth Cohen for us. Thank
you very much. Good to see you.
Still ahead this hour, sorry but not sorry. The British prime minister's top adviser hasn't apologized and now a junior minister has resigned in
protest. We'll take you live to Downing Street next.
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SOARES: A very warm welcome back. You are watching CONNECT THE WORLD.
New fallout from the scandal in the U.K. involving one of the prime minister's top aides while the country tries to focus on reopening. Dominic
Cummings held a news conference which we showed you live about his decision to travel during the lockdown.
So far he has offered no apology and is refusing to step down. And now a junior government minister since resigned, citing Cummings' hypocritical
behavior.
Meanwhile, Mr. Johnson has announced plans for nonessential businesses to open beginning June 15th. It is part of the second phase of easing lockdown
restrictions here in the U.K.
CNN's international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson joins me now live from 10 Downing Street.
Let's start off with this junior minister who resigned today.
How much is this a blow for the prime minister or do you think it is a sign of a wider discontent within the party?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It's definitely a sign of wider discontent within the party. He's not the only one that
registered his objections to the way that Dominic Cummings and the prime minister handled the situation, though he is the only one in the cabinet
who resigned.
He's undersecretary of state for Scotland, Douglas Ross. I met him on a couple of occasions, campaigning in the elections 2017, 2019. He was one of
the only Scottish MPs able to draw the prime minister up to Scotland, to help campaign with him.
So the connection there is, you know, a strong connection, had a good position in the government, hadn't been a junior minister for that long. So
this is a sign that people are not prepared to stand behind -- beside the prime minister on this issue.
What he said is that the conclusions and the decision that Dominic Cummings took on his assessment of the situation is not that that would have been
shared by many people.
I think there is something you can say when you look at the situation in Scotland, for Scottish Conservative MPs as certainly under a lot of
pressure from the SMP, who really take advantage of Boris Johnson as prime minister as being very English, being very, you know, do what I say, not
what I do, type attitude.
So that will perhaps be a reason why Ross distanced himself from the prime minister on this issue. But it is not -- not an easy or small decision for
him to take. And it will be obviously career costs for him in the longer term as well as the immediate short term.
So I think this is an indication of murmurings, we heard it from other Conservative MPs over recent days and another Conservative MP today saying
that he thought Cummings should have offered an apology.
[10:35:00]
ROBERTSON: Should have at least offered some sort of acceptance of what they had done and should have offered his resignation and the prime
minister should have taken it. So Douglas Ross is -- has taken the biggest step. But others are marking their differences with the prime minister over
this.
SOARES: He was given plenty of opportunity to apologize as we saw yesterday. And the row over Cummings has overshadowed the prime minister's
announcement yesterday, that some shops will be opening in a few weeks. Talk to us about that.
ROBERTSON: The prime minister tried to drive the press conference forward on that issue yesterday, saying that, you know, Dominic Cummings has spoken
at length, journalists have asked the questions. The prime minister wasn't going to handle question on that that very clearly then going ahead and
laying out these steps on the 1st of June.
The farmers market, the outdoor open markets in cities, they'll be able to open again. Car showrooms, because they're outside, they'll be able to open
again. But the big one for the public, where you may get a sense, you know, for people sitting at home, that things are going to turn a corner and
things will change, and that is that big department stores, you know, the nonessential goods stores that have been closed until now, they will be
able to open up on the 15th of June.
However, there are a number of criteria, social distancing criteria, that the stores will have to meet. And that will put restrictions on the numbers
of people that can come into the stores.
It is not at all clear at the moment quite how big the pickup on this will be initially. The prime minister seems to be having a little more success
with the other initiative underway, getting schools back and running first of June.
Also he hopes on the 15th of June to get some secondary school years open there, year 10 and year 12. So the prime minister is projecting that
progress. That's a direction he wants to go in. But it is not free of the Dominic Cummings issue yet.
SOARES: Let's see if that blows over. Nic Robertson, 10 Downing Street, thank you very much.
Now to the New York stock exchange. Traders there today heard a familiar sound. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES (voice-over): And that is New York governor Andrew Cuomo, ringing the opening bell at the stock exchange. Limited number of brokers have been
allowed back on the trading floor. The stock exchange has been all electronic since March when two people tested positive for COVID-19.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: More on this, Alison Kosik, who normally joins us inside is outside because of the measures still in place.
And so, Alison, after two months being shut, opening. But I assume it feels and looks very different.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It certainly feels different, just the surrounding areas, the streets, Broad Street and Wall Street,
which surround the stock exchange, are empty.
Usually at this time of day, the streets behind me would be packed. And it is not business as usual, of course, for the traders inside. A quarter of
the usual number of traders are on the floor today and will be for the foreseeable future as social distancing measures are strictly enforced.
There are rules that those traders have to follow even before they get to the exchange. They have to agree to not take public transportation. Once
they get here to the exchange, they have to have temperatures checked, they have to wear face masks and on the floor they have to stand six feet apart.
Social distancing certainly being enforced; if they don't stand six feet apart, they could be removed from the floor.
Banned on the floor, handshaking and eating on the floor, traders have to make an appointment to eat in the cafeteria at the New York stock exchange,
of course, properly social distance. So it is back it work today for traders at the New York stock exchange. Only about 80 of them. But it is
far from business as usual.
SOARES: Let me ask you this, I read something, them having to sign a liability waiver.
Do you know anything about this?
KOSIK: The New York stock exchange seemed to balance health and safety in reopening the New York stock exchange but legal measures as well. Traders
are required to sign these liability waivers, basically saying that they understand the risks when they walk inside the building, that they still
could get sick with COVID-19.
And if they do, they sign away their rights to be able to sue the New York stock exchange. I did ask several traders how they felt about this. They
seem to be OK with it in the name of doing business. One trader I talked to said that this could be a way of the future for lots of companies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONATHAN CORPINA, TRADER: This is the new world. This is the new environment. I don't think this will be the only place where we're going to
have to sign waivers to get in. I'm sure cruise lines will do it. Airlines haven't done it yet but that might be something in the future.
[10:40:00]
CORPINA: There is some risk that is out there. That risk is unknown. And you can have those risks whether you're inside the New York stock exchange
or outside on the street here. But I think we're already as a community and as a country to move forward and get back to what our life was like.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: And that trader telling me today, symbolic in the way of confidence, capitalism, being illustrated with the flag behind me and the
New York stock exchange, the grand building it is, behind me. And just the opening of the New York stock exchange symbolizing an economy moving
forward -- Isa.
SOARES: Yes, I did see a trader last hour speaking to Richard Quest, who seemed very happy to be back on the trading floor. Alison Kosik, thank you.
Good to see you.
Now I want to stay in the United States because a grim milestone is looming over the country. The country's COVID-19 death toll is expected to reach
100,000 in the coming days, 100,000 lives lost in less than three months. That's more than the numbers of U.S. troops killed in both the Korean and
Vietnam Wars combined.
Let's check what our reporters are seeing across the United States.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dianne Gallagher in Atlanta; 257 employees of the Tyson food poultry plant in Virginia have tested positive
for COVID-19. That's just about 20 percent of the roughly 1,280 employees and contractors who were tested for the virus according to Tyson.
Most of those people who tested positive did so during a testing event onsite the first week of May. Tyson says it is continuing to screen its
employees before they come to work for symptoms, as well as implement social distancing measures, like barriers in the break room and work areas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Jason Carroll in New York, the governor making a major announcement about benefits for first
responders. Death benefits for families of first responders will now be provided by state and local governments.
That will help the families of hundreds of police, firemen and paramedics who died as a result of COVID-19. The governor called them front line
heroes and he says they deserve more than thanks. He also challenged the federal government to do the same.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dan Simon in San Francisco. Under pressure from a petition of more than 1,200 pastors as well as President
Trump, California governor Gavin Newsom says churches and other places of worship are now free to reopen. But there are a couple of key provisions.
First, Newsom says individual counties can make the final call; second, attendance must be at 25 percent of a building's capacity or 100 people,
whichever is less. It is also recommended that both staff and guests wear with face coverings and staff be screened for temperature and symptoms at
the beginning of their shifts.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ed Lavandera in Little Rock, Arkansas. This is a state that reported a little more than 6,000
coronavirus cases since the pandemic started. But a thousand of those cases roughly have come in just the last five days.
That is why the governor here is describing what they're seeing as a second peak. The first peak happened a little more than a month ago. But the
governor says that he attributes this spike to better testing that is being done in the state.
And he says the silver lining is there is a low hospitalization rate and low positive infection rate. But when you walk around town, most people
seem completely unfazed by what is happening.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: And you are watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Still to come, CNN sits down with one of Hong Kong's most influential men. That's media mogul Jimmy
Lai, in danger of spending his life in jail for activism.
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[10:45:00]
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SOARES: Beijing's top military commander in Hong Kong says he's determined to safeguard national sovereignty in the city. We have seen mass
demonstrations over the weekend against China's new proposed national security law.
The commander describes the proposed legislation as a means to, quote, "deter separatist forces and external intervention."
But critics say it allows the Chinese government to further crack down on Hong Kong's freedoms. As in the past, the chief executive is trying to
provide assurances. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARRIE LAM, HONG KONG CHIEF EXECUTIVE (through translator): The assurances are very clearly laid out in the draft position as well as the explanation
given by the National People's Congress leader.
There is no need for us to worry, because, time and again, in the last 23 years, whenever people worry about Hong Kong's freedoms of speech and
freedoms of expression and protests, time and again, Hong Kong has proven that we uphold and preserve those values.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Carrie Lam speaking there.
According to Hong Kong media mogul and activist Jimmy Lai, Donald Trump, he says, is the territory's last hope. Reuters reports are calling to multiple
sources the growing consensus among the American president's advice that the U.S. should get tougher with China's Communist Party.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Traitor, national scum, selling out his country and his conscience. This is how China describes
Hong Kong's most famous media mogul. Jimmy Lai has been a thorn in the side of China's Communist Party for decades fighting for his city's freedoms.
But now Beijing has this 72 year-old firmly in its sights.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY LAI, APPLE DAILY: We are a dictatorship. Freedom is not free. And this is a price we have to be ready for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN (voice-over): Last month he was one of 15 activists to be arrested, along with the founding father of Hong Kong's democracy, 81 year-old Martin
Lee (ph).
Lai owns the Apple Daily newspaper. He was charged in organizing and participating in an illegal assembly last August and intimidating a pro-
Beijing reporter back in 2017. Rights groups call the arrest an attempt to silence the pro-democracy movement.
While he can't discuss the charges, this tycoon said he won't be scared or intimidated by the CCP nor should Hong Kong protesters. Despite China's
plans to enforce a controversial national security law it says is needed for its sovereignty and to fight what it calls is terrorism.
LAI: I can't have fear. If I have the fear, I have a fear about the consequences of whatever I do.
COREN (voice-over): On Sunday, thousands of protesters poured onto the streets, the first real demonstration of 2020 since COVID-19.
Voicing their opposition to this proposed legislation, banning treason, secession, sedition and subversion, ultimately criminalizing the protests
that roiled Hong Kong since June last year.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What have you been arrested for?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know.
COREN (voice-over): While demonstrations were smaller than expected, police showed zero tolerance, arresting more than 180 people, mostly for
unlawful assembly.
Having just set up his Twitter account on the weekend, Mr. Lai appealed to Hong Kongers and said "It is time to sacrifice. Are we prepared to
sacrifice blood and tears for our future freedom? I am."
As one of the most prominent members of Hong Kong's pro democracy movement, Jimmy Lai has always had a target on his back. His arrest last month proof
of that. But under China's new security law, he believes his media organization, the city's most vocal opposition newspaper, will be shut
down.
[10:50:00]
COREN: And he could very well be spending his future behind bars.
COREN (voice-over): With Hong Kong now at risk of losing its freedom, autonomy and rule of law, Mr. Lai issued an SOS to the U.S. president,
printing his letter on the front page of his newspaper.
Despite America's strained relationship with China in the midst of COVID-19 and the tenuous trade deal, Mr. Lai believes that the CCP will listen to
Donald Trump.
LAI: Mr. President, you're the only one who can save us. If you save us and stop China, stop (INAUDIBLE), you also save the world.
COREN (voice-over): He knows it's a long shot but one he is willing to take for his last crusade. And despite having British citizenship, Jimmy
Lai said he isn't going anywhere.
LAI: I will not leave because I'm not a troublemaker. I can be trouble and go away. All my life would be waste if I do that -- Anna Coren, CNN, Hong
Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Well, we'll have much more on this story in the next hour. We'll be speaking with the last British governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, why
he says Britain and the G7 need to take a stance against the president's regime. That interview in about 45 minutes from now. You do not want to
miss that.
Now back in China, at the original epicenter of the coronavirus, there has been a massive testing campaign to try to prevent a second wave. The city
of Wuhan sampled more than 9 million people in nine days and ran more than 6 million COVID-19 tests.
These numbers were reported by local health officials and state run media. Chinese media say Wuhan used a pool testing method and then retested
individually to find positive samples.
Still to come, how far can germs travel when people cough?
U.S. researchers try to answer that question, to try to determine the best social distancing practices during the pandemic. We'll bring you that
story.
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SOARES: As you all know, social distancing encourages people to stay two meters or six feet apart. And that distance really is an absolute minimum.
And as Randi Kaye shows us, a cough or sneeze can travel further than we may realize. Take a look at this piece.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Heavy cough, three, two, one.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Inside this lab at Florida Atlantic University two engineering professors are measuring the power of a cough.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one.
KAYE: Using a dummy they fill its mouth with a mix of glycerin and water and then with a pump force the dummy to cough and then wait to see how far
the droplets travel. They fill the air, visible with a green laser light simulating what happens when we cough.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It generates particles in order of 10 to 20 microns, which is roughly close to what the smallest droplet sizes are when we
cough.
KAYE: Take note how quickly the simulated respiratory droplets spread. The droplets expelled travelled a distance of three feet almost immediately.
Within five seconds, the droplets were at six feet, then nine feet in just about 10 seconds.
[10:55:00]
KAYE (voice-over): Remember, nine feet is three feet beyond the recommended social distancing guidelines.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Already reaching roughly nine feet now and still moving farther, slowly.
KAYE: The fog of droplets lingered in the air, but kept moving forward taking just another 30 to 40 seconds to float another three feet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is getting closer to 12 feet now.
KAYE: Yes. He said 12 feet. Over and over again the simulated droplets blew past the six-foot mark often doubling that distance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is past three feet already. Approaching six feet. And it looks like it has crossed six feet. And now it has slowed down.
KAYE: How long would it linger at nine feet and 12 feet?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, at nine feet they could linger for two to three minutes, OK. But the concentration is less than what it would be at six
feet about a factor of eight.
KAYE: The professors say the droplets become less dense the further they travel but they still hang in the air, still with the ability to carry
disease and watch this. Even when we put a simple mask on the dummy particles still dispersed from the sides of the mask. Though they didn't
travel very far.
Certainly if you are not wearing a mask, you're supposed to cough into your elbow. But if you cough into your hand, this is what happens. Let's turn
off the lights. I'll put my hand up against the mouth of this dummy and simulate a cough. You can see that the droplets spray in all directions.
They may not travel as far, maybe about three feet or so, but they spray everywhere and they can linger in the air possibly for as long as three
minutes.
Intensity of the cough matters. So we tested a gentle cough too. The lighter cough did not go very far at all, about three feet. But the
question remains, how close is too close.
Do you think, based on what you have seen in your own lab that six feet is enough for social distancing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Six feet is the minimum distance that you should keep. It seems that --
KAYE: But further is better?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Further is better.
KAYE: Randi Kaye, CNN, Dania Beach, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Fascinating piece there from Randi Kaye.
I'll have much more in the next hour of CONNECT THE WORLD. Stay right here with CNN. Be right back.
END
