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Quest Means Business

E.U. Leaders Cut Deal On Economic Recovery Package; Israeli Restaurants Demand Long-Term Fix Amid COVID-19 Crisis; Disney Heiress Criticizes Florida Park Reopenings; U.S. Facing Coin Shortage as Shoppers opt for Contactless Pay. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired July 22, 2020 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:01:28]

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS: Sixty minutes left of trading on Wall Street, the middle of the week. It's been an

extremely difficult day of trade. There's a great deal of pressure on stocks, as you'll see as we go through the program this evening. That

that's even though they're up by 75. Look at that dip in the early afternoon and you'll start to see why.

The markets and the reason why. The United States has shut a Chinese Consulate in Texas. Now, Beijing is promising to respond. And we await what

that will be.

Pfizer has won a $2 billion deal to produce a coronavirus vaccine, and the airline chief executives who want a testing program that will restore

transatlantic travel.

Live from London, It is Wednesday, middle of the week. It's July the 22nd. I'm Richard Quest, I mean business.

Good evening, as if relations between China and the United States weren't bad enough. Well, today, they go to perhaps a whole hate worse.

The U.S. has abruptly ordered the closure of the Chinese Consulate in Houston in Texas. Now, police responded to reports of people burning

documents in consular courtyard.

The Secretary of State. Mike Pompeo says China can't get away with misconduct.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We're setting out clear expectations for how the Chinese Communist Party is going to behave, and when they

don't, we're going to take action to protect the American people, protect our security, our national security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Now, it's the latest escalation in U.S.-China tensions. You have, of course got the tensions on Huawei, which are absolutely boiling hot at

the moment, especially since the U.K. has told Huawei it doesn't want to be part of 5G.

You've got indictments, of course for intellectual property theft, that is as it relates to Huawei's Chief Financial Officer who is currently in

Canada awaiting -- objecting to extradition to the United States, and the COVID vaccine research that allegedly was targeted by espionage.

Adding to this, the accusations of Human Rights violations in Hong Kong, in Xianjing and that's even before we mentioned the trade war tariffs that are

of course ongoing.

Alex Marquardt is our CNN senior U.S. security correspondent with me now. Alex, I'm not sure I understand fully. Help me if you can, the timeline of

events. This burning of documents, did it come after they were told to close it or was it the reason why they were told to close it?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly the Chinese were anticipating this and it was in reaction to the

closure of this consulate and it doesn't look good, does it, Richard?

You have members of that consulate in Houston burning those documents in the courtyard. It was caught on camera by locals in the area. The

firefighters then responded.

And we also -- we saw scenes of people within the consulate then dousing the embers of those documents that were on fire. The firefighters who

responded were not allowed in.

[15:05:08]

MARQUARDT: What we know now is that the State Department has ordered the closure of this consulate in Houston, and that the spies as they've been

called by Marco Rubio, who is the Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, must leave the United States within the next 72 hours --

Richard.

QUEST: But Alex, this burning of documents was before the U.S. announced the closure or after? I'm trying to understand if the burning of documents

was in response to the closure.

MARQUARDT: Well, 72 hours from essentially then when those documents were being burned is Friday, so the Chinese knew that this was coming. They knew

that the U.S. State Department had ordered the closure of this consulate in Houston.

It wasn't until we woke up here in the U.S. Eastern Time on Wednesday morning that we knew that the consulate was being ordered closed by

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Another burning question, forgive the pun, is why Houston? And this has been called a central node of this Chinese spy network, again, according to

Senator Rubio.

Now you have to assume that the consulates across the United States and there are five of them all engage in some sort of espionage. Why Houston in

particular? That remains unclear.

We've reached out to a number of Intelligence officials, the Department of Justice as well as the State Department, no one has said specifically why.

But it is clear that this according to U.S. officials, that this consulate was actively engaged in significant espionage and we know that over the

course of the past, not just a few years, but significant in the past few months during the pandemic that China has stepped up its attempts to steal

intellectual property including vaccine research for COVID-19 from the United States -- Richard.

QUEST: Alex, thank you. I appreciate you clarifying exactly how things came together. And you're right about the allegations of spying in most of

the U.S. consulates by the Chinese. Thank you, Alex.

The Chinese have already said that this will not be allowed to let lie, and they are now threatening some form of retaliation. Exactly what, we don't

know. Our correspondent in Beijing is David Culver.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: China's Foreign Ministry calling the closure of its consulate in Houston an outrageous unjustified move that

will sabotage China-U.S. relations.

They warn a retaliation, which could mean the closure of one of the six U.S. consulates here in Mainland China and in Hong Kong or a further

escalation.

The U.S. State Department says it acted to stop illegal spying on part of China and China's alleged interference in U.S. domestic politics.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says this was an act rooted in national security and to protect American jobs. But the timing is questionable as

China has faced accusations of stealing intellectual property for years really.

Meantime, China is warning its students in the U.S. that they could now face arbitrary interrogations and harassment that feeds into the rising

nationalism here and the state-controlled media is using that to push for China to take stronger countermeasures in response to this consulate

closure.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: David Culver the reporting from Beijing.

To Wall Street, interesting sort of day, you have a look at the numbers. Have a look at the chart and you'll see. It starts actually right at the

beginning, there's a little smidgen of red, but it doesn't -- it's barely - - it's nothing. It was premarket losses on U.S.-China tensions, but as the thought -- it is the theory and the hope with new stimulus that's really

driven the market and it's up just now a third of a percent.

Pfizer is up nearly five percent on that $2 billion deal from the U.S. government, who say they will buy an initial 100 million vaccine doses.

For several weeks, if not months now, we have been talking about the way governments, U.S., E.U., U.K. -- they are all at it buying hundreds of

millions of doses of vaccines that haven't even been made, and certainly haven't been proven to be efficacious.

The Trump administration is focusing on five companies. First AstraZeneca. AstraZeneca is the only one that's in Phase 3, and hopes to have the first

dose by October. Then you've got Pfizer. Pfizer is entering Phase 3 by the end of July. The goal is 100 million doses by December. Moderna comes into

the market entering Phase 3 next week. Doses will hopefully have by 2021.

[15:10:09]

QUEST: J&J still in Phase 2, a billion doses they want to be producing by 2021 as well, and stuck well behind everybody else, stuck in preclinical is

Merck. They haven't even come up -- that's the way the race is running so far.

Thomas Bollyky is the Director of the Global Health Program in the Council of Foreign Relations joins me now. Also the author of "Plagues and the

Paradox of Progress" joins me from Shelburne in Vermont.

Does it matter who gets there first, so long as someone gets there first?

THOMAS BOLYKY, DIRECTOR OF THE GLOBAL HEALTH PROGRAM, COUNCIL OF FOREIGN RELATIONS: It matters geopolitically more so than from the health

consequences.

There are multiple challenges here. First, obviously we have to develop the vaccine and get through the Phase 3 trials that you've describe before.

Second, we really do need to complete the production of enough doses. Viewers should keep in mind, it's likely to require at least two doses per

person to achieve the health effect. And then of course, we need to actually distribute it to people.

So the real benefit to winning in terms of having a proven vaccine that can get licensed by a credible regulator is going to be geopolitical more than

from a health perspective.

QUEST: And this idea of buying multiple vaccines from different providers as the U.S. has done, the U.K. has done, the E.U. has done, at first blush,

I would -- my naivete, I sort of think, well, they're hedging their bets in case one wins and then the other doesn't, is it as simple as that?

BOLLYKY: There's some of that. The main thing to understand that's different about vaccines and drugs is vaccine manufacturing is extremely

limited.

For drugs, you get into these intellectual property issues. You can make it in far more countries and many more different factories. Vaccine

manufacturing is a finite quantity right now. So, we're not going to have enough in the early days for world distribution.

Whether you're the exact first to get it, if you can lock in early supplies -- that means months of access to a vaccine and the benefits from that

while the rest of the world waits.

So having some guarantee that will happen. Obviously, both is important to political leaders to demonstrate to their public, but in terms of

restarting your economy, protecting your healthcare workers can have broader societal benefits.

QUEST: So on this quest, on this issue of the broader societal benefits, I asked one of our guests last night this question, are we fooling ourselves

into believing that the vaccine is the panacea that takes us back to 2019 days?

I understand its significance in terms of those who are immune compromised and all those things, but in reality, it's not going to turn the clock back

for us.

BOLLYKY: No, there's no way back through this pandemic. There's only through and a vaccine is going to be a powerful tool. But a few reasons why

it's not likely to be a panacea.

First is it's far from clear that any of the early vaccines protect against infection. It is -- there is an indication that they may be effective

against disease. This is important because then it would work like the flu shot. So you would be able to protect more vulnerable people from getting

sick.

However, it would not achieve herd immunity, driving the virus out of a country or even a community, unless you can protect against infection, so

protect people from getting the virus at all. So that's the first piece.

Second piece, as I mentioned before, it is going to take time to distribute. There's going to be a long time where we are still adapting to

life living with this virus and the vaccine isn't going to alter that within months, maybe not even within a year. It's going to take some time

to reach the level of vaccination, even if you can convince the public to take it where you have that happen.

QUEST: A very sobering thought, but I'm grateful that you gave it to us, sir. Thank you for joining us. I appreciate your time tonight.

It's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. After the break, Iceland is hoping for a resurgence or at least a repeat of transatlantic travel.

After the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:17:34]

QUEST: Major airlines are calling on the governments of the U.S. and the E.U. to create a joint coronavirus testing program that will enable them to

restart transatlantic flights in a meaningful way.

The heads of United, Lufthansa, American Airlines and IAG, all joined in the letter saying the move could help protect health, build confidence and

restore travel between the U.S. and Europe, a pilot testing program.

Noticeable by the way that Delta, Virgin, Alitalia, Air France KLM did not sign the letter. Now remember, most Europeans are banned from traveling to

the United States and vice versa. You can't go in either direction.

And if you look at it, you'll see there's simply not the demand for air travel across the Atlantic; only if you've got a passport and there's a

reason can you go.

So look at flight radar, look at the way it's been reflected at the moment. This is the way it is reflected in terms of this time last year and compare

it with it today.

International capacity is down some 70 percent from January according to OAG.

Gloria Guevara is joining me, the CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council joins me from London via Skype. Gloria, it is good to see you. We

have much ground to cover. Firstly, on this issue, how significant is it to get transatlantic travel restarted again, in a meaningful way, rather than

just two, three, four flights a day?

GLORIA GUEVARA, CEO, WORLD TRAVEL AND TOURISM COUNCIL: It is very important. We need to get the national travel back and that's very

important because that's the flow of the economy. We need to have the business travelers and we need to have that connection between important

hubs. That's why we call to create these corridors, for instance, between London and New York, that both of those cities they have a very low cases

of COVID, why have an entire country ban where we can create these corridors and these two city pairs are very important for business traveler

as you know.

QUEST: Everybody is very wary about taking any form of steps that could unleash the virus once again, or even worse, can create a surge and all the

cases -- in many cases in Asia or used to be -- was one of imported travel, so you can understand why, Gloria they are very anxious and very careful.

[15:20:09]

GUEVARA: I do understand, Richard, but here, there are two things that are also very important. The first one is that we need to have a coordinated

approach. We need to have the governments talking to each other and working together and that's one of the lessons that we have from the past.

When you look at 9/11 there was no coordination and unfortunately, it was very painful and it took us longer for recovery. When you look at 2008, the

financial crisis for instance, the G-20 platform was created and they are working together. That coordination was essential.

So they need to define the framework for testing. They need to define some common practices. They need to define those standards first.

Second, is that if we learned from SARS, MERS and Ebola, as an example, we weren't able to travel without a vaccine because we weren't able to isolate

the sick people, right? This COVID is different, 80 percent asymptomatic. That's when testing and contact tracing is key.

So we believe that we can travel and there are countries that actually, they are doing that and they are recovering with testing and contact

tracing. Iceland is one example that I think you mentioned before.

QUEST: We'll be talking to Iceland in just a moment. On the reopening in Europe, the summer season is now underway. Obviously, numbers are nowhere

near what they used to be. How are your members coping? They're having to put extraordinary efforts into -- particularly in hospitality into ensuring

a safe environment. But now guests are arriving. How are they coping in Europe?

GUEVARA: I think Europe right now when you look at the passengers is 38 percent of what it was last year. Occupancy depends on the country. Some

countries are 30 to 40 percent. A lot of traveling domestic.

Our members have invested a lot implementing the right protocols. We have our lessons learned, for instance, from the rooms that we offer to doctors

and nurses in the middle of the outbreak, and we were able to maintain those installations COVID free.

Those lessons were included in the protocols, plus the learnings from W.H.O. and C.D.C. So, currently, if you stay in a hotel, they have safe

travel standards, and you can recognize better protocols and those hotels are covered free, so we can guarantee the experience. So a lot of work has

been done, a lot of training, social distancing, wearing the mask, a lot of policies. So you should be comfortable traveling all over Europe and in the

U.S. and multiple places around the world because we have invested a lot of time and effort, finding the right protocols so that the experience is

consistent, and also is safe to stay in those premises.

QUEST: Gloria, as the summer moves on, we will of course be coming back to you to find out more. Gloria Guevara with me from the WTTC.

Gloria was talking about Iceland and Iceland is one of the first countries to reopen after handling the pandemic to international travelers. However,

they have to take a COVID-19 test on arrival. Now, the country is hoping for transatlantic travel recovery to boost its tourism industry even more.

Gudlaugur Thor Thordarson is Icelandic Minister for Foreign Affairs, joins me via Skype from Iceland. Now, all right, sir, all right, Minister, you

beat me hands down with the view in the background that you're offering us. You're actually -- you're enticing us tonight with Iceland as a destination

and the opening up of transatlantic travel. It was going so well before the pandemic. What can you do now?

GUDLAUGUR THOR THORDARSON, ICELANDIC MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Well, we just -- you're totally right. I am trying to tempt you. Unfortunately,

not every man can come at the moment, but we hope that we see that sooner than later. What we are doing which has been, well, we are quite pleased

with the results is that we have been with targeted measures from the beginning.

We have been testing, isolating and tracing. We have been testing more than probably any other nation and we have traced everyone which have been

infected, isolated those who have been infected. And at the same time very early on, which is very important, we did target the vulnerable groups and

tried to protect them.

At the same time, we have had -- and all the time frequent communication with the public, and it has been led by trio of experts. We have also been

very fortunate that we have a private company like, Decode which has been extremely helpful during this fight.

And of course, we have an excellent health service system with the people there have shown their strength.

But most importantly, we have seen solidarity among the Icelandic people when it comes to fighting this pandemic.

[15:25:10]

QUEST: The way in which tourism has become such an important part of your economy, and Icelandair, of course, is in deep trouble itself. The rumors,

of course that pilots would be serving passengers in the cabin, which of course had to be reversed.

Overall, Minister, what do you need to take place before you can encourage, not merely tolerate tourists to come back?

THORDARSON: Well, of course we have been open to the people in the Schengen area. We're a part of the Schengen area. We also follow the

guidelines when it comes to the Schengen authorities, so there are 12 nations which are allowed to come, but of course you have to do the testing

or go to the quarantine, which is a relatively easy thing to do.

And actually Canada is among one of those 12 nations and hopefully we will see more results when it comes to allowing more people coming in, but of

course, we are following very closely the advice from the scientists and we are not going to put at risk any of the results or what has been achieved

so far.

But of course, if you can say it is not only Iceland, we are all in this together and hopefully we will see good results in all the countries. We

want to have -- and the people in the countries we will have to have in Iceland because we miss the tourists, even though Icelanders are properly

now enjoying Iceland like never before, then the only thing which is different from it used to be is that we do not have all those tourists like

we had.

QUEST: Minister, good to have you with us tonight. I appreciate it. And you do win well -- we still have got a half an hour to go, but so far, you

do win the best scenery shot of the night award on our program, which of course, is exactly what you intended to do.

All right, we will continue. The European leaders are feeling very pleased with themselves having reached their deal. After the break, we'll talk to

the Swedish Minister. Sweden, how they view the deal, and whether the Frugal Four live on to fight another day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:30:00]

QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest. There is more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in just a moment. Disney's granddaughter will be with us on tonight's program.

Abigail Disney says she's opposed to the opening of the theme parks because it's putting the staff at risk. And the E.U.'s landmark passage of its

great recovery fund and its budget. Sweden's E.U. Affairs Minister joins me. But all that comes after we've had the news headlines, because this is

CNN. And here, news always comes first.

President Trump is set to expand federal law enforcement operations to two more cities on Wednesday. Chicago and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Officials in

both cities have criticized federal operations in Portland, Oregon. Chicago's Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she won't allow troops to, in her

words, terrorize her city. The U.S. Department Inspector General is investigating allegations against President Trump's ambassador to the U.K.

Woody Johnson. Johnson is accused of making racist and sexist remarks, and pushing to promote Trump's personal businesses in the U.K. The White House

has got no comment to the allegations.

Look closely, Qantas' last remaining Boeing 747 passenger jet left Australia for the final time on Wednesday. And it left a special tribute,

drawing its iconic kangaroo in the sky using its flight pattern. The plane headed to the United States, where no doubt it will go into the desert, and

it will be retired, which is a posh way of saying scrapped. For Qantas, it will be more -- replaced and retired in favor of more fuel-efficient

aircraft.

One day after the E.U.'s recovery plan has been agreed by the leaders, the head of the European assembly now is saying there's no guarantee it will

pass the assembly. And also, Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte says failure to agree would have jeopardized the single market. Hans Dahlgren is

the Swedish Minister for E.U. Affairs. The minister joins me from Stockholm via Skype. And Minister, the agreement was reached. Is Sweden and the

Frugal Four, are you with it, but with great reluctance, or are you with it, enthusiastically?

HANS DAHLGREN, SWEDISH MINISTER FOR E.U. AFFAIRS (via Skype): Well, I think we should be enthusiastic about a lot of things in this agreement. First of

all, that we have an agreement. It would really have to these four or five days being a bad sign if leaders went off to their capitals and said that,

no, we couldn't do it. This is a very serious crisis we have in Europe. The European economies need to recover. And this plan and this budget will make

it possible to give an extra effort to that recovery work in all our member states. So, I think on balance, it's really an enthusiastic reception that

we have given this deal. But we didn't like everything, of course.

QUEST: No, the grounds particularly you didn't like. And I'm wondering when the ground start being made and the loan start being made, and you get the

details about it, how much you're going to want to say you don't like what you're seeing?

DAHLGREN: Well, it depends, you know, every member state wants to have part of this money, will have to submit a recovery plan. And it's very important

that these plans really are following about this -- the purpose of this whole recovery action, that is to put money into investments, sound

investments, investments in green technology, investments for digitalization of Europe, investments to create jobs. And if that is the

direction forward, I think we will have no problems. But if the money is asked or to fill in holes here and there, that would not be the right

purpose for these funds.

[15:35:03]

QUEST: Do -- last night, we had a discussion about whether this was a breakthrough moment, another step on the road to Federation, a more United

States of Europe. Through the back door, but equally important, the mutualization and -- of debt and borrowing. How do you see it? Do you see

it that way?

DAHLGREN: No, I don't. And we are, I think we have it all made pretty clear that this is a unique situation. We have a unique crisis with the pandemic.

We have a economic crisis that is worse than we've seen since the 30s, I think. And therefore, we need to do this one-off action. That doesn't mean

that it is a step towards us system or a pattern for the future. It means that we can do this now, but there is no plan to do it anymore in the

future.

QUEST: Do you think that the ill-temper and bad blood that wrought between the North and the South can be breached. I'm sure, you know, everybody's

smiles now. But there's rancor in the south at the way countries like yours in the north, were seen not to want to help acceptance of the most

stringent circumstances, bearing in mind, what happened to Italy at the beginning of the pandemic?

DAHLGREN: Well, I understand that kind of reasoning, and there could speculation direct about that. I can also tell you that my prime minister

had a visit here in Sweden, just before the summit, by the president of the government of Spain, Pedro Sanchez. He also went to Paris to see President

Macron just before the summit, and I think they had very good talks, explaining to each other what were the motives, why we and the Frugal group

thought that those were better than grants. And we also listen to why the Spanish and the French and also the Italians had their views. And I think

that was a very sensible discussion that didn't have the kind of harsh words that sometimes were reported during the summit itself.

QUEST: Can we just sound briefly to Brexit. And the discussions and negotiations continue. It all sort of seems to have got pushed to one side.

But it does look as if the British government is helpful either, going to come out of the transition, whether they've got a deal or not. Where does

Sweden stand on this now, as really it is just five, six months to the -- to the end of the transition?

DAHLGREN: It is, and there's less time than that for an agreement to be made because that then needs to be ratified both in London and in Brussels.

Well, Sweden is really in favor of having an agreement, of course, with the Brits. The E.U. and the United Kingdom need to have a good relationship

also in the future when we have the final departure brought by the United Kingdom. Not at any cost, of course, not at any price. We cannot have a

situation where a member state leaves the European Union and get the better deal than they would have as a member of the European Union. But having

said that, we want as close on this broader relationship as possible.

And, you know, I think the leaders of the institutions and the Prime Minister Johnson when they asked in earlier in June for the negotiations to

intensify, that's exactly what is needed now. Our negotiator and the U.K. negotiate and need to put up their sleeves and do the work now to get an

agreement that can be acceptable with both sides.

QUEST: Minister, it is good to have you with us tonight, sir, I am grateful for your time. Thank you.

DAHLGREN: Thank you.

QUEST: Restaurants in Israel are open once again. The coronavirus restrictions were overturned by a judge. Frustrating -- frustration

mounting of a government handling of the pandemic. Oren Liebermann reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: This was forbidden at 5:00 Tuesday morning, but allowed by noon. It was forbidden Friday at sunrise,

but okay by sunset.

ITAMAR NAVON, CHEF & OWNER, MONA: If it wasn't so frustrating and sad, it would have been funny.

LIEBERMANN: Israel's Coronavirus restrictions have become a mixed plate of rules that sometimes change by the hour. Itamar Navon says he was

determined to open his restaurant, Mona, even if it meant open defiance of the latest government restrictions. He wants a long-term solution, not

patchwork rules and regulations.

NAVON: We're businessmen. We know how to work our business. We know how to calculate our models. But we need some answers. We can't have it that the

government plays with us all day. And it really feels like they're playing with us. And they're playing with each other instead of taking this crisis

seriously.

[15:39:58]

LIEBERMANN: The government instructed restaurants to close Tuesday morning, a decision that was reversed a few hours later in the Knesset, with some

lawmakers saying data showed restaurants were not a major source of infection. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has tried to show he's in

charge of leading the country through the Coronavirus crisis. But in the midst of a rise of new confirmed cases, public trust and Israel's longest-

serving leader has plummeted.

It's been a revolving door of protests outside the Prime Minister's residence here in Jerusalem. There's the Black Flag protests against

corruption, the economic protests against the government's handling of the coronavirus crisis. We've seen pro-annexation protests, anti-annexation

protests. And now, there's a restaurant owners protest to express their frustration with the government's handling of all of this.

Restaurant owners prepped meals from their surplus stock, food they say would have otherwise been thrown away because of the changing rules around

restaurants.

BARAK AHARONI, CHEF, ALENA: The idea behind it is that because the government and the state doesn't take care of the people, then instead of

just throwing food away, we can just serve it to people who cannot afford it to themselves in this situation that we're having right now in the

country.

LIEBERMANN: The confusion has spread beyond the kitchen, the special Knesset committee to deal with Coronavirus, started with a simple goal.

Let's give rules that the public is able to understand, said the committee head. But it ended up producing more confusion about what's open and with

what restrictions because of major disagreements between the Knesset committee and the government.

Much of the country, the beaches, gyms, pools and more, all stuck in this Limbo of limitations. Oren Liebermann, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: After the break, Walt Disney's great niece is with us, speaking out about the decision of the company today to open the theme parks in Florida.

Abigail Disney is calling for more worker protections and a wealth tax to fund COVID-19 relief. Abigail is with me after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: The heiress to the Disney Empire says she does not support the company's decision to start reopening the various theme parks in Florida,

as cases, of course, are spiking across the state. Abigail Disney is no stranger to calling out the family business. She has slammed Disney for

furloughing workers during the pandemic, at the same time, was doling out executive bonuses.

[15:45:06]

She's also spoken out against working conditions, and she's called the then CEO Bob Iger's pay, insane. She is the co-founder of Fork films and an

award-winning documentary filmmaker and philanthropist in her own right. And the great and the granddaughter of Disney's co-founder, Roy Disney.

She's with me now and joins me from Ireland. Abigail, it is lovely to have you with us this evening. I'm grateful.

Abigail, this idea that they shouldn't reopen the parks at the moment, if you assume and accept that they've done their due diligence and taken

scientific advice, and the advice says it's safe to do so, which is what the company would say, then what's wrong with it?

ABIGAIL DISNEY, CO-FOUNDER, FORK FILMS (via Skype): Well, if you assume those things, that's great. I just know that, at least, one of their unions

in Orlando and most of the unions in Anaheim, object to the idea that Disney is unwilling to do testing regularly to -- for Disney, to take

responsibility for the regular testing for their employees.

And you know, people have asthma, people have all sorts of comorbidities, they need a constant presence of testing, more than just taking

temperatures, more than just working with symptoms. This is really important. They want to protect, you know, cast members want to protect the

guests who come in, as well as themselves and their families.

QUEST: But if you take -- you know, you were against the furloughs, at the same time as executive bonuses, and now they're trying to do their best to

get the thing reopened again, because with that, of course, will be the ability to take back onto the books, thousands, if not tens of thousands of

workers. So, you can see why there's an economic imperative for company and worker to get open again.

DISNEY: Oh gosh, yes, I completely agree. It really has to get open as quickly as possible, within certain constraints. I objected to the

furloughs at the time they handed them out, partly, because they were happening at the same time the C-Suite was exec -- is protecting its

executive bonuses. And because I know especially in Florida, that when you get furloughed, you get your unemployment benefits, but a clock starts to

tick. And it's a 12-week clock in Florida.

And after 12 weeks, your employment -- unemployment runs out. So, the earlier they furloughed people, the more likely it became that their

furlough would outlast their unemployment. That was my objection to the furloughing. So, I can see how these looked like tensions against each

other. But the very first thing has to be the safety of their guests and their workers. And the jobs are important. This is an incredibly important

piece of the Florida and California economies, but people's lives have to come first.

QUEST: Do you think in the executive suite and the C-Suite in Disney, when they hear you say these things about the opening, and they think, oh, good

Lord, here she goes again? What is it this time? I presume if they do, you don't care?

DISNEY: Well, yeah, I'm so sorry that this puts me at odds with them. I really, really am. But what Disney is doing here is what businesses across

the board have been doing for too long. And I can't sit silence when profits run in front of workers and people, again and again and again. If

you are in the C-Suite, look upon an hourly worker at minimum wage, as your equal, as a human being with the same rights and dignity that you have, I

think you'd be very slow to send them off on furlough when you know they'll run out of their unemployment benefits before they get back to work.

Or to ask them to come in with asthma, with diabetes, with all sorts of pre-existing conditions, and not provide them the testing that they are

asking for.

QUEST: Right. This next question probably will come across as clumsy, but I think you know where I'm -- what I'm getting at, as the holder of the

Disney name, do you -- do you see it as part of your over -- greater responsibility? Because of what Disney stands for in all its

manifestations. You have the name. Do you see it as your responsibility to carry the torch when you see these issues arise?

DISNEY: Yes, I absolutely do. I have deep and beautiful memories of being at that park as a child with my grandfather, with my father, with my

family. And I remember how we thought about the people who work there, back then. And I remember very distinctly, being told by my grandfather, these

people work hard, and you need to respect them.

[15:50:06]

DISNEY: And so, those words really echo in my heart when I go there and see how disrespected workers are now.

QUEST: Abigail, it's lovely to have you on the program -- with us on the program. Thank you. Let's check in again as the summer wears on, and we'll

see how we're doing. Thank you. Abigail Disney joining me tonight. I appreciate it. In a moment, coins of all size are in short supply in the

United States. You may want to know why. I'll tell you after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: The U.S. -- the U.S. is facing a shortage of coins. Now that might sound remarkable. But if it's all because of the pandemic, people aren't

spending cash as such. And then, of course, with the pandemic, there's contactless payments, and in fact more shopping online, but it's led to a

shortage of the hard stuff. Don't (INAUDIBLE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) enough coins being distributed around.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Business to business, coast to coast, the nation is being shortchanged, with not enough quarters, dimes, nickels and

pennies to go around.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just kind of concerned about the fact that change is not available for businesses like this place here.

FOREMAN: U.S. mints make billions of coins each year, yet some businesses are so strapped for change. They've stopped taking cash all together,

raising alarms among the big money folks in government.

HON. JEROME POWELL, CHAIR OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE: Stores have been closed. So, a whole system of flow has kind of -- had come to a stop.

FOREMAN: Here's how it happened. When the pandemic hit, countless businesses shut their doors, including some that get a lot of coins from

customers. That stopped the flow to banks, so they could not restock the change drawers. And when the banks turned to the Mints, well, the Mints had

cut back production, too. So, the problem was compounded, especially for businesses that deal in a great deal of cash, and the roughly 25 percent of

Americans who use cash much more than debit or credit cards. The Retail Industry Leaders Association calls it a perfect storm.

AUSTEN JENSEN, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, THE RETAIL INDUSTRY LEADERS ASSOCIATION: Think about the restaurants, clothing stores, malls, movie

theaters, all that cash flow that was usually going into the system, ceased.

FOREMAN: The impact has been so profound. Some banks and businesses are buying change from whomever has it. Walmart told CNN we're asking customers

to pay with card or use correct change when possible if they need to pay with cash.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Mint is working overtime.

[15:55:06]

FOREMAN: For now, trade groups are urging people to dig out their old coins and get them into play.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got about supposed $73.00 and change I have rolled.

FOREMAN: At least until the pandemic, economy makes more sense.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow, you saved the day.

FOREMAN: Some businesses are rounding up or rounding down all of their cash deals now, but most say that can't go on indefinitely. They need a much

bigger change when it comes to change. Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: And a look at the markets, just to show you quickly, how we're doing. We're almost sessions high, just about, in fact, we might actually

be at the session high at 164. We've gained quite a few -- quite a few points since we started. And even look at the Dow 30. There you see

Pfizer's leading the Dow, it's up some five percent with a $2 billion deal from the U.S. government. The laggard is Goldman Sachs. A "PROFITABLE

MOMENT" will follow this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Tonight's "PROFITABLE MOMENT," as the search for a vaccine gets ever hotter on a societal issue, I think we're still not ready to face up to

what's truly happened. You're familiar with the seven stages of grief, shock and denial, pain and guilt, anger and bargaining. We seem to be at

all of these different stages. Depression that would turn onwards and upward. But when it comes to COVID, where are we in all of this? I don't

think we've yet reached. And you heard us talking about it tonight, those latter stages in grief, in crisis that lead us towards reconstruction,

hopeful and acceptance.

Because what the experts tell us is, even with a vaccine, the good days will not come back, if ever, 2019 has gone. And we won't see the likes of

it again for some time. And that's why when I look at where we are as a society, and the seven stages of grief, you have to say we're probably

still where -- somewhere disbelief, anger, denial, but we're still got some way to go before we realize change, fundamental change has finally arrived.

And that's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for tonight. I'm Richard Quest in London. Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, I hope it's profitable. The Dow

is up, the bell is ringing, the day is done.

END

END