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Hala Gorani Tonight
Events, Concerts, Filming Cut Back Due To Virus; More Than 113,800 Global Cases, 4,200 Deaths; Six U.S. States Voting On Super Tuesday Two; Kenyan Women Fights For Girls' Education. Aired 1-2p ET
Aired March 10, 2020 - 13:00 ET
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[13:00:20]
HALA GORANI, CNN HOST, HALA GORANI TONIGHT: Hello, everyone. Live from CNN London, I'm Hala Gorani.
Tonight, what is the right way to deal with coronavirus? As Italy copes with a total lockdown, I will speak to the country's deputy health minister
and the World Health Organization in just the next few minutes.
Then, CNN is live on the Greek-Turkish border where Greek guards are fighting what they call Turkey's dirty tactics. And desperate migrants are
caught in the middle as usual.
And Super Tuesday part two in the United States, Bernie Sanders is trying to make a stand in Michigan again and five other states are up for grabs
today. We will have a live report from the battleground states of America.
As the coronavirus spreads, governments are taking some extreme measures to stop it in its tracks. That's what we're seeing in Italy. As we speak, the
entire country is under a total lockdown; all of the former red zone travel restrictions now apply everywhere throughout the country. Public events are
cancelled, schools and businesses are closed and people are waiting in very long lines to stock up on groceries.
But is this unprecedented step going to work? I'm going to be speaking with the deputy health minister in just a moment, the deputy health minister of
Italy.
First, let's go to Ben Wedeman. He is in Bologna for us. Talk to us a little bit about what this lockdown feels like, looks like for ordinary
citizens in Italy.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hala, I think we need to qualify total lockdown. Because as you can see from behind me, it's not.
It is a series of measures aimed at limiting people gathering, so social -- public gatherings are forbidden, private and public sporting events are
forbidden, school and universities will be closed until the 3rd of October.
It is 6:00 p.m. here in Bologna. At this moment, all bars and restaurants must be closed. However, we were going around speaking to shopkeepers.
Shops don't really have clear guidance and they say they will operate as much as possible normally, until they receive some sort of directives from
the government.
The government has taken a series of measures, however, to try to limit the movement of people. For instance, in central Italy, 48 people were reported
to the police for attending a funeral. Funerals as well as weddings have been banned because they are events where people gather.
Now by and large, almost everyone we spoke to -- we spoke to a lot of people here today in Bologna -- they were supportive of these latest
measures. It's questionable how many people will actually abide by them. One woman told us that even though Italy's a democracy, the country should
follow the example of China -- a dictatorship -- where the government imposed very harsh measures.
And some politicians here are calling for even harsher measures: the closure of all stores, restaurants and bars, just leaving supermarkets open
so people can at least buy food to eat -- Hala.
GORANI: Yes, not a total lockdown but the measures you described are indeed extreme. Other countries including the U.K. are saying that they
won't be going that far, at least not yet. Certainly they don't have the same number of cases.
But where you are right now, just give our viewers a sense of what it would normally be like where you are, and what it is like right now, just past
6:00 p.m. Italy time.
WEDEMAN: This is the main piazza in Bologna. I will step out of view, and have Richard Harlow, our cameraman, sort of pan around. Normally at this
time -- this is the heart of Bologna -- there would be many people here, perhaps going to get an after-work drink, to meet with friends, to go to
restaurants.
People normally here eat around 8:00 p.m. They won't be able to -- in the restaurants and whatnot, they won't be able to do that this evening. But
nonetheless, people are gathered around. You don't really get a feeling that there's a sense of panic.
I think there is an appreciation that now is the time for extraordinary measures. This really is the largest crisis Italy has faced since the
Second World War, but people here tend to approach these things calmly. There's been no rush for toilet paper, people are going out to buy supplies
but you don't really get a sense of panic here -- Hala.
[13:05:11]
GORANI: All right. Well, good for them. Ben Wedeman, live in Bologna. Because there's literally no toilet paper left in my London neighborhood,
for some reason.
I'll be speaking to the Italian deputy health minister in just a moment. But first, this just in to CNN, the governor of New York is deploying the
National Guard to help contain what he calls a significant coronavirus outbreak. The cluster of cases is in New Rochelle, just outside of New York
City. CNN's Brynn Gingras joins me now from New York with more.
What does it mean that the National Guard is now being utilized and deployed?
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN U.S. CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Hala. I mean, this is a significant step that the governor is taking, and he said in the news
conference a short time ago, this is a matter of life and death.
Now, keep in mind the bigger picture. There's 170 cases of coronavirus in New York State, 108 of them are in Westchester County and most of those are
in New Rochelle. This one town, if you remember a couple weeks ago, where New York had one of its first positive tests come back, of an attorney who
lives in New Rochelle and commuted to New York City often for work. This is where that is happening, OK?
So the governor is basically calling it a containment area, a mile radius within this town. The National Guard is going to come in and help deliver
food to people who live in that town, they're going to help wipe down public places. And basically, they're just trying to shut down any big
gatherings -- temples, churches, places of worship, schools are going to be closed, some businesses are going to be closed.
The governor says he can't really contain people, right? People are going to be allowed to leave their town. But essentially wanting to shut down
this area to help contain this virus. Again, a drastic move but it's one the governor says he feels he had to make at the advice of public health
officials.
GORANI: And is this in an effort to sort of police movement in and out of this zone? What -- how do they enforce this restriction zone?
GINGRAS: Again, he said that he can't really tell people not to do -- not to leave this zone, he can't contain people. It has to be more about the
gatherings. So that's the effort right there, is to just shut down basically where people could go to in this town, in order to try to keep it
within the town's borders.
But of course, it's not just this town where we're seeing coronavirus. Westchester County has a large number of cases, that's very concerning to
the governor. So this is just one step in the effort, and they're going to bring a testing facility for that town as well. So it's really -- let's see
if this works, but this is definitely the first step and a very drastic step -- we haven't seen this at all in the United States as of yet.
GORANI: Right, indeed. Brynn Gingras, thanks very much for bringing us that breaking news. New York State, as Brynn was reporting there, deploying
the National Guard in order to help manage this coronavirus outbreak.
And in New York and in the United States as a whole, you have to remember, there are far fewer cases than a country like Italy. Pierpaolo Sileri is
Italy's deputy health minister. He joins me now from Rome.
Thank you, sir, for joining us if you can hear me. How do you enforce this lockdown, these restrictions on gatherings, weddings, cafes and restaurants
having to close at 6:00 p.m.? How is this enforced? Are people complying?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Give us a heads-up, please, for the --
(CROSSTALK)
GORANI: If you can hear me, Mr. Sileri, can you hear me? This is Hala Gorani --
PIERPAOLO SILERI, DEPUTY HEALTH MINISTER OF ITALY: I can hear you now, yes.
GORANI: -- in London. Oh, good. How is being enforced? Are people --
SILERI: Yes, thank you.
GORANI: -- complying with these restrictions? They're very drastic restrictions. How is it working for your country now?
SILERI: I mean, they are complying with that. And there is a difference between the north, where all these indications were done, few days ago, and
now in the center, in the south. But I'm in Rome right now and to be honest, we knew (ph) people are following our indications and everything is
OK in Rome.
I believe all -- even the other cities in Italy is going much, much better, day by day because we are informing you, we are telling you, we are
suggesting and explaining what's going on. And people are very, very responsible with this.
GORANI: Yes. And the president of the Lombardy region, Attilio Fontana, says although this is a necessary step, he believes this is still
insufficient, that there have to be more restrictions even. Do you agree? Why or why not?
SILERI: I -- I understand what Fontana is saying because Lombardy is the area that is the major outbreak of this virus. So I can understand what
he's saying, he wants to shut down everything. But right now, we believe that what we have done in Italy, with the entire area of -- red area, I
think will be more than enough.
[13:10:11]
But we need to see the new data coming from Lombardy. And in a few minutes, we will have the new data and I will check, obviously, the data tomorrow
and the day after tomorrow, and then we will decide altogether if more is needed there.
GORANI: But your big issue in Italy -- and it will be the case possibly in other European countries -- is the health service, the hospitals. We're
seeing really very, you know, tragic images coming to us from Northern Italy hospitals. In fact, one of the top health officials in Lombardy said,
it is one step away from collapse, even. What are your plans in case there is a collapse of the system?
SILERI: Obviously, the number of the admissions in Lombardy and the region close to Lombardy was very, very high. And obviously, the whole system is
under pressure. We are increasing the number in the ICU, the number of beds, the number of ventilator machines to give maximum support to our
doctors.
But I want to tell you something. I mean, this is not a problem of Italy. It's -- obviously, it's a problem of the north part of Italy, and probably
the entire Italy, where we are doing all these measures to mitigate the virus diffusion.
But as you can see from the map, there are a lot of cases in France, in Germany and are growing in U.K. I mean, this is a European country problem.
It's not just something that started in Italy. And probably --
GORANI: No, quite. But you have the highest number right now, that --
SILERI: -- even the patient zero was not in Italy.
GORANI: No, absolutely. Patient zero was in -- yes.
SILERI: We are -- we have -- we have --
GORANI: But let me ask you about the travel restriction --
SILERI: -- yes, and probably --
GORANI: Sorry, to jump in, but many people are asking me and asking you know, others around the world with regards to Italy, what if someone -- a
tourist, who is not Italian -- is inside Italy right now? What should they do?
SILERI: Right now, right now, obviously, I would not suggest travel in Italy, obviously. We shut down the entire country. We did reduce everything
here. So I believe the best thing to do is stay at home, unless you have to do travel for job or I don't know, for health problems or whatever. I would
not travel, I would not travel, obviously.
GORANI: You would advise people considering travel to Italy, not to go ahead with their plans?
SILERI: Not right now, to be honest.
GORANI: And people who are in Italy right now --
SILERI: I mean, I don't know for how long -- I will -- I mean, I believe right now, it's -- I mean, it's much better to avoid travels, even people,
if you come, you will find the museums that are closed, you cannot go to restaurant. I mean, we are living in a pretty rare moment where everything
is closed basically. And probably, we may need to increase all this over the next few weeks, if this doesn't work.
I mean -- and I believe, also, the other countries in Europe will do or should do the same. So right now, I would not suggest travel to Italy.
GORANI: What is your worst fear right now? You're the deputy health minister at a time of great crisis for your country. When you think of the
worst fear that you have, what is it at this stage?
SILERI: Sorry, I cannot hear you very well right now. Can you repeat it?
GORANI: What is now the worst fear for your country? If you look ahead at what could go wrong, you're the deputy health minister and it's a time of
great crisis for your country.
SILERI: Oh yes, I got it. Oh, I think the major fear is try to guarantee (ph) the best health service for all our patients. Not only for patients
with coronavirus that are increasing in the north -- and we'll see if our measures will stop in the center and south part of Italy -- but we need to
give health also to other diseases.
So for example, if we have hospitals full of coronavirus in our ICU, then I believe a heart attack or a brain (ph) (INAUDIBLE) or other disease needs
to be treated too. So our fear and our efforts should be to increase our potential all over in Italy, to avoid that somebody cannot be treated.
[13:15:01]
GORANI: We really appreciate you taking the time. I know how busy you are. Pierpaolo Sileri, the deputy health minister in Italy, we wish you the best
of luck during this great challenge.
SILERI: Yes, I don't know if I can add only -- thank you, thank you.
GORANI: No, go ahead.
SILERI: Oh, perfect. I want just to stress the fact that this is a European problem, probably a world problem. And I invite everyone to read
an editorial in "Lancet" a few days ago, the title is, "China Against Coronavirus: Too Little, Too Late." And they conclude that measures to
fight against coronavirus should be very, very strong including what we are doing now.
So I hope that our experience and the Chinese experience and our experience may be an example to the others, to take the same measures. And we believe
that this is the only way to mitigate a diffusion of this virus and avoid stress of national health systems.
So --
GORANI: All right, thank you very much.
SILERI: -- thank you for your attention and for your time. Thank you.
GORANI: Absolutely. And thank you for laying out the strategy in Italy. Pierpaolo Sileri, thank you.
And back to the U.S. now. Right now, at least 773 cases of the novel coronavirus are reported across dozens of U.S. cities, schools and
universities are closing, and businesses are implementing alternative work arrangements.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar spoke to CNN today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEX AZAR, U.S. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: I would encourage any individual who is elderly or is medically fragile to think long and hard
about going into any large gathering that would involve close quarters and potential spread --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, the coronavirus is upending daily life for millions of people around the world, and each nation is responding in their own way. So
what are they doing, what can we expect? Who's got potentially the most effective approach?
Dr. Margaret Harris is spokeswoman for the World Health Organization. Dr. Harris, I don't know if you had an opportunity to hear my interview with
the deputy health minister of Italy, Mr. Sileri, who basically was saying that the approach -- the very strong, strict, kind of widespread approach
that Italy is using is the one he believes that other European countries should also be using, to really mitigate as much as possible the effects of
this virus. Do you agree?
MARGARET HARRIS, SPOKESWOMAN, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: Good evening, Hala, and thanks for the opportunity to discuss this. Certainly, China has
shown us that stopping people moving, stopping mass gatherings, social distancing -- which is really like antisocial distancing because that's
keeping people apart -- works.
It's not easy, it's not fun, but it has been shown to be effective. It's extraordinary how quickly the numbers are coming down in China. This
morning, I was looking at a row of naughts in many of the provinces of China. They're not out of the woods yet. But what they've done there,
difficult as it was -- difficult for China and difficult for the people to do -- has achieved what we hope can be achieved in other countries.
GORANI: So this brings me to my next question because -- and then we'll get to the rate of progression in a minute -- but yesterday, U.K. health
authorities essentially said they didn't believe necessarily that limiting mass gatherings was the most effective way to combat the spread, in the
same way that Italy has done or China. Would you disagree with them?
HARRIS: So each country looks at their outbreak and looks at where they are. If you have what's called a cluster, that means an outbreak that's
clearly been spread by an individual or a couple of individuals, and you know, you've got eyes on where the virus is. You know all the people who
are in contact, and you've got a very clear means of isolating them and you've got good commitment by the community to do that, then you still are
in a position where you can contain that virus.
Ideally also, you get community commitment to avoid large gatherings. So yes, you start looking at what events you can postpone or not hold, some of
the decisions about not holding church services and so on -- the pope led by example in Italy -- can you do things, can you do telemedicine, can you
call ahead to your doctor and see if you absolutely have to go in that week. All these other strategies should be employed as well.
GORANI: All right, but not necessarily the case right now at least in countries like the U.K. Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta
gave us a good explainer about the rate of progression of this particular coronavirus versus, for instance, H1N1 in particular in 2009. This is what
he told our viewers just a few hours ago.
[13:20:03]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Just follow this graphic out, you're looking at Ebola, the coronavirus and H1N1. You can see how
there wasn't -- there was a flattened sort of curve when it came to coronavirus until this point here, where suddenly it got to the nine-week
mark and there were a lot of coronavirus cases.
But take a look what happens to H1N1. All of a sudden, it just spirals up and by the end of the first year, there were 60 million cases.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: All right, is that a concern for you that we might see with coronavirus, what we saw with what was called the Swine Flu in 2009, this
giant spike all of a sudden?
HARRIS: Well, so far -- and of course our experience really is mostly China, because they managed to flatten their curve early. So yes, they
started with slow curve, then it went up. And it looked like it was going to go exponential and go into that big spike and keep going.
But they took measures there, and that's why they flattened it and that's where it came down. So that's why our mission that went in there, came back
really awe-inspired, having seen that yes, despite a massive outbreak, they were able to reverse it.
And so that's why we're saying, this one's -- you know, it looks like the flu quite often in some of the ways it spreads, and yet it's stoppable. So
the flu, exactly as Dr. Gupta said, just goes, chung (ph).
GORANI: Yes.
HARRIS: But this one is stoppable. It's really in our hands.
GORANI: There was -- there was some criticism, though, of China and even of the World Health Organization early on, that this wasn't dealt with as
seriously as it should have from the beginning. Do you accept that criticism?
HARRIS: We get reports of outbreaks every day, so -- but certainly, when we heard about this one, we heard about a cluster of cases of pneumonia
around a live animal market, and yet -- 31st of December. And there were enough problematic issues there to raise the alarm and raise the signals,
and we had a team working over, you know, New Year's Eve --
GORANI: Yes.
HARRIS: -- New Year's Day. There's always sort of criticism. And honestly, criticism is great. We're a scientific organization, we need criticism to
do better. But I think actually, people worked incredibly hard, they identified the virus very early within a couple of weeks. They put the
genome out there for the world to see, got the test.
So this is actually unprecedented in human history. This has been a better response. I'm not saying WHO, I'm saying the whole world has really
responded a great deal better than we ever have before.
GORANI: All right. Dr. Margaret Harris, thanks for joining us from Geneva.
Still to come tonight, beaten, stripped, hit with water cannon and tear gas? Well, thousands of migrants are waiting at Greece's doorstep and
Turkey says Greece is shooting at them. Either way, these are how desperate migrants are being treated by the authorities. We'll be right back with a
live report, stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:25:15]
GORANI: Welcome back. Four years ago, Greece was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize as it welcomed refugees across its borders. Now, instead, it is
being accused of beating, stripping and shooting at migrants. Greece is denying the allegations.
CNN's Phil Black gives us an exclusive look at what is going on from the Greek side of the border.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just want to pass, only transit. We're asking --
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are the faces of people who can see their desperately held dream just before them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But neither help in Europe. You're just Europe (ph) --
BLACK (voice-over): Razor wire is all that separates them from Europe. But only a few meters away stands a large Greek security operation, determined
not to let that barrier fall.
This is the frontline of the crisis, triggered by Turkey's decision to open its side of the border to migrants. Thousands of people made for this
crossing, a tide of humanity washed up against its gate.
This video, shot on the Turkish side, shows migrants desperately trying to tear those gates down. And the Greeks say this video shows Turkish security
forces, working alongside the migrants, firing teargas canisters across the border at Green police and soldiers.
We've asked the Turkish government about this. So far, no reply. The Greeks say they're open about their intentions here, to use strong deterrents and
hold the line. We see them use water cannon, tear gas, overt displays of strength.
Turkey says Greece is also using live ammunition and has killed five migrants and injured others. Not true, says, Greece, insisting its
soldiers, like this one, are only using blanks to scare people away. But they carry live rounds as a last line of defense.
Some migrants also accuse Greek soldiers of rough degrading treatment when they're caught sneaking through less fortified positions along the border.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's difficult for me to understand why they use this aggressivity. They've beaten people like chicken, they take all clothes.
BLACK (voice-over): Greece denies its soldiers beat anyone or force people back into Turkey.
BLACK: For Greeks, this operation isn't just about stopping migrants, it's about stopping their old adversary, Turkey. They believe they're dealing
with a new type of warfare, a new threat, using migrants as weapons to cause chaos.
Greece says the migrants are only here now because Turkey wants them to be.
BLACK: Is Turkey using you to put pressure on Europe?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, no.
BLACK (voice-over): Migrants are no longer charging the fence in big crowds every day. But some are settling in, building camps up against the
border. For now, they can only gaze through the wire, beyond the soldiers and police, into the land they have risked everything to reach, while
Turkey, Greece and the E.U. argue over their fate.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: And Phil joins me now from the Greek side of the border. So where are all these migrants? I mean, you've described very well how they're
being treated. Where are they spending the night and waiting for any decision on whether or not they're allowed to seek asylum?
BLACK: Well, right now, Hala, as we speak, I'm going to paint the picture here a little bit and show you the actual border crossing gate. Just on
that side of the gate, there are, we believe, a pretty big crowd, somewhere in the hundreds, possibly thousands.
That's what the riot police that I'm standing here with now, tell us. They've moved back here, out of stone-throwing range, because the crowd was
getting a little fired up. And they're a little nervous, it was a little bigger than it's been in recent nights.
But essentially, the answer to your question, they are all over there, still in Turkey. Those who are determined to still wait in this region, who
are still hopeful, for whatever reason, that they might be able to get past these fortified Greek positions in order to get here. But as you saw in the
story, as you've seen here around me now, the Greeks are really determined not to let that happen. They don't want anyone to get in
And they've changed the rules here a little bit at the moment, so that if anyone does get in, they're not going to be allowed to apply for asylum.
There will be no asylum-seeking applications on Greek territory for new arrivals for the next 30 days or so. That's the rule, it's part of the
strong deterrent policy, if you like, that Greece is taking towards the pressure that is feeling most, really, at this point on the land border.
[13:29:56]
And so that's why they say -- they're not ashamed to say it, that they are using strong displays of force, whether it is teargas, whether it is paint
pellet bullets, whether it is soldiers who look very seriously -- serious, but are otherwise firing blanks. All of this, they say, is designed to make
the migrants feel uncomfortable, scared, if necessary, but it just wants them to go away to back off the fence and for this pressure to ease as soon
as possible.
But as I mentioned in the report, they very clearly, very strongly, put blame on all of this on the Turkish Government, Hala.
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: All right. Thanks very much, Phil Black at the border.
Still to come tonight. With major events canceled and people abandoning travel plans, we'll look at the economic impact of the coronavirus, coming
up.
And then the high stakes of Super Tuesday Two. Why U.S. Democratic candidate, Bernie Sanders, needs a big night to keep his presidential hopes
alive? We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Let's return to our top story this hour, the coronavirus pandemic. Markets have been very shaky today. After an early rally on Wall Street,
you'll remember, the biggest point drop in Dow Jones' history yesterday. We're bouncing back today, 270 points or so as we speak. Investors are
looking for more details from U.S. President Donald Trump about his economic plan for an economic stimulus to counter the impact of the virus.
Today's unsteady trading comes after those historic losses on Monday. And as you can see from the graphic there above the index, we were even briefly
in the red just a few hours ago.
Now, the impact from the coronavirus is reaching into all aspects of the economy. Major international events are now in question, musical concerts,
festivals are cutting back.
CNN Stephanie Elam joins me now from Los Angeles.
I mean, even big music festivals like Coachella are being postponed. This is going to have a major impact on the entertainment industry, presumably.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you're right, Hala. And to that point about Coachella is that we've actually reached out to Coachella to
confirm, whether or not, they're going to hold this big music festival that happens in April out in the California desert. And they haven't said
anything yet. But there are a lot of questions swirling around, are they going to cancel it? Are they going to postpone it trying to figure out if
some of these big acts are going to be able to postpone because think about it, they're probably touring is just a massive mesh of scheduling that has
to happen here. So that's one concern there.
Another big festival, the South by Southwest that happens in Texas. We saw companies pulling out of it finally South by Southwest has decided that
they're just going to cancel it all together there. So that's on that side.
But then you've got the side the aspect of all of these concerts, and sure, it's a lot of fun for us to go have a great time at a concert. But this is
also huge as far as revenue and how this can impact these cities where these concerts were supposed to happen.
[13:35:07]
Pearl Jam now saying that they are not going to hold their Canada and U.S. tour dates as planned. They were supposed to head out shortly, I believe,
in the next couple of weeks for their tour. They're saying right now they're going to stay home. Not surprising that the Seattle-based rock band
is going to do that.
So you've got Pearl Jam, you've got Madonna canceling the last two of her Madame X shows. Miley Cyrus is no longer going to Australia. Mariah Carey
is now postponing her Hawaii performance until November.
And Andrea Bocelli put out a video on Twitter basically saying that he is staying home. So that's just giving you an idea of some of the artists that
we found that are saying they're staying home because of the coronavirus.
And one other note to mention here about movies, "James Bond: No Time to Die," that movie was starting to come out. We knew it was about to come
out. People were already watching the previews in the theaters. Well, they've now moved that to November, that is when that movie is going to
come out.
Now, one of their big areas where they make a lot of money is Asia, they just didn't want to take a chance that they would put this movie out and
that no one would be out to see it. The movie was supposed to come out in April, April 10th, I believe. And now, it will come out closer to right
before the Christmas holiday, right after Thanksgiving here in the States. So it's just showing you the ripple effect that we're seeing here in the
entertainment industry.
And really, Hala, when you look at the financial numbers associated with this, this is going to cost a lot of money for these companies behind it
with either these postponements, especially in the times where we're seeing these cancellations.
GORANI: Yes, absolutely. And even some organizers laying off staff already.
Stephanie Elam, thanks very much. This is having a real effect on ordinary people. And we're only a few months into this outbreak.
Let's talk more about the coronavirus and the toll it's taking on daily life all around the world. Slavea Chankova is the healthcare correspondent
for The Economist. Thanks for joining us.
So these economic impacts, I mean, our correspondent, Stephanie Elam, in California is talking just about one's tiny little sector of the economy.
Well, not tiny, but just one, which is the entertainment industry. But we're seeing this replicated all over the world. And it's touching all
sectors of the economy. In your coverage of this, what has been the biggest impact so far?
SLAVEA CHANKOVA, HEALTHCARE CORRESPONDENT, THE ECONOMIST: So the biggest impact will come both to individuals and firms looking ahead. So people
will have to stay home either because they are sick or they have to take care of sick relatives or their children if schools are closed, so they
will have less money to spend. They may also postpone big purchases because they panic about the future.
GORANI: Sure.
CHANKOVA: And then businesses, on the other hand, will have employees out, they'll have less demand for their products, but still they'll have bills
to pay.
GORANI: Sure.
CHANKOVA: So as a result, they may start laying off workers or going bankrupt indeed.
GORANI: There's a very interesting graphic and one of the pieces you wrote that shows the effect of containment of the attempt to contain the spread
of the virus. So the blue curve shows the spread of the coronavirus without containment measures. But the yellow one shows with containment measures.
So it lasts longer. But it allows, I imagine, hospitals and health care facilities to at least cope. Because when you're in the Blue Zone there, at
the very top of the curve, you're overwhelming the health care system.
CHANKOVA: That's exactly right. And that's exactly what governments are doing right now just trying to flatten the curve, and not to be on the blue
scenario just to be spread out the number of infections over time so that hospitals are not completely overwhelmed, as we are seeing happening in
Italy at the moment. In that way, you can reduce the mortality from the disease.
GORANI: Yes. And it -- I mean, I guess a worst-case scenario is if some of these measures don't work, then you really see more patients than a
hospital can handle. What -- where does that leave us potentially?
CHANKOVA: That's the biggest fear because it's a -- it's an unknown virus. So we know it moves very rapidly. We see epidemics escalate very quickly.
And hospitals around the world are getting ready. They are expecting a huge inflow of patients. But we have to admit that some of them will find
themselves overwhelmed. And staff will be completely overwhelmed by so many patients, some of them might be out sick. So planning, right now, for this
will be absolutely essential.
GORANI: And as the deputy health minister of Italy was telling me earlier, he was saying don't forget, there are people who are sick with cancer, with
brain hemorrhages, who have heart attacks, who have healthcare issues that are a matter of life, or death and an emergency department. And if you're,
at the same time having to deal with everything else related to coronavirus, their lives are very much at risk as well.
CHANKOVA: Exactly. That's another huge danger. And that's why governments are acting so aggressively to try to limit the number of infections that
happen at any one time. Just to have people mix and mingle less.
[13:40:11]
We saw concert -- concerts and conferences are being canceled. Schools may have to close, people will be encouraged to work from home. So we have here
people in an office or on the metro at any given time.
GORANI: So I'm sure in your reporting you've heard, even among my friends, and some people in the journalism industry say everyone is overreacting.
This is just being hyped up by the media. The death rate is only two percent. The chance of catching it is low.
In your reporting -- does your reporting support any of that cynicism, of that questioning of the amplitude of the problem?
CHANKOVA: I think anyone who has any doubts, whatsoever, should look at what is going on in Northern Italy at the moment.
GORANI: Yes.
CHANKOVA: And this is really close to home because when it was happening in China, people had doubts about the news that we're getting out and so on
and so forth, and China was just out there. But what's happening in Italy is what will happen in just a few short weeks, all over Europe, and then in
America.
So this is the middle of flu season, so hospitals are already incredibly busy. And if you increase the number of patients who need acute care by
this massive amount, you can see what the results are.
GORANI: Yes. And we're only a few months into this and we're much longer into the ordinary flu season, so we don't know how it will evolve.
Slavea Chankova of The Economist, thank you so much for joining us, and for talking us through some of the big challenges that the health care system
will be facing -- systems, I should say, because it's all over the world.
Still to come, could Super Tuesday Two give Bernie Sanders the comeback he needs to keep up with a surging Joe Biden? We'll take you live to a polling
place in a critical U.S. state, just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Well, just hours from now, polls will be closing in key U.S. battleground states and we could get a much better idea if the democratic
race for the White House will be a long bruising fight or a relatively smooth road ahead for Joe Biden.
The former vice president is hoping to take a big step toward winning the nomination tonight. He's looking to build on his sweeping Super Tuesday
wins last week, while Bernie Sanders is counting on the six states voting today to reignite his progressive campaign. He's facing an uphill battle
though, in Michigan, which is Tuesday's biggest prize.
Let's go live to a polling place in Michigan. We're joined by CNN's Miguel Marquez with more on what voters are saying there. Miguel?
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, you know, Bernie Sanders canceled events in Mississippi and other places to come here to
Michigan. This is the biggest prize of the day, 125 delegates at stake, and both campaigns are feeling pretty confident about it.
[13:45:02]
Certainly, the Sanders campaign believes that they can basically put the rest of the campaign to bed tonight if they can beat Bernie Sanders. Well
here, remember, Sanders beat Hillary Clinton in a surprise here in Michigan, and it's something that really built his momentum back in 2016.
And Biden is hoping, sort of, for the reverse this time around.
We're at a polling center in Warren, Michigan, it's just north of Detroit. There are three precincts in this area. I can tell you, it has not been
exactly gangbusters. Several hundred people, throughout the day, voting at all three of these precincts.
What has happened here in Michigan is a change in the law allowing more absentee voters, so you have hundreds of thousands more absentee voters
than you had last time around that. This is the first time they've really done it this way in Michigan, and they expect to be counting votes so very,
very late in the night.
Polls closed for most of the state at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. There's a few counties that are in Central time zones, so that will close at 9:00 p.m.
Eastern. But clerks here and around the state saying that they expect to be counting votes until very late. Because one of the rules of this new law is
that they can't open those absentee ballots until today and start processing them. And that's a very, very long process.
So, Michigan, Washington State, Idaho, Mississippi, all those states voting today, and we will see at the end of the night, whether Joe Biden is any
further along towards sort of bringing this down to a -- the end essentially of the primary process and it would be very difficult for
Bernie Sanders to catch up if Biden has a big night tonight.
On the other, you know, other side of it, if Bernie comes back, Bernie Sanders comes back today, it could set up a very long flight -- long fight
until that Democratic Convention in Milwaukee. Back to you.
GORANI: All right. Thanks, Miguel Marquez in Warren, Michigan.
My next guest says the Midwestern States voting today could offer Bernie Sanders the best but possibly last chance to regain his footing.
CNN senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein, joins me now live.
So, Ron, Bernie won -- Bernie Sanders won in --
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.
GORANI: -- he beat out Hillary Clinton in that all-important state. He needs to win Michigan tonight, right?
BROWNSTEIN: Absolutely. I mean, you look at tonight, you've got Michigan which he won narrowly Washington, which he won Idaho, which he won
Missouri, which he lost by an eyelash last time. And if he can't prevail tonight, particularly in these Midwestern states, I think it is very hard
to find an argument for going forward.
Last time, Hala, he not only won Michigan, he also won Wisconsin, he not only came very close to Missouri, he came very close in Illinois. And all
on the backs of the same dynamic, he held down the margins among African- American voters. He didn't lose them by as much as he did in the south. And he won those blue collar white voters by big margins.
If he can't recreate that tonight when he says he's running a campaign of by and for the working class, really, what would be the argument at that
point to continue in a full scale campaign?
GORANI: And would your expectation be that if Bernie Sanders is unable to achieve this, that he would then bow out?
BROWNSTEIN: No. I don't think he will leave the race. But, you know, we do have examples of candidates who kept in to make their point but kind of
toned down the criticism of the opponent. I keep thinking about, for example, Jesse Jackson, who just endorsed Bernie Sanders this weekend in
Michigan, he kept running as Michael Dukakis in 1988, long after it was clear he wasn't going to be the nominee, didn't win any more states, ran to
make his point didn't really kind of press the argument that he did against, you know, earlier in the race.
Look, what we have seen in the last few weeks is the most rapid movement we have ever seen, I think, any presidential primary. I've covered them since
1984. This is my 10th one. And, you know, we -- in those first couple states, when Sanders was doing well in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada, he
was still winning between a quarter and a third of the vote.
And the question was, if they feel consolidated, could he expand? And so far, the answer is not very much. And if that is still true tonight, I
think this will be all over but the shouting.
GORANI: Right. Well, you did -- the centrist candidates certainly quickly made a decision to support Joe Biden against Bernie Sanders when he
performed well early on.
But I want to ask you about -- first of all, there are a couple of polls, and I know we don't put much stock in polls anymore after some of them got
the predictions wrong in 2016, nationwide, first of all. Biden, Bernie Sanders do beat out Trump in terms of favorability.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
GORANI: So that's nationwide, but that's not the voting system in America. You need to win the battleground states.
But let's look at Michigan. This is a Monmouth Poll, which by the way, also did not accurately predict 2016. So should we put any stock in this?
Because this Monmouth Poll is also giving Biden ahead of Donald Trump for Michigan which is an important state to win.
[13:50:04]
BROWNSTEIN: Well, first, yes, I don't completely discount them. The polls got the national result right last time, and they basically had Hillary
Clinton winning by about as much as she did nationally. They were consistently wrong in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan really for the
same reason, because more non-college whites showed up than they expected, and they obviously voted for Trump in big numbers.
To me, the important part of what we're seeing in the national polling is that in the Quinnipiac Poll that I think you cited there, where Biden is
now up again 11 against Trump, that is coming in the same poll where two thirds of Americans are calling the economy excellent or good. That is just
unprecedented. We've never seen the kind of resistance Trump faces from voters who are satisfied with the economy.
And now, of course, with the coronavirus, he faces the threat that the economy will slow down in the share of Americans who expressed satisfaction
with it will decline as well.
Having said that, you're absolutely right. It is -- it's not going to be easy for Trump to win the national popular vote, his approval rating is
rarely exceeded 45 percent, it's under 45 percent in this round of polls, but that doesn't mean he can't squeeze out a couple states that he would
need to hold the Electoral College and particularly Wisconsin and Arizona.
I think Michigan actually is quite tough for him to hold against Joe Biden in particular, as well as Pennsylvania. But if the Democrats win back
Michigan and Pennsylvania, hold all the states that Hillary Clinton won in 2016, they still have to win one more. And that last one, whether it's
Wisconsin, Arizona, or Florida, is a lot tougher than the first 22.
GORANI: But I wonder even if the economy slows, I mean, you can already, from the Trump administration in the White House see what the strategy is,
is to blame the Democrats, to blame the media for inflating the coronavirus when it's really not that big of a threat and it's a hoax. And these are
things that we've been hearing when other problems have been highlighted by the media.
Do you think that's going to work with his base? Because it -- because it seems like they -- he is convincing the Trump voter base with these types -
- with this type of messaging.
BROWNSTEIN: Right. And the key word there is with his base. Yes, it does work with his base, but his base is not enough to reelect him even in the
swing states, I don't believe.
He needs a few points of voters who have doubts about him personally, who don't like the way he comports himself as President, but are satisfied with
the results he's delivered, particularly on the economy.
And I think that if, you know, there's no question that a majority of Americans have consistently said they don't believe he's honest. They don't
admire his character. They don't like a lot of the way he behaves as President, but their 401(k) is up, if they're -- if they're white collar
and their wages are up all across, you know, kind of the occupational spectrum, so they're not necessarily willing to rock the boat.
If the boat already looks like it's developed a leak, I just don't think the bass is quite enough. He needs voters who are ambivalent about his
behavior, but satisfied with his results. And if you're voted who are satisfied with his results, that leaves him even closer to the margin that
he needs to win a second term.
GORANI: All right. Ron Brownstein, thanks so much. Always appreciate talking to you. We'll be right back --
BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.
GORANI: -- on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Well, girls in Kenya are often forced into marriage, but one woman is fighting to show that all Kenyan girls deserve to be educated and to be
free.
[13:55:00]
CNN's Farai Sevenzo has her story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FARAI SEVENZO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): (INAUDIBLE) village is a place of great calm, situated near the Masai Mara in Narok
County, Southwest Kenya. The pace of life is a slow one. And gender divisions are very clear. Boys herd cattle, hunt, and learn to be men.
Girls collect firewood and water, cook and clean, and prepare for marriage.
And for a long time, education was an automatic part for the boy child. For Faith Cherop Kipkemoi who came from a family of 15 children, education was
too costly for her family. And they had another reason not to send girls to high school.
SEVENZO (on-camera): If girls went to school and they finished and they were 13, what are they expected to do?
FAITH CHEROP KIPKEMOI, FOUGHT FOR EDUCATION: To be married.
SEVENZO: At 13?
KIPKEMOI: Yes.
Most of them 13, 14, 16. When I saw all my sisters got married, it was like all our dreams are coming to be shattered. And I had to stood out by myself
and prove them that is also girls need to be educated.
My parents didn't allow me to go to school so they always tell me you have to do home chores. Why are you going to school? School is only meant for
boys.
I convince them by waking up very early in the morning like 3:00 to 4:00, that will allow me to finish my chores so that I can rush to school.
SEVENZO (voice-over): At first, Faith's father didn't agree.
TEXT: For us, we wanted girls to get married.
SEVENZO: Faith's father now has 20 granddaughters.
TEXT: I wish they all go to school if they get a chance like Faith did so that they can excel.
SEVENZO: As girls like Faith pined for the freedom education offers and opportunity arose, a Canadian charity called We created a program in the
area. We charity is a global organization founded with a mission to end child labor.
Having graduated just months ago from a We college in the field of tourism, Faith takes the time to return to her old school. It provides everything
from uniforms, to books, to teachers in a partnership deal with the community. The organization started a secondary school where faith was
given a place, enabling her to continue to high school education.
In this rural population of over 6,000 people, more than 900 kids are now in schools built by We charity. This despite the distances and other
obstacles.
In a seasonal rains and flooding, this is their school run.
KIPKEMOI: Efficiently now during the rainy season, when the roads are flooded, I can see parents they are lifting their children from this side
to the other side so that they can cross the water and go to school. This really makes me happy because this is what I really wanted to see in my
community.
SEVENZO: Farai Sevenzo, CNN Freedom Project, Narok, Kenya.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, tomorrow's the fourth annual My Freedom Day. CNN partners with young people to act against modern-day slavery, and you can share your
story with the #myfreedomday.
I'm Hala Gorani. I'll see you next time. Amanpour is next.
END
