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More New Coronavirus Cases Confirmed Outside of China than Within; Iran's VP of Women, Family Affairs Tests Positive; Total Number of Cases in Italy Jumps by Third in Day; South Korea Reports 500+ New Cases Thursday; U.S. Confirms Its First Case of Unknown Origin; U.N. Says Escalation in Northern Syria Having Catastrophic Humanitarian Consequences; Netanyahu Leads Polling Ahead of 3rd Election in a Year; Global Stocks Fall in Coronavirus Fears; Trump Downplays Risk to Americans as Very Low. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired February 27, 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]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This translates as native channels of transmission in France.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: China no longer the greatest coronavirus concern. The rest of the world now the key priority for the W.H.O. as

another Iranian cabinet member tests positive.

Then, the U.N. warns of catastrophic humanitarian consequences in Syria. 134 civilians killed this month alone.

And --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Bebe is like a Mercedes. Once you get used to riding in a Mercedes, it's difficult to downgrade to a Subaru.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: He will be excused for feeling a little deja vu as Israel gears up for yet another election.

Well, a very warm welcome. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson. It is 7:00 in the evening here in Abu Dhabi.

And the big picture this hour, the number of new novel coronavirus cases outside of China in one day is greater than the number of new cases within

it. South Korea alone reporting more than 500 new cases today and now Iran's state media reporting that the country's Vice President of Women and

Family Affairs has tested positive for the virus. She was seen in photographs sitting in close presence of the President as recently as

Wednesday.

Let's bring in the team for you. Jomana Karadsheh tracking the developments out of Iran and across the Middle East region. Ivan Watson is in Seoul

where a third virus case is being linked to a U.S. military base in South Korea. And Ben Wedeman is in Milan, Italy, the epicenter of the European

outbreak.

But, Jomana, let me start with you. The news that Saudi Arabia is closing its holy sites to foreigners traveling from affected areas. Just the latest

example of how concerned authorities are in this region of the Gulf and Middle East about how this thing could spread out of control. The petri

dish, if you will, in this region, of course, is Iran.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Becky, you look at what Saudi Arabia is doing. This is a country that has no cases reported so far

but they are not taking the chances. They have announced they are suspending issuing visas for pilgrims who will be visiting the holy shrines

in Mecca and Medina. Quite an extraordinary step here showing how seriously they're taking this situation.

So you've got Saudi Arabia that has no cases doing this. You've got other countries, for example, like Kuwait and Bahrain and Iraq where you have a

number of cases, and they're also putting their own measures in place to try and contain the outbreak, to try and stop it from spreading more cases

being reported today out of Kuwait. When it comes to Iraq, a concerning development in Baghdad. One more case bringing the total to six people so

far who have tested positive.

Now all these cases, Becky, they all can be traced back to Iran. It is people who have visited Iran. That is why there's a lot of concern in this

region about what is actually being done in Iran. On the one hand, you've got the government there saying that they have put these measures in place.

You know, one major move by the government is that they've announced they are not going to be holding Friday prayers in certain cities where there is

an outbreak.

But at the same time, you've got people concerned. Whether in the region or inside Iran as we're hearing people voicing their concerns on social media

outside of Iran and some people that CNN has been able to reach. They feel that their government is not taking this seriously enough, that it's not

doing enough, despite what they're saying about it being under control. So you know, you've got the government saying at this point, still they have

no plans to quarantine any cities, and they're not closing down the shrines in the city of Qom. You know, these are the Shia holy shrines.

There they have shown images on state media of disinfecting the shrines but, you know, there were calls for, you know, closing them off to

visitors. But they seem to be still open.

[10:05:00]

So a lot of concern about how Iran is handling it especially as you see the numbers growing by the day. So far 245 cases confirmed. And 26 deaths,

Becky, in Iran alone.

ANDERSON: Jomana Karadsheh on the story in the sort of wider Middle Eastern Gulf.

Ben, authorities across Europe have been trying to balance measures to ensure this thing doesn't spread with warnings not to panic. How are

Italian authorities coping?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they seem to be coping as well as they could under the circumstances. Of course, the number

of people infected with coronavirus continues to increase. Today it's 528. It was 400 yesterday. At this point, 14 deaths.

And what we're seeing really is increasingly concern about the economic impact of this virus. For instance, the tourist federation here says that

they are foreseeing losses as high as 5 billion euro for the year. There's been a 40 percent drop in hotel bookings in Italy as a whole. Here in

Milan, it's a 70 percent drop. But surprisingly, speaking to ordinary people here, there seems to be a confidence that this will pass. That this

nightmare will come to an end.

And we got to the very edge of one of those red zones where tens of thousands of people are under orders to stay in their towns. And just next

to that red zone, the situation, the atmosphere seems to be surprisingly level-headed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN (voice-over): At this point, the red zone. Without special permission, you can neither enter nor exit. The Italian authorities

cordoned off these zones, home to more than 50,000 people, after the appearance and rapid spread of coronavirus within the last week.

But just five minutes down the road, in the village of Secugnago, Daniele Disingrini and his family are out for a morning stroll. He works at a

company that installs home alarms, but the company is inside the red zone. The coronavirus, he worries, is more than just a health hazard.

We're already paying a high price, Daniele says. Stores are closed. Businesses are closed. There will be more suffering from the economic

impact than from the virus itself.

His wife Francesca just wants out of the house. Living tightly together is bad for you, she says. He's used to moving around, going to work, not

spending much time at home.

Half the stores in Secugnago are closed here because they're either owned or staffed by people now stuck in the red zone. Gaudenzio Sozzi was the

town's mayor for 15 years now retired. Like many on the fringes of the red zone, he's keeping a cool head.

We need to confront the problem in a rational manner, he says. There's no point in getting overheated or going crazy.

Many of the coronavirus patients are being treated here at Milan's Luigi Sacco Hospital, set up decades ago to treat an earlier scourge,

tuberculosis.

Dr. Giuliano Rizzardini runs a department of infectious diseases and worked before in Africa during an outbreak of Ebola. Are the red zones effective,

I asked him?

It's still too early to say. We still haven't found patient zero, he says, referring to the person who brought coronavirus to Italy. It's the first

time something like this happens in Europe. It's a virus that spreads easily, made more complicated because it comes in the same season as the

flu.

This emergency is only just beginning.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN: And we spoke this morning with one of the people, a woman inside the red zone. And she said that they are getting down to routines. That her

daughter, her 15-year-old daughter is studying, taking sort of online courses with her high school. That they're going on long walks in the

countryside, and they're doing a lot of cooking. But she said that when that -- the red zone system was first put in place, there was a lot of

fear, and it was like living through a disaster movie -- Becky.

[10:10:00]

ANDERSON: Ben Wedeman is in Italy for you. Ben, appreciate that. Thank you.

Ivan Watson is in Seoul. Where, Ivan, a third virus case has now been linked to a U.S. military base in South Korea. What's the atmosphere?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, for one thing, the military alliance, U.S. and South Korea, have announced that they will

be postponing their military exercises indefinitely. And that's perhaps understandable when the South Korean military says it has close to 10,000

troops in quarantine right now and at least 25 confirmed cases of coronavirus across all four branches of the military.

As you mentioned, there is a third case linked to a U.S. base because there are some 30,000 troops scattered across different bases here in South

Korea. In this case, this is a South Korean employee of a base called Camp Carroll. And that is where a 23-year-old U.S. soldier worked who was

confirmed to have coronavirus yesterday and is now in isolation at another base, Camp Humphreys right now.

So both militaries now dealing with this health threat even as the broader Korean society is struggling to deal with this. We've now got some -- more

than 1,700 confirmed cases in Korea as a whole. That number grew by more than 500 cases of coronavirus in just 24 hours with 13 people who have died

as a result of this new disease.

Approximately half of the cases all stem from this southern city called Daegu. And that is an area where we're now hearing officials say -- the

hospitals are so strapped that they're starting to move some of the patients here to hospitals in Seoul to help treat some of them. Now, I

spoke with a number of residents there. They are not describing signs of panic. Take a listen to what one Korean man had to say to me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SON YOUNG-HA, DAEGU, SOUTH KOREA RESIDENT: There are fewer cars in the whole city. There were people in restaurant. There a lot of (INAUDIBLE)

than before. But people seem to be careful of the situation. And moreover, social media shows a lot of citizens lining up in the morning to buy masks

and groceries. I think, as I say, if they already masks sold out, (INAUDIBLE) or groceries, et cetera. A lot of problem yet. Because even if

you go to a market or convenience store in front of the house, there's no shortage of food.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Now this man says he still goes out to walk his dog every day. None of the people we spoke to who live in Daegu plan to leave or flee any

time soon -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Ivan Watson is in Seoul. And that is a wrap of our global coverage for you.

We want to get to the U.S. Health authorities there warn a case reported in California could be a game-changer. A patient in Sacramento is being

confirmed infected but we don't know how or where the person got it. It may be the first case in the country of what's known as community spread of the

covid-19, the coronavirus.

Still present, Donald Trump is downplaying the break. Here's how he reacted to our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gutpa when he was pressed --

when he pressed the President on it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Flu has a fatality ratio of about 0.1 percent. This has a ratio of somewhere between 2 and 3

percent. Given that --

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We don't know exactly what it is, and the flu is higher than that. The flu is much higher than.

GUPTA: There is more people who get the flu but this is spreading and it going to spread maybe within communities. That's the expectation. Does that

worry you?

TRUMP: No.

GUPTA: Because that seems to be what worries the --

TRUMP: No, because we're ready for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Dr. Sanjay Gutpa joining me now from Washington. I just wonder as you reflect on that exchange whether you feel a sense of confidence or

not about what U.S. authorities are doing to ensure this thing doesn't get out of control.

GUPTA: Well, that's a very good question, Becky. And I don't think it inspires a lot of confidence because these are some basic numbers that

we're talking about. Prior to the exchange, the President was making that the comparison between flu and coronavirus. And there are some similarities

in that they both can be transmitted very easily. They're both very contagious. That's one important part of it. But the other important part

you have to know is how lethal is the pathogen.

[10:15:00]

With flu, it's about 0.1 percent. 0.1 percent of people who contract this flu virus end up dying from it. With coronavirus, Becky, according to some

of the larger studies, it's closer to 2 percent. That's 20-fold higher. So the idea you would sort of think of these as sort of interchangeable in

some ways, I think does not inspire a lot of confidence. Because you have to plan for this in a completely different way given that fatality ratio.

These are, you know, basic facts, and I'm sure there were a lot of people on that stage who, obviously, know this. Some of them are very qualified

and have written some of the literature on this. But the President, I think, is learning some of this as we go along.

ANDERSON: Yes. One of the people on the stage of course was Vice President Mike Pence who Donald Trump has put in charge of this taskforce. The health

and human services secretary, the man on the right of your screen if we can bring that up, says he is still the chairman. But having Pence on board

gives him the, quote, biggest stick one could have in the government. By the way, Mike Pence heavily criticized for how he handled Indiana's HIV

outbreak in 2015 when he was the state's governor.

This tweet Mr. Trump wrote in 2014 is coming back to haunt him -- it has to be said. He criticized then President Obama for appointing an Ebola czar

with no experience.

Look, essentially Donald Trump downplaying the virus moments after an HHS official said we could expect to see more cases in the U.S. America has

this first case without immediate links to worldwide travel or related illness. This is a case in California. What is the significance of that.

And if you could just sort of try to weed out fact from fiction, as it were, to ensure that we are staying honest on this.

GUPTA: Yes, absolutely. I think, you know, Becky, nobody wants to be alarmist here. Stick with the facts and the truth here. I think you're

absolutely right. Why this patient in California is so significant is because all the other patients had either traveled to an area where we know

this coronavirus was circulating or they had come in close contact with somebody who was known to be infected or they came from that cruise ship.

This person, we don't have any relevant travel history. They didn't steam have traveled to that area -- to any of those areas. They didn't seem to

have come in contact with anybody that was infected. So it's the first possible evidence of community spread. Which basically means, look, the

virus is now spreading among people in a community. Most people probably don't know they have it. They don't have any kind of signs or symptoms of

the disease but that means the virus is starting to take hold.

And I should point out, that even though the President said last night it wasn't inevitable this was going to happen, public health officials have

been saying for some time, it's not a question of if. It's a question of when. In fact, Becky, I spoke to the head of the CDC last week, Dr. Robert

Redfield about this and said, where is this going, for example, in the United States. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ROBERT REDFIELD, DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL: This virus is probably with us beyond this season or beyond this year, and I think

eventually the virus will find a foothold and we'll get community-based transmission. And we need to start to think of it in the sense like

seasonal flu. The only difference is we don't understand this virus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA: So Becky, I mean you know, again, public health officials being clear on this. That this is going to gain a foothold. It's going to be here

even beyond this season. And at the same time, the President is saying this could all go away in April. It's not inevitable that that could happen. So

you know, you are hearing and the public is hearing two very different points of view with regard to where coronavirus is going to head.

ANDERSON: Sanjay Gutpa in the house for you. Always a pleasure, Sanjay, thank you.

I'm just taking a look at the Dow Jones industrial average. The big board - - if we know anything, it's that the U.S. President will be keeping his eye on what happens today on the stock markets. And you can see there, it's

down 650 points. This is the sixth straight day of slumps on this market and markets around the world. This is a real concern. We've talked about

the fact that these markets have been -- what some will describe in the know as a bit fizzy. There's been some talk for some time that these may be

ripe for a drop. But certainly these concerns about the coronavirus now really infecting these global markets. And this the picture just an hour

and a half or so into the trading day in New York.

Well, coming up, the fighting in Syria's Idlib province is bad, and it is ferocious. And one by one, it is killing the almost 3 million under siege

there. We're going to get you the very latest up next.

[10:20:02]

Plus -- Israeli voters will once again select their country's leaders for the third time in a year. Will it work? I.e. will they get a result this

time? We'll take a look at that after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Welcome back. It is -- what is it? 21 minutes past 7:00 in the UAE. I'm Becky Anderson. This is CONNECT THE WORLD from our Middle East

broadcasting hub.

Right now a deadly assault is unfolding in what is meant to be Syria's final battle. But that threatens to explode into what is a whole new front.

You are looking at some of the latest pictures from Idlib. Ten hospitals -- sorry let me put that again. Ten schools and a hospital obliterated this

week. An aid group says in those attacks, at least 21 people were killed, 9 of them were children.

Well, that is as new U.N. figures show that 134 people have been killed in the aggression so far this month, and this weekend, we will see a Turkish

deadline. That could put Turkey and Russia in direct military confrontation.

Well, CNN's Arwa Damon spent years on this story seeing the suffering firsthand. Arwa, you understand the complexities like nobody else does. Do

you just break down what we understand to be going on, on the ground.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you do have that deadline that Turkey has issued having issued it weeks ago following the

killing of its own soldiers. Basically an ultimate im to the regime of Bashar al-Assad, telling him to pull his troops back to the previously

negotiated border that was meant to create what was ostensibly a de- escalation zone inside Idlib province. Although it was historically a de- escalation zone in name only.

What we have been seeing over the last few weeks is really this significant intensification over the last few months actually, by the regime, by the

Russians to systematically bomb villages and towns to try to clear them out of civilians. And in doing so, consistently targeting the civilian

population.

Look, Russia has been maintaining that it is fighting terrorists. It says that it does not want to negotiate a cease-fire because that, it claims,

would be capitulation to terrorism. But if you look at what is being targeted, you constantly see the targeting of the civilian population.

On Tuesday, you had ten hospitals -- sorry, Becky, ten schools that were targeted on the same day. A lot of these schools weren't actually open for

class. They had displaced families living in them. So they were very crowded. And you constantly see images coming out of Syria showing the

intensification of these bombings. Now they're even bombing Idlib city.

[10:25:00]

We saw heartbreaking images coming out of there.

Now as for Turkey's deadline, when Turkey issues this sort of ultimatum to the regime, we don't actually at this stage now know how much military

muscle Turkey is going to want to or even be able to put behind that. It has significantly increased its military presence inside Syria. It has gone

and switched to a certain degree its mission inside Syria from merely observing what was meant to be this de-escalation zone to actively

supporting some of the more moderate rebel groups on the ground. To allow them to perhaps attempt to at least push back Syrian regime forces.

But the bottom line is, to date, the Turkish presence inside Syria has not significantly altered the calculus on the battlefield nor has it, at this

stage, stopped the assault on the civilian population. Although many, when you speak to them in there, Becky, will tell you they believe that Turkey

right now is the only country able and willing to try to do something to save them. But Turkey is, for all intents and purposes, in this alone.

America, other European nations, others who claim to condemn the violence that's happening inside Syria, they're not doing anything to stop it.

ANDERSON: So President Erdogan said he would be meeting with his Russian counterpart a week from today. But the Kremlin coming out earlier

suggesting perhaps not. And if that falls apart, then we are just two days away from what is a huge deadline in which Turkey has said it will go all

in. Have a listen to what the President's spokesman told me a few days ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Let me be very clear. The deadline is the end of February, correct?

IBRAHIM KALIN, TURKISH PRESIDENT SPOKESMAN: That is true. The deadline is the end of February. That's why we are increasing our diplomatic efforts,

but also, we're keeping our military presence strong on the ground.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: And clearly, Arwa, it is unclear at this point what any military effort would involve. But what we do know is it is going to be even worse

for the civilians trapped in this nightmare now. Nearly a million displaced since December. It is cold. It is miserable. People are dying and that

includes children. And it doesn't matter how many warnings we hear from diplomats, from politicians around the world. This thing seems to have a

life of its own. Nobody is able to stop it.

DAMON: And if you ask people inside Syria, Becky, they'll say that -- or at least they believe that no one is actually willing to stop it. I mean

they are utterly flabbergasted that the world has been watching what has been happening to them for nine years. And is now watching what is being

described as potentially the worst chapter in Syria's already very bloody, very twisted, very painful history.

I mean, the U.N.'s emergency coordinator if I'm not mistaken in an interview with you had said that if the situation stays as is, Idlib is

going to turn into the world's biggest pile of rubble strewn with the bodies of a million children.

What has happened throughout the course of the last nine years in Syria, and especially now when we look at what's happening in Idlib, is that it is

very much not about the civilian population. Not about trying to save civilian lives. But about this broader power struggle for control over

Syria with all of the outside players also staking their claim in this shrinking territory that now has basically come into focus in Idlib

province.

The Russians are adamant that this is going to somehow come to an end and that it is going to end up back in the control of the regime. Turkey does

not want to see that take place because it is fearful of this growing build-up of a desperate population along its own border.

The two sides who, in the past, have negotiated ceasefires, although they never really held for that long. Right now seem unable to even come to a

basic understanding, even in their lower than ministerial level conversations that are taking place. So, yes, we're expecting some sort of

movement in the beginning of March. Perhaps a meeting between Erdogan and Putin.

But at this stage if we look at all the different dynamics, it does not necessarily look like that is going to result in anything concrete. So you

have the civilian population that is being crushed into a shrinking space. And even when they think they're safe, Becky, even when a family thinks

it's gotten to a school that's a shelter and it's safe, they're not.

[10:30:00]

ANDERSON: It was Mark Lowcock you were quoting. And that was an interview that I conducted with him back on the 17th of February. Nothing has

improved. Everything on the ground has gotten worse since then. Arwa, thank you.

Well, it may seem like deja vu in Israel this Monday voters head to the polls for the third time in a year. Yes. In the April and September votes,

neither of the top vote-getters could form a coalition government. But unlike those votes, this time Mr. -- the Prime Minister, Benjamin

Netanyahu, is under indictment for corruption. The latest polls show that he is ahead of his main rival Benny Gantz but he is still short of the

seats needed to form a government.

We went there for round one and for round two, so it only seems fair to go back for Israeli election 3.0.

CONNECT THE WORLD will be bringing you two special coverage shows from Jerusalem so do tune in this Sunday and Monday, 7:00 p.m., Abu Dhabi time.

We are following major fallout around the world from the coronavirus crisis. Markets taking a nosedive yet again. We'll be live at the New York

stock exchange for you, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Let's get you more on our top story, the spread of the covid-19. The W.H.O. says there are now more new cases outside of China than inside.

Countries like Iran, South Korea and Italy are of particular concern.

And all of this taking a toll on investor confidence once again. Global stocks into their sixth straight day trading in the red. And look at this,

the Dow just off its day's lows which were over 900 points but this is not good news. Not good news for those who are buying the market, of course.

For those who are selling the market or shorted the market, it's probably excellent news. But that's not the story of the day. The story of the day

is we're more than 3 percent down.

Julia Chatterley joining me live from the New York stock exchange. And if we were talking about this market being a bit skittish anyway on day one,

day two and day three, by day six, it does seem that there really is some substance to this concern about the coronavirus. Not least from these big

U.S. companies who are now providing some information about how this virus may affect the bottom line going forward.

JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR, FIRST MOVE: You're absolutely right, Becky. There's one thing driving these markets, quite frankly, and

that is uncertainty. Even our own measures, CNN's own measure that oscillates between fear and greed in these markets, has us trading at

extreme fear. There's a few drivers, you mentioned some of them.

[10:35:03]

Big tech giants like Microsoft coming out and saying, look, we're simply going to have to revise our forecast lower here because of the impact that

we're already seeing and have seen on our Chinese supply chains.

Goldman Sachs, another one coming out today and saying, look, we think there will be zero earnings growth in 2020. I don't want to get lost in the

weeds of the numbers here but key questions like, what does this mean for U.S. workers and the assumption of course, that they're saying that there

will be a spread. The spread of the coronavirus in the United States. What does that ultimately mean?

So there's so many questions being asked here, but you know, Becky, I'll go back to the point here of the extreme fear. The other analysts and UBS

pointed this out, and I think it's really important. They said perhaps the biggest threat to economic growth out there at this moment is fear rather

than the virus itself.

Remember, for all the concerns about the United States, at this stage, and I'm cautiously saying it, we only know about 15 specific cases -- 1-5. So

the bigger threat perhaps at this stage is fear but that's not stopping investors selling today, correction territory, down more than 10 percent

from recent highs in the space of just a week, of course, from record highs to correction territory. It's tough.

ANDERSON: Yes, no and thank you for making that point because it does seem investors are reacting to every single negative headline at the moment. And

there aren't an awful lot of positive headlines out there on this story. I mean, there was this sense of authorities saying don't panic. You know, be

careful of misinformation. But when you see these negative headlines and we also know there's computerized trading going on here, they'll level out at

some point. I'm just looking at this market whether there's a technical level at 26,000, for example. We may see a bump off the bottom of that, I

assume.

But you know, it's an interesting one, isn't it? I mean, I think it is, though, important, just to remind our viewers as you and I have been

talking in the past five or six days, these markets have been very toppy. They've been very high and many people warning they were ripe for a

correction.

CHATTERLEY: Becky, there's so much important information in there. I'm not even sure where to start. Yes, we were questioning and have been

questioning whether it's ripe for U.S. markets just a week ago to have been trading at record highs when we were seeing other investors putting money

into safer assets like government bonds, like gold. So that's a very important point, too.

And I think context here is important amid the selling pressure that we're seeing. Trying to judge what's reasonable. What's a reasonable level here

for markets given the sheer level of uncertainty here and what accurately reflects the risks? I don't know.

I'll pull out the point from Goldman Sachs. They said 2,900 here on the S&P 500 but they also said that markets will be higher by year end. It's a

three to six-month thing rather than a full-year thing. Context to everything and it's tough to give it to you here -- Becky.

ANDERSON: I know, it's fantastic to have you on. What we do know is that the U.S. President is likely to be keeping one eye on these markets. If his

effort yesterday evening was to sort of allay fears, well, he certainly hasn't achieved that with the market now down 3 percent. I mean, it's

suggested that he thought this would go away relatively soon. We'll see. But do keep an eye on things for us. The market down just over 3 percent as

we speak. It is only relatively early in the trading day there in the U.S.

All right. We're going to -- what we are going to do, guys? We are going to stay in the states. The U.S. President is assuring Americans that the risk

of the virus spreading in the U.S. is very low, as I said. That despite warnings from health officials that people should prepare just in case the

situation gets, quote, bad.

Well, Democratic presidential candidates blasted the White House's response at a marathon night of Town Hall events in South Carolina on Wednesday.

Have a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE BLOOMBERG, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He doesn't have any understanding of science, of public health, and he has left us without the

team that he needs to address the issues.

JOE BIDEN, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What I would do were I President now, I would not be taking China's word for it. I'd insist that

China allow our scientists in to make a hard determination of how it started, where it's from, how far along it is because that is not

happening.

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's tried to cut the CDC in the past. He has tried to cut the organization that works with the

rest of the world when it comes to pandemics.

[10:40:00]

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm going to be introducing a plan tomorrow to take every dime that the President is now

spending on his racist wall at our southern border and divert it to work on the coronavirus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: U.S. politics for you.

Well, this is sure one heck of a way to get out of somewhere. We leave you on a literal cliffhanger -- fret not folks -- the full clip in just a

moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: OK, OK. I know why you are still here. I'd like to think it's for me but it's for the rest of this video. Isn't it? So what's going on?

You are watching an American kayaker going off a waterfall in Chile. He was totally fine, mind you. Not a scratch on him. But let's still add that to

the list of things we've had on this show that I will never, ever do. Here he goes again. How about you, Mr. Alex Thomas? Fancy a go?

ALEX THOMAS, CNN WORLD SPORT: Well, Becky, I always say I'll try anything once, but I think I might draw the line at that one.

ANDERSON: Good for you.

THOMAS: I know having heard an interview with the guy he's very experienced, and that's why he could take on that massive fall.

We've got "WORLD SPORT" coming up. We're also going to have some Champions League action for you. Juventus and Real Madrid struggling to keep alive

their hopes in the competition. That's coming up in just a few minutes.

ANDERSON: Super. All right. We'll take a very short break. Your first -- we'll take a short break. Back after this.

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[10:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

[11:00:00]

END