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Connect the World
Shut down in Europe Shakes Global Economy; Dow Resumes Trading After 15 Minute Halt; European Countries Close Borders, Enforce Lockdowns; Concerns Global Economy Could Stumble Into Recession; Germany Closes Borders with Several European Neighbors; Interview with Maurizio Cecconi, Head of Anesthesia And Intensive Care At Humanitas Research Hospital, Front Line of Italy Outbreak; South Africa Declares National State of Disaster: Massive Restrictions Take Effect in United States; UAE Sends Medical Supplies to Iran; Religious Leaders Cancel Services Around the World. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired March 16, 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]
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Atlanta, this is CONNECT THE WORLD.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN HOST: This hour, airlines in crisis, markets plunging and thousands of new infections. The coronavirus tearing across the world.
Hello and welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Paula Newton filling in for Becky Anderson.
The more pain and restrictions for Europe, the current epicenter of the pandemic. Italy remains the region's worst hit country but cases are also
climbing in places like Spain and France. The World's Health Organization now says at least 4,800 people are now infected in Germany. And its
imposing border controls with several countries to halt the spread of the virus. We will have live reports from Rome and the Polish/German border in
a moment.
But first to the shutdown across Europe that is accelerating with France closing its cafes and Ireland saying it's to go dark even for St. Paddy's
day in its pubs. All roads right now lead to the global economy and that is looking more bumpy by the minute. Right now the Dow is plunging joining the
epic global sell-off really. You see it there now down more than 10 percent. The U.S. market is trading again, after it was halted for 15
minutes right after the open.
This comes after the Federal Reserve the powerful central bank -- you do need to be reminded about that. Because what they did was throw all their
fire power at this. They slashed its benchmark interest rate to near zero. But that rattled the global economy and stirred the Fed into action to try
and calm the wave of market volatility.
Obviously, investors though still worried that any kind of emergency measure just isn't enough. The infection is driving fears of a global
recession. And airline stocks -- this is interesting -- they are especially hard-hit by the absolute restrictions and all of those travel bans now
being put into place. Global aviation officials are pleading for government help. They're warning of unprecedented disruption from that pandemic.
Julia Chatterley is standing by at the New York Stock Exchange for us. Fred Pleitgen is reporting from that Polish/German border. But first we want to
go straight to Rome and CNN's Melissa Bell. And, Melissa, I have to tell you the eyes of the world are on Italy. I am sure you can feel it. Everyone
is wondering, are we next? And getting some insight into what Italy did right and what Italy did wrong. In terms of the situation on the ground
today, is there any glimmer of hope as the death toll has continued to rise.
MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're hearing right now, Paula, from the Italian Prime Minister who is spelling out the details of
that stimulus package, 25 billion euros he had announced last week. Things like tax relief for ordinary families, mortgage relief help to businesses,
help to this country's extremely stretched health care system, which has really been holding in extraordinary circumstances.
This of course as the country looks on to look at the figures and for the time being and Giuseppe Conte warned about this this morning in the Italian
press. We have not reached the peak. And yet, Paula, this is almost a week after this extraordinary lockdown began. The streets of Rome and other
Italian cities completely deserted. The economy ground to a halt. And we still have not seen that translate into, not even a stabilization of the
national figures.
But you asked a question about that glimmer of hope. There is one from the very north of the country in those ten towns and villages that were locked
down three weeks ago before the rest of the country, where the first cases were, the area of Lodi in which the town of Codogno where patient one was
identified. We are seeing there a stabilization of figures. So what that tells us, Paula, is first of all that these measures do work but that it
takes time for them to work.
We were speaking to a virologist earlier on who said that it would take probably another week for us to see the figures taper down nationally. For
the time being the figures remain extremely high, record figures again yesterday, both in terms of the number of new cases and in terms of the
number of new deaths. And of course, what that means is it takes patience, it takes resilience and for the countries looking on because you're right,
Italy is just a few weeks ahead of what is likely to happen in other countries. This is an important lesson about what you're likely to have to
go through in order to get to the end of this epidemic.
NEWTON: Yes, and a real warning obviously that if you are in some kind of lockdown right now, really no one knows how long it will last. Our Melissa
Bell continues to report for us from Rome, appreciate you.
And now to Julia Chatterley who's been following quite a ride there at the New York Stock Exchange. I do not envy you, Julia. Listen, I have to say
though in 30 years of covering markets .
[10:05:00]
Tis is actually the most rational reaction I've seen. I know trading was halted but as you heard Melissa say, you are dealing with one of the
largest economies in the world and they have no idea when it will be coming out of that. So as you see it now, losses continue. What I want to talk to
you about is a systemic risk, right. Is there any hint of that right now or do things seem to have calmed down? Even though it doesn't look calm from
the numbers.
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR FIRST MOVE: Yes, you ask some really important questions. I'll come to the systemic. I think your point, though,
about just trying to grapple with what we're dealing with here. We have no model for this. We have no basis to understand what containment looks like.
How long businesses that are struggling at this moment have to deal with the economic sudden stops that they're facing.
And we heard from the airlines once again that really are at the forefront and the first domino to fall here saying, you know, this is an existential
crisis. That I think ties back to the reaction that we've seen from what the Federal Reserve did over the weekend. It was a bazooka of sorts but
many people are looking at it saying it's a pea shooter in the face of the broader challenges that we're facing and that it has to far more targeted.
Then let's talk about the banks. Because what they have done, the Federal Reserve has tried to tackle specific points to prevent the freezing of
credit to the real economy, lending to the real economy that we saw during the financial crisis. So that's the first thing. They're not there to try
and support stocks or equity markets. That's just a reflection. And to your point, Paula, an accurate I think shake-down, fear, reaction to the
uncertainty that we're dealing with at this moment.
I think the big question about systemic risk is an important one. And what you saw was the largest eight U.S. banks over the weekend saying look,
we're not going to buy the billions of dollars' worth of stock in our own banks. We're simply going to use that money and put it to better use, i.e.,
making sure that we can lend to the real economy, we can lend to businesses. We need to assess what kind of situation they're in.
Banks are far better capitalized. They have far better levels of money, the system works better. So I don't think at this stage when you look at the
banking sector, we're in a situation that we were in where the banks were so weak during the financial crisis, and that created a catalogue of other
issues.
But to go back to the point I began with, Paula, and I'll end there, we don't have a model for what we're dealing with at this stage. And
everything, be it gold under pressure today, oil under pressure, stocks under pressure, everything, all assets are reacting to that uncertainty,
and that makes sense at this stage. We can't quantify what we're dealing with.
NEWTON: Absolutely it makes total sense when there is no data point. I want to point out for anyone who's in stocks or anyone who has a pension,
who's got skin in this game, everything you talked about, Julia, right, has to do with the recovery and the fact that if this is in place, a recovery
will look much better.
CHATTERLEY: Absolutely. We just can't time it yet.
NEWTON: Gotcha, Julia, thanks so much. And you'll continue to stay on top of the markets. We now want to go to Fred Pleitgen. He rushed out to the
German/Polish border. Fred, when you figured out, that they were closing it. There's some important news there out of Germany. I want to get first
though to the situation on the border. What exactly is going on? Because you showed a long line of trucks there, just a few hours ago.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You're absolutely right, Paula. And this is really where you can feel the European
economy or a lot of the European economy almost screech to a halt. I want to take you around and show you some of the issues the folks have.
First of all, you have the guys in the hazmat suits who are taking everyone's temperature whose coming through. Essentially what the border
folks here are trying to do -- you have the Polish army and Polish border police. They are only letting Polish citizens through and people who have
business inside Poland or who are traveling through Poland and then of course cargo. You can see the trucks coming through here. There's a
gigantic long line of trucks coming all the way from Germany.
We drove past this earlier this morning, and it went on for miles. I don't know how many miles, maybe six or eight miles but we kept driving past
this. You can see there's a driver coming from Germany, not clear whether he's going to be allowed to go past this checkpoint.
One of the things though that happened, Paula, over the past I would say about half an hour or so, is that some people have become really angry and
for a while, there were some drivers who just stopped there and blockaded the actual highway and didn't allow traffic to go through, because they
were so angry about the fact they had to wait and they were so angry about the fact that many of them were being turned back, drivers from Eastern
Europe, drivers from Germany also quite angry as well.
So you can feel that there are issues with these new travel restrictions that so many European countries are putting in place. These specific ones
at the Polish/German border that was actually done by the Poles.
[10:10:00]
They closer border with Germany because obviously, they don't want the coronavirus to continue to spread around their country. But as you've
mentioned, the Germans closed their northern, their western and their southern border as well. So a lot of the scenes we're seeing here and if we
turn around you can see it again. Those guys in hazmat suits, there's traffic that's being held up. There're cars that are barely trickling
through. Those are the kind of scenes that you're going to be seeing in a lot of European countries, possibly for quite a while to come. Because
right now, no one really knows how long these travel restrictions are still going to be in place -- Paula.
NEWTON: Understood, Fred, and again, perspective, right. These are not border crossings that Europeans have been used to at least for decades now.
Fred Pleitgen remains on the border and will continue to update us, thank you.
OK, we were telling you of course that Italy is the hardest-hit country in Europe. It remains near total lockdown. The latest update sent about the
death toll is not good. There are 1,800, with an increase of 368 deaths in the last day alone.
Maurizio Cecconi is the head of anesthesia and intensive care at Humanitas Research Hospital in Milan. One of the many facilities that has been
acutely affected of course by this crisis. And I really want to thank you for speaking to us. And I want to tell you first off, so many people around
the world looking at your efforts, applauding the efforts of frontline health care workers. What is the situation today, and has anything changed
over the weekend?
MAURIZIO CECCONI, HEAD OF ANESTHESIA AND INTENSIVE CARE, HUMANITAS RESEARCH HOSPITAL (via Skype): Well, the situation is very difficult, of course,
but it has been difficult for some weeks now. So we are still seeing a steady flow of sick patients coming to our hospitals, and that's in line
with the response that we've been trying to mount for the last three weeks here in Lombardy.
NEWTON: I want to ask you, though, about the facilities that you have on hand. I mean, how much decision-making is there when people come in for
triage? Are your ICU beds full? Do you have the equipment that you need?
CECCONI: Well, the only decisions we made so far was to increase the capacity of ICUs so that we give an ICU bed to whoever needs an ICU bed,
and that's a relentless effort for the last three weeks. If you come to our hospitals in the region, will you see people working from different parts
of the hospitals to basically build up new intensive care where we didn't have intensive care units and we are doing this effort basically now
continuously. So you will see that we even have workers inside the hospital to try to convert normal wards to areas where we can give intensive care to
whoever needs intensive care.
NEWTON: And just so I can understand this, are you having people arrive to your hospital who already are very ill or is this virus so that they come
to you, and then they dramatically deteriorate in terms of their condition?
CECCONI: Oh, no, you need to look at the data that is out there, and you can even have a look the at the data from our superior health institute,
Istituto Superiore di Sanita -- the name. They publish every day an info graphic and then you can see the total number of infected people and so you
would also see how the case fatality rate is actually spread across different age groups. And that shows that we are in front of a disease that
presents with a different variety of disease. So probably we still see 80 percent of the population will get what may seem like a flu. However, the
message that we give to everyone this is not a normal flu because we see a significant percentage of people coming to our hospital with some need of
support. And that could be just some oxygen and some basic support or we see a high percentage compared to what we were expecting from data before
the outbreak here in Europe. Which we've quantified in the range of about 12 percent or what concern intensive care admissions.
NEWTON: Why has the mortality rate been so high though in Italy? Obviously, it's been alarming and the death rate continues to rise.
CECCONI: It's difficult to give you an answer until we don't see more data over the next few weeks. But again, if you see how this mortality is
actually distributed across different age groups, you will see that Italy is a country with a very high in age compared to other countries in the
world and so therefore the majority of that seems to of course, failing older people with comorbidities and that are frail. It doesn't mean we
don't see young people coming to our hospital and there is a big stress on our care system because we're trying to care for everyone independent of
age and that means that we see really a huge number of patients and the effort we're putting in place to care for everyone is really enormous at
the moment.
NEWTON: I really again applause to all of you as we continue to see you guys try and fight your way through this virus, as this virus spreads west
though. What is your advice right now to other continents, other European countries perhaps that do not have the virus within community spreads the
way you guys have had it to this extent? What would you tell them to do now?
[10:15:00]
CECCONI: Well, what everyone is to do now is to get ready. There is no need to panic. We have a robust health care system in the majority of the
countries. We need to work to get ready for a significant surge in patients that will come to your hospitals, to our hospitals, if you have an
outbreak. But no one can predict where the next breakout is going to be. So the only thing that I suggest you do is to get ready and to work with
public health authorities and your governments, because I don't think there is a fixed recipe.
But certainly I would say the two principles that we have tried to put in place in Lombardy, in Italy and I think the government took a very
responsible decision to lock down the region and the country. Are really the principles that are try to increase as much as you can your search
capacity to deal with a large number of sick patients that will come to your hospitals. And at the same time work with your public health
authorities to see which one is the best strategy in your country to slow down the virus transmission. Maybe in some countries it's full containment,
maybe in some countries it's mitigation or slowing down the virus. What is important is to try to control the virus transmission so that it doesn't
overwhelm and doesn't overload completely your capacity with massive peaks.
NEWTON: But you would say from the time that Italy imposed a larger lockdown, you have seen some relief. You believe it has worked.
CECCONI: We believe it was the right thing to do. We have to be pragmatic. We've seen this working in smaller areas that were contained at the very
beginning, so we hope that this will work also in the larger areas and the whole of the country. We have to remember that incubation period of the
virus can be up to 14 days. So we are bracing for a significant surge even in the next days, despite the maneuvers probably being effective. And we
hope that it will be effective, but we cannot give up all the other things we are doing to try to care for everyone where we hope that the containment
will work. And we hope to have some good news about this over the next few days.
NEWTON: And of course, we do as well. Before I let you, go, though, I want to ask you, what has it been like? I mean, everyone around the world has
been dealing with their own particular stress with this virus. But as frontline health care workers, in your wards, in your hospitals, what has
it been like, what kind of a toll has it taken on the frontline to health care workers?
CECCONI: It has been an enormous effort. I would have never thought I would face this in my career. I can tell you personally, it is probably the
biggest challenge I had in my career so far. We really tried to do our best, but I would also say it is an incredible moment for the clinical
scientific community. Probably the moment in which I've seen the more unified group I've ever led in my life and I can tell you, this is the
report of everyone else in the region, and everyone else in the health care system. I'm not talking just about doctors, nurses, health care assistants,
managers. Everyone is really trying to work more than what is being asked of them from their normal job to try to face this. So it is tough. It is a
big battle, but we want to win it.
NEWTON: And it seems like you are definitely on the other side of it, as you said in those containment zones when you first started the cases and
the death rate is down again. We are all learning right now from the frontline staff there, and I thank you for taking the time to really
explain to us what's going on. Appreciate it.
CECCONI: Thank you. We think it's important to share with the rest of the world what we learn here.
NEWTON: Thank you.
And if you want to listen to CNN's very own chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta's coronavirus podcast to help you separate the facts from the
fiction. Dr. Gupta talks mass confusion, risks of flying, and much more. You'll find it on Apple podcast, Stitcher or Spotify or link it, link to it
at CNN.com. Annual want to join Dr. Gupta and Anderson Cooper for a third CNN global town hall, "CORONAVIRUS FACTS AND FEARS" live on Thursday at
10:00 p.m. Eastern, 10:00 a.m. Friday in Hong Kong.
Plus, you can find all the latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic online. Visit us at CNN.com for live updates and everything you need to
know. I am telling you, if you want or need to know it, you go to CNN.com, you will find it.
You are watching CONNECT THE WORLD coming to you from CNN center in Atlanta. Still ahead, the new reality of course, living with a pandemic in
full force today, in the United States as well. We'll see the drastic measures being taken to try and stop the spread of the virus.
And South Africa announces urgent and drastic measures to confront coronavirus, while the South African President says there can be no half
measures.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CYRIL RAMAPHOSA, SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT: It is concerning that we are now dealing with internal transmission of the virus. This situation calls for
an extraordinary response. There can be no half measures.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: South African President there declaring a national state of disaster. Now the South African government says 61 cases of coronavirus had
been reported as of Sunday. Gatherings of more than 100 people are banned and schools will be closed. Travel from high-risk countries has been banned
and many ports of entry have now been closed.
Our David McKenzie joins us now live from Johannesburg. And it is curious, David, of course, because many people have been wondering about Africa in
general, South Africa in particular. Obviously, so much social and economic dysfunction and at that point now, if you have to add on this virus, what
kind of measures can be taken? And will they get help? Just from the fact that the outbreak hasn't seem to have taken hold yet.
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it seems to have taken hold to a certain degree. There is community transmission according to the
government, Paula, but their saying at this stage they are able to stamp out that. And they haven't been clear on the details of that. Most of the
cases have been coming in from Europe, lesser from the U.S., and parts of the Middle East.
It seems like Africa particularly those connected countries like South Africa, and Ethiopia and Nigeria, were later in the transmission of this
virus. But that doesn't mean that they won't be affected and many health experts I've been speaking to say that this region really needs to brace
itself and prepare.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MCKENZIE (voice-over): Scientists consider this a worst-case scenario, humanity, tightly packed, and under threat from pandemics spread.
(on camera): You could have in some circumstances hundreds of people just to one tap.
MPHO MOFOKENG, LIFE 4 U FOUNDATION: To one tap, yes.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): In the informal settlements of Tembisa, health advocate, Mpho Mofokeng, says that even basic protection from the virus
like washing your hands, is unrealistic.
(on camera): People talk about simple solutions to prevent this, but they are not that simple here.
MOFOKENG: They are not that simple for us. They can be simple there, but they're not here. I don't see it working.
MCKENZIE: So, they're going out to stop it before it spreads?
MOFOKENG: Exactly.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): Public health experts predict that Africa could be hardest hit by COVID-19. They say health systems won't cope. But in the
early months of the outbreak, there were few confirmed cases. Some outbreak models predicted that lag because the continent remains relatively less
connected to the most affected regions.
CHERYL COHEN, NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR COMMUNICABLE DISEASE, SOUTH AFRICA: Africa would be affected after the rest of the world.
[10:25:00]
MCKENZIE: And health officials knew the virus would come.
COHEN: Any part of the world can be a risk to other parts of the world in this global connectedness.
MCKENZIE: The delays giving leading African scientists a window to prepare. In January, South Africa and Senegal had the only two labs capable
of diagnosing the virus. Now, more than 40 countries can test.
And recent Ebola outbreaks in West and Central Africa have taught vital lifesaving lessons in quarantine and contact tracing. In many ways, Ebola,
a frightening and deadly disease is not as challenging though as COVID-19.
COHEN: Well, if you're all in a meeting room and you're close together, all those people will be exposed. Ebola, none of them would be exposed. So
the numbers get very high. No matter what South Africa does to contain, if everywhere else in the world there are infectious cases, and there's no way
you can really completely stop movement of respiratory illness like this.
MCKENZIE: That force of infection is powerful. And perhaps all they can do is slow the spread.
MUJALI FUTATU, TEMBISA RESIDENT: So we are clueless, all of us. We don't know what is coming. We just hear from the radio COVID-19. COVID has
arrived, do you know.
MCKENZIE (on camera): Are you worried?
FUTATU: I am. (Inaudible), I am.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): In Tembisa and across the continent, people are still anticipating the worst.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCKENZIE: Well look, if you look behind me at the skyline, this country and many parts of Africa, it's a situation of haves and have nots. A very
deep inequality and the worry is, is those with the resources may be able to fight this disease. But if you go to places like those informal
settlements of Tembisa and in slums, in Kenya, that I worked in with DRC, all across this continent. People worry that those deep inequalities will
be exposed by this virus and the health minister in South Africa was speaking on just that fact today. Saying that the people and the government
need to act now, act as soldiers to slow this down, Paula, before it's too late -- Paula.
NEWTON: Yes, and I know you've seen this up close yourself, David, with the Ebola outbreak, having covered that for us in Africa and it is an
important point thaw make. Obviously, it is that disparity that puts people most at risk. David will continue to follow the developments especially now
that South Africa has declared that national state of disaster. Appreciate it.
Still ahead -- for millions of American students no school today. Or when will we have school? We'll take a look at the drastic new measures to
contain the spread of the coronavirus that have now come to the United States.
[10:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: So quite a milestone here. COVID-19 has now infected more people outside of mainland China than inside. And the numbers from Europe are
especially sobering. In Italy, the virus has killed more than 1,800 people now, the most anywhere outside of China. It of course remains on lockdown.
To Spain where police and troops are enforcing a partial lockdown that does allow people to leave their homes but only to go to work, buy food or for
medical conditions. A short time ago Spain and Portugal jointly decided to close their shared border, that is significant. And the meantime, France
has shut down all restaurants, cafes, cinemas and clubs. In the U.K. with more than 1,300 cases, school are still open for the moment. Many parents
are angry about that and are saying that they will keep their children away from school in any case.
Now, we are following every minute another wild session on Wall Street, trading was halted for 15 minutes right after the opening bell, I'll remind
you. This all follows emergency action by the Federal Reserve, the world's most powerful central bank slashed its benchmark interest rate to
effectively zero. Yes, they were trying to calm the market by doing that, but investors are saying not so much. The infection is of course driving
fears of a global recession.
Now we want to get back to Julia Chatterley who's been following all of this. They do seem to have found some quite of a range though for the day.
They're finding some nerve there, right -- Julia?
CHATTERLEY: I can't help but say after the last several trading sessions that, Paula, it's too early to say. These markets are incredibly fragile.
Though to your point, we have been low. We were down more than 11.5 percent from 30 minutes ago when I last joined you, so hopefully we're finding a
bit of a floor here. Remember the next circuit breaker and trading halt will kick in if these markets lose 13 percent in a session. It's coming out
of my mouth actually and I can't believe I'm saying it. There is a real palpable I think sense of nervousness here.
To your point, the Federal Reserve and central bankers would argue that they're not there to stem market volatility. They're not there to shore up
stock prices or assure investors here at this stage. They're there to target dysfunctions that they see in the markets, to make sure that the
lending markets are moving smoothly. All the things that we saw that created huge problems during the financial crisis they're trying to throw
money at here, to make sure they work. So that's one thing.
I think the real fear is that the Federal Reserve came out last night and did a few things. One, threw everything, the whole toolbox it felt like, at
the situation. They also said they weren't going to hold a meeting this week. They also have the big banks saying they're not going to be buying
their stocks anymore. They're going to suspend their buy-backs. Which on the one hand sends a message, look we are going to keep pumping money out
to businesses, and to industry, to individuals, but at the same time the financials are under severe pressure today with investors going, if banks
aren't buying their stocks, who is?
So there's a whole cascade of issues here and at the heart of it, Paula, is a health crisis, and an inability to gauge simply how long that's going to
go on. And containing strategies, how long that's going to be required? And in the interim, businesses and individuals are simply caught in the cross-
fire and its support for them that's required.
NEWTON: Yes, and I've got to go here. But a reminder that New Jersey, Connecticut and of course, the state of New York have now said that all
eat-in, all bars and restaurants will close. They'll only be available for take-out services. Again, to have a profound effect on where you are
sitting right now, Julia, in terms of the fact they do not know where this virus is headed and what impact it will have on the economy. Julia, thanks
so much. We'll continue to check in with you.
Now is Julia was saying, you know, people want some fiscal help from governments around the world.
[10:35:00]
This hour, U.S. President Donald Trump is participating in a coronavirus video teleconference with all the G-7 leaders. This as the Senate is
expected to vote later today on emergency coronavirus funding that was passed by the House. Now you can see the effects of social distancing
everywhere, even the White House briefing room. We are anticipating new guidelines from the White House there in a few hours. Reporters chairs
spaced out to reduce the likelihood of spreading COVID-19 to each other.
Meantime, after cleaning out grocery stores, many Americans are starting the work week from home. Companies are urging employees to telework if
possible and schools are shutting right across the United States, making this a Monday unlike any other.
Joe Johns is with us from the White House and Brynn Gingras is in New York. Joe Johns, please first to you. In terms of the response from the White
House right now, we know that at this hour, President Trump is on the phone call. You know what they want, right. They want the firepower of the G7
behind this and yet we even saw that the deal Congress has put together maybe is not enough.
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Maybe is not enough, and very likely the Congress and the President are going to have to get
together to do more. In fact that bill that was passed by the House of Representatives late, late Friday, early Saturday morning is going to have
to go back over there for what they're calling technical corrections. Because small businesses don't like some of the implications in there,
especially for paying for health insurance for some of their employees who might be off work.
That being said, we are going to be very interested in finding out what the President has to say when he speaks to the G7 leaders. The question of
course is what they can all do together when each and every country right now is looking out very much for their own interests. So we'll see.
At the top you mentioned the White House briefing room, yes, this is a Monday like no other here in Washington, D.C. In this room, there are
about 49 seats on every other seat in this room, awaiting a briefing this afternoon. There are signs, notices, if you will, from the White House
Correspondents Association, advising social distancing, making it clear that the journalists who work in this room and ask questions of people up
in the podium behind me be apart from each other, at least by one seat.
Also, the one thing you did not mention is on the way into the White House this morning, every person coming in was subjected to a temperature test.
So things are very different here at the White House than they have been.
NEWTON: And will continue to remain that way. Joe Johns is going to follow a busy day there at the White House with a briefing set for later this
afternoon. Joe, thanks so much.
Brynn Gingras is in New York really feeling the impact of this. Brynn, mother to mother, it was breath-taking to see the hourly changes over the
last 48 hours, right. That community that you're in very much the epicenter in New York state, perhaps even the country. How are they feeling about
this right now?
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN U.S. CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, it's heart-breaking, Paula. I mean, this is the largest school district in the entire United
States, more than a million children go to public schools here just in New York City alone. Thousands of kids depend on the meals that they get inside
those schools. I mean, it's been absolutely heart-wrenching.
The mayor said that this was the hardest painful decision he's ever had to make. He didn't think he'd ever have to make a decision like this. And I
think a lot of Americans feel the same way. Everyone is having to make these decisions no one ever thought they'd have to make as we're all trying
to deal with this new reality.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GINGRAS (voice-over): The reality of a sweeping coronavirus pandemic is setting in for many Americans.
GAVIN NEWSOM, CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR: We are, in essence, home isolating 5.3 million people. We're guided deeply by what's happening, not just by
anxiety, not just by fear.
GINGRAS: New York City's mayor closing all public schools until at least April 20th, impacting 1.1 million children.
BILL DE BLASIO, NEW YORK MAYOR: There is a real possibility that by closing our schools now, we may not have the opportunity to reopen them in
this full school year.
GINGRAS: This move as the city took another drastic step, limiting restaurants and bars to takeout and delivery service, mirroring efforts
taken in states like Illinois and Ohio as the CDC discouraged events with more than 50 people for the next eight weeks.
J.B. PRITZKER, ILLINOIS GOVERNOR: I tried earlier this week to appeal to everyone's good judgment to stay home, to avoid bars, not to congregate in
crowds. It's unfortunate that many people didn't take that seriously.
GINGRAS: New York has the second largest number of coronavirus cases in the nation. And the governor is asking President Trump to allow the
military to step in, fearful the state's medical systems will soon be overwhelmed by an influx of patients.
ANDREW CUOMO, NEW YORK GOVERNOR: We can use the Army Corps of engineers to come in, retrofit dormitories.
[10:40:00]
What happened in Italy was the healthcare system became overwhelmed. We will be overwhelmed. Every number says it. We were slow on testing. Let's
not make the same mistake.
GINGRAS: Chaotic scenes playing out in airports across the country as people arriving from Europe face new advance screening procedures.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's very crowded, which is not ideal considering what this contagion is.
GINGRAS: Voters in four states are still scheduled to head to the polls tomorrow. But others in future contests, like Louisiana and Georgia,
already postponing their primary.
Meanwhile, inside the White House, President Trump urging Americans to relax.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a very contagious virus. It's incredible. But it's something that we have tremendous control
over.
GINGRAS: But the nation's top infectious disease expert issuing this warning instead.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: The worst is, yes, ahead for us. It is how we respond to that
challenge that's going to determine what the ultimate end point is going to be.
GINGRAS: At CNN'S Democratic presidential debate Sunday, Senator Bernie Sanders directly firing back at the president.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: First thing we have got to do -- whether or not I'm president -- is to shut this
president up right now, because he is undermining the doctors and the scientists who are trying to help the American people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GINGRAS: And back to schools across the country here in the United States, there are schools that are closed for just a couple of weeks. As it stands
now, some for a month like here in New York and it's possible there'll be ones closing for the rest of this school year. And I got to tell you, there
are resource centers that are set up not only New York City, we are seeing it in L.A., for people and children to be able to go to get those meals,
get internet access, computers, so they can do that online learning. Particularly, Paula, we have to keep in mind for the kids whose parents are
emergency responders or doctors and nurses, districts like New York, are making sure they're well taken care of so their parents can go to work.
NEWTON: Gosh, so sobering to hear the Mayor there of New York say they might lose the entire school year. Brynn, thanks so much. We'll continue to
check in as those school closures just pile up in the United States. Appreciate it.
We want to go now -- speaking of pile-ups -- here to cars in West Palm Beach, Florida, these are people who want to drive through the coronavirus
testing centers. That's what you're looking at now, those little aerial pictures. Remember, people don't want to be going to clinics. They want to
be able to drive through to make sure they don't infect anyone, but they want results. If they're not feeling well, they just want to be sure they
don't have the virus.
Next, the UAE says it wants to strengthen global efforts to curb coronavirus spread and it's starting by sending aid to one of its
neighbors. We have all the details just ahead.
Plus as religious institutions around the world shudder their doors until further notice, Pope Francis walked in public to pray for an end to the
epidemic.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:45:00]
NEWTON: OK, in the global fight to stop the spread of COVID-19, the United Arab Emirates announcing today it sent two aid planes carrying critical
medical supplies to Iran where coronavirus cases jump by more than 1,000 in just the last 24 hours.
CNN's Sam Kiley is in Abu Dhabi for us and went down to see the two flights being packed today and taking off. I mean, you kind of have to say
politically it's extraordinary but you can't ignore what is happening in Iran. I mean, what we've seen even on social media, what little information
we can get has been absolutely grim.
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, very grim picture indeed. And according to epidemiologists from Toronto University, could be
a great deal grimmer. But at the moment the official figures there are close to 15,000 confirmed cases, nearly 900 dead, 853 so far. It's climbing
daily, Paula, over 100 people have died in the last 24 hours -- 123. It was 104 I believe -- no, sorry, 113 the previous day. So we're seeing these
rapidly climbing death tolls.
Now the United Arab Emirates has been keen to act almost as a diplomatic bridge between some of its more bellicose neighbors, particularly Saudi
Arabia and Iran, particularly following the tensions in the Gulf in the last year or so. So this is the second flight of humanitarian aid that
they've sent into Iran, which is struggling under international economic sanctions largely imposed by the United States. Which really crippled the
Iranian abilities, Iranian nation's ability to take in money.
It can't be given money easily, because of the restrictions imposed by the United States, means that any monies going through a federal banking system
would mean that anybody giving money in that direction, I mean by governments would be in violation of federal legislation. That this has
been described by some Iranian officials, as humanitarian or medical terrorism is there word.
Trying to offset that the Emirates sending in these 32 tons of medical equipment to try to help out. Pretty much a drop in the ocean at the
moment, but a very important gesture, nonetheless. And also a part of the Emirates switch perhaps in terms of foreign policy recently withdrawing
itself from the Yemen civil war, and equally getting -- it has been getting deeply involved on the side of Field Marshal Haftar in Libya earning a lot
of international criticism there, won't be getting any criticism for these actions.
Reem Al Hashimi, the humanitarian minister based out of Dubai here said earlier on that this was very much consistent, in a statement that she put
out with the whole future attitudes of the United Arab Emirates. And talked a great deal about brotherhood and in the context of that reaching out
across the Arabian or Persian Gulf -- depending which side of it you're on -- is clearly not only an important humanitarian gesture but diplomatic
one, too -- Paula.
NEWTON: Yes, I am glad that you spelled out the political implications there and I know you follow closely what's going on inside of Iran, so
we'll continue to get updates on that. Sam, thanks so much.
Now, one of the most important holidays on the Christian calendar is already being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. What is the Pope is doing
this Easter.
[10:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: Pope Francis left the walls of the Vatican to walk through the empty streets of Rome Sunday. Look at those pictures, he prayed for an end
to the coronavirus pandemic -- extraordinary -- as he visited two pilgrimage sites. Italy is the epicenter of the outbreak in Europe and the
country remains of course, on lockdown. The Vatican announced earlier that Easter mass will be closed to the public this year.
Closures like that are becoming the new normal as religious leaders around the globe take action to keep members of their congregation safe. Holy
sites and religious schools are being shuddered and many are canceling worship services until the threat of the virus is of course gone. CNN's
Robyn Curnow has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR, INTERNATIONAL DESK (voice-over): Church bells ring out in a village in Poland as a call for Sunday service begins. But in
this parish there are no worshippers to be found. This Sunday, thousands of Christians across Europe and the globe stayed at home to pray, in an effort
to help fight the spread of the coronavirus.
But the pandemic is now affecting the weekly worship of people from nearly all faiths. On Sunday, Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque announced that it too is
closing. This is a usual scene on Friday at Islam's third holiest site, the faithful gathering side by side for prayers. But this Friday, there were
almost no worshippers and is now shuddered until further notice.
OMAR GHARABLEH, SCHOOL PRINCIPAL FROM EAST JERUSALEM (through translator): This is a very sad day that you see the Al-Aqsa Mosque closed but the
health of humans is important. I hope that God will relieve this for all people and all the Muslims together.
CURNOW: In India, a famed Buddhist monastery is also shutting its doors. Any visitors are turned away as its activities are suspended until at least
April. Holy places that are remaining open are seeing historically low numbers. Images of Mecca show far fewer pilgrims than the past. And the
Wailing Wall in Jerusalem was nearly without worshipers as well as Israel's chief rabbis reportedly called on Jews to avoid the holy site.
In Rome, some churches reopened as the country grapples with a lockdown, but attendance was sparse as the faithful remain divided.
ANTONIETTA RICCERI, ROME RESIDENT (through translator): I am convinced that closing churches was the right decision because contact is inevitable
in a church. So it is good to take all possible precautions.
LAURA FORMICA, ROME RESIDENT (through translator): It is an important comfort for believers, so perhaps with some caution and distances, it would
be good to keep churches open.
CURNOW: The Vatican, however, is taking no risks. It's nearly deserted in St. Peter's square.
(on camera): The Catholic Church is also announced that services at the Vatican will be held without worshipers through Easter week. The faithful
in Rome and around the world are now left without a place of worship as the coronavirus could change the way people pray together for the foreseeable
future. Robyn Curnow, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: OK, the coronavirus pandemic has shut down cities that we've been showing you, all over the world. Of course now, the 2020 summer games in
Tokyo are in question. The International Olympic Committee is set to meet with heads of sports organizations Tuesday to discuss the latest
coronavirus developments. The Olympic games are scheduled to kick off in July. I know it seems like a long time away. It is not. Japanese Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe said over the weekend that there is currently no need to declare a state of emergency and the games will go ahead as planned.
Coming up next, another hour of CONNECT THE WORLD. We'll have the latest from across the globe, Europe, the United States, Wall Street, plus we'll
speak with one of Europe's top disease experts, with the latest efforts, to get this situation under control.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Announcer: Live from CNN Atlanta, this is CONNECT THE WORLD.
NEWTON: Where things continue to change minute by minute in very dramatic ways with drastic measures being taken white across the globe to try and
curb the corona virus pandemic. We're here to bring you the latest information and try and make sense of it all.
I want to welcome you back to CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Paula Newton in for Becky Anderson.
Now while the coronavirus sweeps its way around the world, life is actually coming a standstill for so many of us now. Everyone is preparing and
watching and waiting to see what will happen next. That's as the global population really right now in terms of those infected cases top 150,000
plus.
It's not just people becoming ill with the coronavirus. The full impact is of this pandemic is just starting to be realized. I want you to look right
there. That stock exchange that's actually looks good compared to where we were when the opening bell sounded a little bit more than an hour and a
half ago --
END
