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Summer Olympics Postponed Over Coronavirus Concerns; British Prime Minister Issues Stay-At-Home Order; Trump Considers Easing Social Distancing Guidelines; Spain Close to 40,000 Cases, More Than 2,500 Deaths; COVID-10 Deaths in Italy Show Decline. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired March 24, 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)
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: From this evening, I must give the British people a very simple instruction. You must stay at home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The harshest restriction on the United Kingdom since World War II.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those strange unsettled days when crisis followed crisis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With at the wealth of uncertainty and unrest, Britain carries on.
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): Stay home, stay home, stay home.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm not looking at months, I can tell you right now. We're going to be opening up our country.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That directly contradicts concerns of the World Health Organization.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN London, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: Well, we are all living through unprecedented times. Our broadcast this hour comes to you from the capital of a country
facing the most severe restrictions to daily life in more than a generation. The Prime Minister pressing pause on normality for weeks. While
across the Atlantic, against expert advice, the American President wants to get back to business in a matter of days.
I'm Becky Anderson. Very warm welcome to the show. And the breaking news this hour, the Olympics being postponed. Why? Well, of course, one word,
the coronavirus. The shutters coming down across Britain, the U.K. government banning all unnecessary movement for at least three weeks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: You must stay at home. Because the critical thing we must do to stop the disease spreading between households.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, while U.S. President Donald Trump wants to reopen America for business and seems eager to lift social distancing guidelines to do it.
That is the $2 trillion rescue package in the U.S. languishes in the Senate.
In Spain, a growing nightmare, the death toll from COVID-19 is now more than 2,500, with close to 40,000 cases. But in Italy, a hopeful trend that
we have been telling you about. The number of deaths down slightly, very slightly, for a second day in a row.
And all that exactly why the 2020 Tokyo Olympics are now being postponed. So it did seem inevitable, didn't it. But is still nonetheless for the
first time ever the Olympic games will be held at a time other than scheduled. World sports Christina Macfarlane who has covered multiple
Olympic Games for CNN. Joining me now live. What are the details as we understand them -- Christina?
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN WORLD SPORT: Well, Becky, the announcement coming from the last hour from the IOC and comments from Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe say the Tokyo games as you say are being postponed and they will not be held until 2021.
We do know however, that the Olympics and the Paralympics will continue to be branded as Tokyo 2020 and a statement added to that by the IOC. I just
want to read you out one line here. It said he hopes that the games will act as a light at the end of the tunnel in which the world finds itself at
present.
And, of course, Becky, this was the right decision to make. But it is a decision really that have been forced by the athletes. I mean, we've been
hearing in recent days from athletes and NOCs hardening their position calling for the postponement of the games that looks like they have now
forced the IOC and Japan to act, as well they might, of course. They have been saying to CNN. They've been talking on social media about their
concerns for their health.
The fact that they are not able to go out and train under these restrictions with gyms, with swimming pools, with tracks being shut down
around the globe. And, of course, confusion as to how those who are still left to qualify would do that for Tokyo 2020. There are still some 43
percent of athletes who have yet to earn their spot in Tokyo.
I've covered the last two Olympic games, Becky, and obviously, we know that the games can happen under extraordinary circumstances. I remember the zika
threat in the run-up to Rio 2016 and of course, the North Korea threat in the run up to PyeongChang.
[10:05:00]
But never have we faced a situation like this, where this colossal event is now going to need to be shifted back and how Japan are going to, you know,
how they're going to deal with that prospect is a really big question. When you consider there are 33 sports that need to take place during these
Olympic games, that's 33 venues, and the infrastructure that has gone into the games is a question mark too.
We know for instance, the athlete's village where the athletes are due to stay after the games, those apartments are due to be turned over and sold
on. That was a big part of the infrastructure build around these Olympics. And the financial fallout, well, it's going to be huge.
Isn't it, Becky. When we consider $12.6 billion has already gone in officially to paying for these games. The reality of the figure is actually
likely to be somewhere double that. And we know that the Japanese government relying on some 2 million visitors to visit Japan this summer to
recoup some of the revenue for this Olympic games.
ANDERSON: Christina Macfarlane on the breaking news this hour, Christina, thank you.
Well, the summer Olympics were supposed to showcase Japan's revival after what was the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami. But now another
disaster, the coronavirus, just may derail that revival. Will Ripley takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Signs are all over Tokyo, symbols of what was supposed to be a Japanese revival, a comeback, crushed,
at least for now.
Tokyo 2020 organizers and the International Olympic Committee bowing to global pressure, pressure brought on by the novel coronavirus catastrophe.
Memories of another disaster, nine years ago, still fresh on many Japanese minds. 2011's megaquake, tsunami, and F what Fukushima triple meltdown.
Winning the Olympic bid in 2013 brought a surge of national pride, and badly needed jobs. Japan invested tens of billions of dollars, new
infrastructure, new technology. 2020 was supposed to be a banner year, a year now defined by a once in a century global pandemic.
We've overcome natural disaster, war, but things are different now. This will be the biggest challenge we ever face, says Shigeru Ishiba, one of
Japan's most powerful lawmakers. He says Japan's aging population and shrinking workforce makes it much harder to bounce back.
The Olympics are a cornerstone of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's plan to transform Japan into a global destination, a plan to jump start the
Japanese economy. Analyst Keith Henry says even a delay has serious financial implications.
KEITH HENRY, FOUNDER, ASIA STRATEGY: This is a service sector economy obviously, the railroads, the hotels, the regions of Japan that were
counting on people spending a few days in Tokyo and then wondering about and through the beaches of the hinterlands of Japan. The damage, the
economic damage will be widespread all across Japan.
RIPLEY: The finance minister Taro Aso even went so far as to call coronavirus proof of an Olympic curse. Aso was born in 1940, when World War
II extinguished Japan's Olympic flame. Tokyo was supposed to host the canceled 1940 games. It would end up waiting 24 years. The 1964 Tokyo
Olympics, Japan's reintroduction to the world, showcasing a miracle recovery, rising from the ashes of war. Today, a new war, against a deadly
virus. Putting Japan's Olympic dreams on hold yet again.
Will Ripley, CNN, Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, this postponement of the Tokyo 2020 summer games seems to be exactly what athletes themselves want. The U.S. Olympic Committee
surveyed American athletes about their concerns and what they want to see done amid the pandemic. Nearly 65 percent were concerned by the fairness of
competition, likely because 68 percent had their training negatively impacted. And 93 percent said they backed postponing the Olympics over
outright cancellation.
Well, my next guest is a five-time Olympic medalist herself, who argued for this postponement, Canadian hockey legend Hayley Wickenheiser. Joins me
from Toronto, via Skype. Your response then to the decision.
HAYLEY WICKENHEISER, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST (via Skype): Yes, I think that this is the right decision. I mean, I think this was inevitable, this, you
know, it is always health and humanity come before sport.
[10:10:00]
And I really feel for the athletes around the world who won't have their Olympics in a few months' time. But all the athletes I've spoken to,
certainly here in Canada, understand the scenario and given today the announcement of a postponement for one more year, it's the right thing to
do.
ANDERSON: Canada took a lead on announcing it would not send athletes before this decision was taken. Then other national Olympic committees
followed suit. Do you believe it was that pressure that finally forced this decision?
WICKENHEISER: I do. I think the inevitable was going to happen. But I think the timeline was drastically pushed forward given the pressure from -
- I'll say Canada first and then the rest of the world following, you know.
For myself, I'm a doctor in training here in Canada, being on the front lines, seeing what has transpired, what is about to come to our country,
watching what has been happening around the world. It was just impossible to think that we could be thinking about hosting an Olympic games in four
months while, you know, people are dying around the world and this is a pandemic like no other.
ANDERSON: Hayley, you're an IOC member on the athletes committee, of course. Can you describe the conversations that have been taking place
internally within the IOC in recent days? Just trying to get an idea of the atmosphere that this decision was taken in.
WICKENHEISER: Well, I mean, I think, you know, certainly I made my comment, I had pushback from senior leadership saying, you know, why didn't
you consult with us before you made that comment? But I wasn't elected to have someone tell me what to say. I was elected to do the right thing on
behalf of the athletes of the world. And I just -- given the lengths by which I see this through, which is medicine and sport, it was so blatantly
obvious to me and everyone else that I spoke with.
And so I think within the IOC there is that recognition now. Obviously, the Olympic games is the most complicated sporting event in the world to
organize. And it is a ton of moving parts. It involves economics, politics, sport, a lot of layers here, a lot of people have to have their say. So I
respect the fact that it -- now need time, we have to give them time to find the right solution, but to get to this point, it was a lot of pushing.
ANDERSON: These games will happen now no later than summer 2021. Though they will still be called the Tokyo 2020 games. I wonder whether that makes
sense to you. For those of us who can only imagine what it takes to become an Olympic athlete, describe what this delay in making this decision has
meant and what athletes do now.
WICKENHEISER: Well, if you think about athletes training for the Olympics, people watch the Olympics every four years or two years, but athletes are
training -- their Olympics happen every day. So if you're a swimmer, you know the minute that -- to the minute when you're going to jump in that
pool and swim your race.
And you work backwards for four years backwards planning the training and it's incredibly scientifically based. There's the peeping and periodization
period that go. And now that all has to be sort of wiped out and rejigged for all athletes in all sports. So it is a ton of logistics and routines
that are changing.
But I know that athletes are the most resilient population that exists on earth and they will adapt and they will overcome this. And, you know, the
one thing about the games is when they do happen, it'll be at the appropriate time when the world has come through this, and we can all unite
through sport, which is what the Olympic games are all about. So I think it's the best-case scenario given the worst-case scenario that we're facing
now. And kudos to the athletes of the world who stood up and said, this is enough.
ANDERSON: Don't be humble. Kudos to you for your stand and the efforts you made to get those athletes' thoughts out there globally. Thank you very
much, Hayley, for joining us today. More on that Olympic decision and the impact of coronavirus on the sports world in general from our colleagues at
WORLD SPORT, CNN.com,
And while you are online, Stephen Collinson has written an analysis on Donald Trump's administration's latest actions. He writes, quote, in his
zeal to fire up American prosperity, after helping to trigger unprecedented self-inflicted economic meltdown, Trump is already losing patience weeks
before the virus may peak. You can read the entire article at CNN.com.
Well, Britain getting with the program, saying stay at home, or tell the police why you are out and about. Our live report from London is next.
And the drastic measures that Spain is taking to find places to bring the dead. An ice rink becomes a morgue.
[10:15:00]
Plus, Israeli police going door to door, making sure those ordered to self- quarantine stay firmly indoors. This is CONNECT THE WORLD. We are doing what it says on the tin, connecting you to the world. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Nearly half of the global coronavirus cases are in Europe. That is the current backdrop for the U.K.'s crackdown on people moving around.
The British Prime Minister telling people to stay home, except for essentials. Boris Johnson calling the virus the biggest threat that the
U.K. has faced in decades.
Well, let's look at the new restrictions in Britain, and I want to bring in Nick Paton Walsh, who is there in Trafalgar Square in London. And before we
talk about what we have been told to do or not to do here in London and across the U.K., Nick, just describe what is going on around you if
anything.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, let me just say this to you, Becky, really. And actually what you can't see behind our
camera is a police van driving through, gentlemen.
This is a scene obviously for those not familiar with Trafalgar Square that no one has seen in their lifetime before. Not a single person out here.
Periodically the police seem to be driving around with their sirens blaring. A reminder that one of the things Boris Johnson said is that they
will have the powers to disperse people or fine them if public gatherings exceed two people.
In fact, we saw the police go up to three people earlier on today and asked them to move along or how long they were going to be there for. Shops
closed, apart really from food shops and pharmacies. Some exceptions like cycle stores too.
Do not go to work unless it is essential says Boris Johnson. And that frankly has attracted some criticism. Because it's pretty wide, frankly,
whether you deem your job to be essential. If your self-employed, you almost certainly do. And that led round about rush hour for a lot of cars
on the streets here in central London.
You are allowed to leave your house though for exercise, medical needs or to buy food. Three weeks this will last. Possibly a bid by British
government that's always been aware that people may not pay attention to what it says if they say it too early or for indefinite periods of time to
get people to behave differently right now.
But, Becky, the key thing about London is the city of 9 million people densely packed has Boris Johnson said been three weeks ahead in terms of
the viral spread and that puts this capital city pretty close to the beginning of a peak like we've seen in Italy -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Yes, I mean, this is the biggest lockdown of British society that this country has probably ever known. And the reason the Prime
Minister says is to protect the National Health Service, what is known here in the U.K. as the NHS. Just how much pressure is that health service under
at this point?
[10:20:02]
WALSH: That pressure may be beginning. We are not at this point seeing scenes like we've seen in Italy of people having to choose between who gets
the ventilators or not. Healthcare is free in the United Kingdom. And that has put the burden on the government to get it ready, to get it organized,
as quickly as possible and to reduce the number of people who may eventually need to get into healthcare.
Now remember, the U.K. pursued this herd immunity strategist, top government scientists talking about how the more people got it in a
mitigated fashion, the more the population here will be immune in the months and flu seasons ahead.
They suddenly change their mind, it seems, when new modeling based on the number of people who needed intensive care attention in Italy came to them.
And we began to see more and more restriction. But people didn't always necessarily listen to some degree and so last night's primetime address was
a stark change.
Be in no doubt though, the British NHS service is doing all it possibly can to prepare. It simply doesn't know when the peak is going to happen. It
seems to be happening in other countries faster than the scientists occasionally have predicted.
And when it does come, it will be a stark series of choices between the elderly -- now you mentioned how people haven't seen restrictions like this
before, well, if you were alive in World War II,, you probably saw something similar and you may also be in the most vulnerable group right
now, in the over 70s, over 75s. 1.5 million vulnerable people have got letters from the NHS saying stay at home, take extra precautions.
There are huge changes happening across the country. But it's that change, it's the European criticism that it hasn't been enough early on enough.
It's the idea that Britain felt it could kind of take it on the chin, I should say to quote Boris Johnson early on, become immune and then maybe
better off down the line.
This led some people to not always take this as seriously as they could and still, you know, we don't actually have the law saying you go to jail if
you break -- 2 million Italians I think if I'm correct, simply stopped by the police and warned. Here, we're still talking about Boris Johnson last
night referring to how police will have powers. They possibly have them the days ahead and they're making their presence certainly felt here. But this
is a country working up to a complete change of life -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Yes, no, thank you for that. That of course, is the picture in Trafalgar Square in the center of London, not necessarily reflecting what
is going on around the country. But certainly a real indication that perhaps people today pose the statement by the Prime Minister late last
night which as I understand it was watched by 21 million people in the U.K. that people are beginning to understand just how important this is. Thank
you, Nick.
Europe remains the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. And Spain, one of the worst hit countries. To give you an idea of the sheer scale of the
crisis there, an ice rink in Madrid is now serving as a temporary morgue. Spain's government now reports more than 39,000 confirmed cases. And nearly
2,700 deaths. And that death toll behind only Italy and China.
Well, CNN's Scott McLean joining us from that ice rink in the Spanish capital. And Madrid, Scott, some weeks ahead, for example, of the U.K. and
we've just been listening to what Nick Paton Walsh has been reporting from here and what the latest is in the U.K. What is the latest where you are?
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Becky. So the death toll here in just the last 24 hours jumped up by more than 500. That is the highest
number of deaths that Spain has reported in a single day. You mentioned this ice rink being used as a morgue.
The reason that is so is because the state funeral services say they will no longer pick up the bodies of coronavirus patients because they simply do
not have enough protective equipment. So now that role is falling to the military, which is bringing those bodies here.
Tomorrow will mark two weeks since Spain first closed its schools. Given the 14 days is the maximum incubation period of this virus, they also hope
that that will mark the peak of the infections. And they're hoping that after Wednesday, the number of new infections will be fewer than the day
before -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Yes, well we know that healthcare services around the world are now under stress. As I understand it, more than 10 percent of coronavirus
cases in Spain are health workers. How are they coping?
MCLEAN: Sure, Becky. So just today that number actually creeped up a little bit more. So it is now more than 1 in 8 of all confirmed coronavirus
infections in this country are that of healthcare workers. They are working in packed hospitals and not only are they short of protective equipment,
they are also short of ventilators, which means that doctors in many cases are having to choose who lives and who dies.
[10:25:03]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MCLEAN (voice-over): Every night Spaniards gather on their balconies to applaud the nation's healthcare workers, but little do they know just how
much they deserve it. Not only are the hospital short on space, frontline health care workers say they are dangerously short on protective equipment.
(on camera): Do you feel safe at work?
EDUARDO FERNANDEZ, ICU NURSE (through translator): Not completely, it reaches a point where we don't stop to think about it. Otherwise we
wouldn't go in to see the patience and we need to treat them, he says.
Eduardo Fernandez, is an ICU nurse and a Union Rep, who says staff are forced to reuse single-use masks, because there simply aren't enough.
Already more than one in 10 people in Spain with a confirmed coronavirus case are healthcare workers.
FERNANDEZ (through translator): I'm not surprised at all he says, in fact I'm sure the numbers are higher because they don't test us. The protection
measures are decreasing, as we are running out of material, and now well, we're using garbage bags.
MCLEAN: You have to be pretty desperate to use a garbage bag as a medical gown.
(voice-over): He says it's a desperate measure, but it's better than nothing.
His union created this "how to" video to teach staff, a skill they never learned in medical school. The thicker the bag the better. Another doctor
fearing repercussions agreed to speak with us unanimously. He says he's exhausted, overwhelmed and even showing mild coronavirus symptoms, but he
has no choice but to show up for work.
The situation at the hospital is saturation, way beyond 100 percent capacity he says, it's around 180 to 200 percent.
This video shows patients lying on the floor at the Madrid hospital. The Madrid health department confirmed its authenticity, but says it shows only
a snapshot in an especially busy time. And that conditions quickly improved. Hotels and even a convention center in Madrid, are now housing
patients. The doctor tells us in his hospital, there isn't enough medication, and both protective equipment and ventilators are being
rationed.
(on camera): What has been the hardest thing for you personally?
(voice-over): To decide who survives. And who you can give the resources to knowing that many of those people with mechanical respirators, and
proper intensive care units, could survive, he says. Not to tell many people that their family member will have to die, because we don't have the
resources.
The regional government didn't deny either of these accounts. Instead blaming the federal government for widespread shortages across the country.
Madrid is expecting some $25 million worth of protective gear to arrive this week. It can't come soon enough.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCLEAN: And you heard the doctor that we spoke to has coronavirus symptoms, but he is still showing up to work. And that's because the
regional health guidelines here say that for healthcare workers who have mild symptoms, they should go to work, but should wear a mask.
For more moderate symptoms they'll be tested but they're still expected to work while they wait for those test results to come back. Only when they
have a confirmed positive test will they be sent home. But, Becky, with more than 5,400 confirmed infections amongst healthcare workers, they
really cannot afford to lose any more staff.
ANDERSON: No, absolutely. Scott, great work. Thank you.
China trying to get back to some semblance of a normal life without triggering a second COVID-19 outbreak. Less than two hours from now, China
is lifting lockdown measures for most cities in Hubei province -- the epicenter of this global outbreak. The city of Wuhan will have to wait a
bit longer. Its restrictions will be lifted on April 8th.
Well, new cases in Hong Kong meanwhile have doubled over the past week. As the city of 7.5 million started to return to normal. Many cases have been
imported from overseas, for residents who left and are now returning. Entry for most nonresidents has now been banned. And the government is talking
about banning the sale of alcohol at thousands of bars and restaurants presumably to keep people away from them.
Well, coming up, one scientific predicted the end of China's outbreak accurately estimating the death count in February. Now, he's optimistic
about what is to come for the rest of the world.
[10:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back, I'm Becky Anderson. This is CONNECT THE WORLD.
Europe remains at the heart of the coronavirus pandemic. Italy leads every nation on earth in total deaths. And the Italian civil protection agency
says the country's real case count may be ten times the official number. There are currently around 60,000 confirmed cases there.
Well, the U.K. has announced a widespread lockdown and a bid to avoid going the same way. And with the number of cases rising rapidly in the United
States, the World Health Organization is warning the U.S. might soon become the new epicenter of the pandemic. May we be able to fix all of this? Many
disruptions to everyday life are expected to last months and some places potentially a year with no immediate end in sight.
But not everybody thinks that we will need to go that long. My next guest has a more optimistic take, telling the "Los Angeles Times," what we need
to control is the panic. We're going to be fine, Michael Levitt accurately predicted coronavirus trends in China. He's a Nobel laureate and
biophysicist and he joins us today from Tel Aviv in Israel. There will be millions of people watching this who say how so, sir, the optimism we love,
what is the science behind it?
MICHAEL LEVITT, NOBEL LAUREATE IN CHEMISTRY (via Skype): Good afternoon, Becky. This is Michael speaking. So as you said I've been working on this
basically nonstop since the end of January. I think I'm in day 55 or 56. It's been really, really hard. The thing is that it is a hard-scientific
problem. It was relatively easy in China because the outbreak was in one city, essentially Wuhan, and then very heavily controlled.
We need to basically collaborate a scientist, we need to try to work together in a very free and open way, what no restrictions on international
collaboration, or things like -- although there is a lot of doom and gloom and I think the situation is not an easy one, there have been successes,
besides China. We've seen small countries like Singapore and Hong Kong, more or less control the outbreaks, South Korea has an outstanding case,
the country the head of that operation and control (INAUDIBLE) of Japan, seems to be OK.
What we need for this are two things. One is collaboration between scientists, technologists and media. Media is very important, we need to --
we need to give people an expectation of what we expect and then they won't be so shocked when the death toll keeps going up or cases going up as well.
By and large the population who are dying are not the youngest people in society. The real problem with coronavirus is not a problem when you have
an outbreak, it's detecting the outbreak. Coronavirus is growing underground.
[10:35:00]
I think people are currently most infected before they even know they're sick. So I think that people need to have a very, very strong sense of
common good. You don't go outside because you could inadvertently kill a friend. You don't need to do that, but you wouldn't even know you're sick.
You wear a mask or something over your face.
You will first sneeze as you become sick. That means your becoming ill. You take your temperature at home every day and record it so you know what it
is doing. But you must be the first time of this outbreak. All of this is needed. It's all very much properties of societies that have done pretty
well. Although I should say, it looks like Iran is also coming out of this. That's a society where you wouldn't know what's going on.
ANDERSON: I'm sorry, sir, and we look for glimmers of light. Unfortunately and you're right to point out that Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, you
know, we have begun it see some glimmers of light, of course, we are also seeing -- I don't want to be a doomsayer here, but we are unfortunately
seeing the number of cases, for example, in Hong Kong going up as coronavirus is imported into the country from travel as it seems who've
been outside.
So I guess the question to you is a very simple one at this point. Were we to veer on the side of optimism here and say we can flatten this curve, but
this doesn't have to go on forever, you say it could be weeks, months, rather than years at this point. What sort of policy is right? Who's
getting it right and who's getting it wrong?
LEVITT: I think the difficulty is the policy needs to be a balanced one. You know, you don't want to kill the patient or treat the patient so much
that essentially society doesn't survive. So we need to balance taking strong measures -- I think something we can all do is realize that the
responsibility doesn't lie with the agency, it lies with ourselves. Put ourselves above politics, above competition and realize that thinking about
the common good in every way the common sense is a good idea.
The thing about the virus is that there are outbreaks and there are long- term controls. We need to do many scientific studies to see what traction of the population already have antibodies from this virus. How does it
spread underground. I think if we had a way to detect when it's going to burst out of the ground next (INAUDIBLE). It looks from the data that we've
looked at that once the virus is detected its relatively easy for (INAUDIBLE).
But basically that's why there was some in some of the countries that it was advancing. But we have multiple outbreaks what we need to do is feed
the data to (INAUDIBLE). When you don't just say China, we say Wuhan (INAUDIBLE). And the response today -- you look at New York City, it's one
location. If there's a single outbreak in New York City we could probably get some information about how it's developing. When you have multiple
outbreaks, you lose all the timing.
ANDERSON: Yes this is absolutely fascinating.
LEVITT: You could argue that corona will be with us (INAUDIBLE).
ANDERSON: A new poll -- you've been talking about New York for example -- a new poll from CBS news, just out actually, shows that the majority of
Americans actually believe Mr. Trump is doing a good job in handling the coronavirus outbreak. Those 57 percent do think that the U.S. efforts are
going badly. Do you think that's fair -- Michael.
LEVITT: It's really hard to -- I've been super analytical in everything I've -- I'm a very apolitical person. I don't like to support any sports
team. I like watching sports. But I don't really care which side wins. So I think that it's a terribly hard problem. I think it's actually much harder
in Western countries where it is Eastern countries.
Not because of totalitarian governments but because people are much more individualistic in the West and more concerned about their own good rather
than common good. And I think learning to realize that you get your neighbor sick, then in a few weeks' time he'll get your kids sick. And this
is a very hard and there's been a lot of debates about loss. We don't (INAUDIBLE) admit to the doctor, protect yourself. Wear masks, protect
other people.
ANDERSON: Michael, with that, we'll leave it there. I think you got a call to take as well. Thank you very much indeed for joining us.
LEVITT: Thank you. Bye-bye.
ANDERSON: Fantastic. Thank you. We'll be back with a lot more news.
[10:40:00]
First, though, the latest in our global energy challenge series coming up.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN BUSINESS EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR (voice-over): Asama volcano is the hot springs of Japan, known as Onsen are renowned for their
therapeutic properties. For centuries the Japanese have frequented the thousands of Onsens scattered across the country seeking relaxation. But
now Japan is redoubling its efforts to tap into the same volcanic heat as an energy source.
On paper, it makes sense. Japan is home to the world's third largest geothermal reserves after the United States and Indonesia. And
technological know-how in geothermal largely comes from the east Asian country. Still, adoption of this energy source has been slow to gather
steam domestically. Although a Tatsuya Wakeyama, senior research fellow at the Tokyo-based Renewable Energy Institute is trying to change that.
TATSUYA WAKEYAMA, SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW, RENEWABLE ENERGY INSTITUTE (through translator): Because of the limited land and weather conditions,
it's difficult to achieve a significant supply of renewable energy with just one source. The advantage of geothermal is that if it can generate
power at a constant output, unlike solar and wind power whose output fluctuates depending on the weather.
DEFTERIOS: Wakeyama says Japan sits on 20 gigawatts of potential geothermal energy but is currently using just 500 megawatts -- 2 percent of
its capacity. Experts say the benefits of geothermal power need to be weighed against considerable challenges.
SHINYA TERUI, YANAIZU-NISHIYAMA GEOTHERMAL POWER STATION (through translator): While we have this geothermal potential in Japan, it still
takes about ten years to start operation after starting survey. The cost of construction is very high. And we also have the risk of failure to extract
steam from the underground.
DEFTERIOS: Despite the barriers, Wakayema is bullish on the energy source. But he also recognizes the powerful opposition he faces from Japan's hot
spring operators.
WAKAYEMA (through translator): Some Onsen owners have concerns that the development of geothermal energy could influence Onsen resources. For those
people, having a concrete survey before the geothermal development and explaining how Onsens and geothermal power plants can co-exist is very
important.
DEFTERIOS: An effort he says that is worth making in the name of geothermal energy.
John Defterios, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back. We have told you how British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is locking down the United Kingdom in response to the coronavirus
pandemic.
[10:45:00]
However, President Donald Trump seems to be ready to ease up on U.S. measures. His aides telling CNN that he is itching to roll back the social
distancing and other guidelines and get the country back to work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Our country wasn't built to be shut down.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Any of the doctors on your team endorse easing the federal --
TRUMP: Not endorsed. We talked together and I think they're OK with it and I'm OK with it. But this could be a much bigger problem. This could create
a much bigger problem than the problem that you started off with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, Mr. Trump also tweeting in all caps that the cure shouldn't be worse than the problem itself. Adding at the end of the 15-day
period of virtual shutdowns, he'll decide which way to go.
Contrary to that his health advisers, like Dr. Anthony Fauci, stressing that social distancing and other measures should remain in place longer.
Here's why.
The number of coronavirus cases in the United States is growing. The total number of infections has passed 43,000 with more than 540 deaths. The
states of New York and of Washington seeing the most cases.
Well amid all of that, just down the road, American lawmakers in Congress appear to be getting closer to approving a plan to protect businesses and
workers from the devastating economic impact of the pandemic but it has been a struggle. Lawmakers are now in their fifth day of negotiating what
is a $2 trillion package. Richard Quest, my colleague joining us from New York for a closer look. Let's remind our viewers, Richard, what it is that
these lawmakers are actually voting on here. And what is holding things up.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: What they're voting on is an entire range of packages of proposals. So for example, the bailout of
certain industries like the airlines and hotel industry, hospitality, providing a variety of funds for helping small businesses. Some form of
assistance for those who have been furloughed, who have lost their job. Putting in place $2 trillion, the building blocks for what will be --
excuse me, Becky -- what will be the core of the recovery program.
However, what the Democrats are saying and why they held it up is threefold. One, they say there needs to be oversight of this $500 billion
part of it. That seems to have been agreed. Secondly, they say there is not enough protections for workers.
Sick pay, furlough pay, things like that. And thirdly, they say that that there's not enough restrictions on companies. What they can do. If they're
being bailed out, what should executive pay look like? What should dividends be paid? And all those sort of things. And finally oversight of
the whole thing. They're worried this will become one big extravaganza boondoggle and much of the money will be wasted.
ANDERSON: Yet problem is, as many lawmakers on the Republican side will say, we haven't got time at this point to argue the toss as it were, about
the weeds. This needs to get done and, in his defense, Donald Trump tweeting this morning that Congress must approve a deal without all of the
nonsense today. The longer it takes, the harder it will be to start up our economy. Your thoughts?
QUEST: That's exactly the point that Mitch McConnell made yesterday. But Chuck Schumer for the Democrats made exactly the opposite. He said, yes, I
agree, it is essential we pass this now. But passing the right bill is more important than passing something that won't help. What Chuck McConnell --
what Chuck Schumer is saying is we're calling it the workers bailout, the workers deal.
And that really comes down to a partisan view that goes to the heart of politics here, the Republicans for big business, the Democrats for the
ordinary working man and woman. That's how it has been portrayed and if you take it at its face value, that's how it is being seen. But something will
be passed today. There is pretty much no doubt they'll do it. And that why, Becky, by the way, the stock market has gone up 6 percent or 7 percent.
ANDERSON: No and perhaps understandable. We have said this, as long as I've known you and been working with you, which is more than 20 years now,
we have always -- I know -- we have pointed out that the stock markets and the bond markets hate uncertainty. So give them something to get anywhere
teeth around and at least there might be a bottom to what's going on.
Look, a man at the right hand of Mr. Trump, National Economic Council director, Larry Kudlow defending the President's position, as you might
expect. He argues that, quote, good public health also requires a good economy, going on to defend the public health includes the economy, and
that is not an either/or.
[10:50:00]
And I think there is something to be said in it. Andrew Cuomo, the governor of the state of New York, yesterday, pointing out, surrounded by or flanked
by a panel that he was effectively calling his pivot panel, he had a panel of people surrounding him yesterday who he has asked to put plans together
to get New York going again. And it's important, isn't it? People start to look at this planning.
QUEST: All right, so they Latin phrase is "aegrescit medendo," which is an old Latin phrase which basically says the cure is worse than the cause or
the disease. And it's an age old ethical moral problem of when is it time to say you are hurting the patient more than you are harming them? The cure
is worse.
But I think you've got to look at what you were just reporting, a moment ago. In Hong Kong, they are seeing numbers doubling. And yet Wuhan after
two months of lockdown is only now deciding it is safe to start lifting restrictions. And in the United States, there has been no lockdown, Becky.
If I choose to, there is no police, there's no barriers, I can get in a car, and I can drive to the next state and drive anywhere else.
So although we're on lockdown, there is no law preventing people from still moving around the country. And that is why Louisiana at the moment, the
Louisiana governor said last night it has the fastest rate of growth in coronavirus of anywhere in the world ever.
So the possibility of this extending from the two coasts and Washington states on the coast, from the two coasts, into the country, through travel,
if this is lifted too soon, is absolutely perilous. I understand the arguments. But the evidence of Wuhan, Hong Kong, Louisiana, does suggest
that a premature lifting of the restrictions would be catastrophic.
ANDERSON: Well, I think the governor of the state of New York argues that getting the planning in place for restarting, kick starting, restarting the
economy of New York, which, of course, is inconsiderably important to the United States, is important. It's just that you don't -- he isn't
suggesting that you lift any sort of restriction or lockdown anytime soon.
QUEST: No, but that's what -- that's what the President is putting on the table. And he's putting it on the table for a good reason, he wants it to -
- he's floating a trial balloon. See how many of his supporters rally behind it.
Let me put this finally into context. Not two blocks from where I'm sitting is the Javits Center, it's a major conference center on the west side of
New York. They are converting that now into a field hospital for a thousand patients. That's the magnitude. So they're playing with nitroglycerin, if
they start talking too early about lifting the restrictions.
ANDERSON: Richard Quest in the house, always a pleasure. Thank you, sir.
We're taking in so much grim news every day in this pandemic. We're also seeing some great displays of gratitude. Coming up, the movement that has
entire communities around the world shouting from their thanks from the rooftops. That's coming up.
[10:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: The world's tallest skyscraper is beaming a message of solidarity to the people of Italy. Dubai's Burj Khalifa lit up with the
colors of the Italian flag and flashed, we are with you, in Italian on the enormous L.E.D. screens. The Dubai media office says it is a sign of
friendship in the common challenge to overcome the virus.
All over the world, we are all facing the same threat and from country to country, we are all being supported and saved by the world's healthcare
heroes. And, yes, that is what they are. They are heroes. Through the #solidarity at eight, people are getting together to show appreciation of
those heroes. Take a look.
You can see people in India cheering on healthcare workers there. They joined together blowing conch shells and ringing bells to express their
gratitude. Leaders in the capital of New Delhi, also gave a standing ovation.
And people in this Paris housing community belted out cheers and applause from their balconies. They are inside for the most part, during France's
lockdown.
In Turkey, they've joined in on this social media hashtag as well. This is Istanbul, cheering and whistling for those healthcare heroes on Saturday
night. Many calling for the movement to solidarity, thanking healthcare workers to happen every night at 8:00.
We are going to join them. We have another hour ahead for you. Stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
