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Spain in Near-Total Lockdown; Health Expert Predicts Up to 200,000 U.S. Deaths; Remembering the Victims of the Virus; U.S. and Spain Account for About One-Third of All Cases; Trump Extends Social Distancing Guidelines Through April; Inside New York Hospital on the Front Line of Outbreak; European Union Bands Together to Help Hardest-Hit Countries. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired March 30, 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]
HALA GORANI, CNN HOST: Hello everyone, welcome to the program once again broadcasting in quite unique circumstances. I'm Hala Gorani and welcome to
CONNECT THE WORLD. We have a lot to get through with the very latest coronavirus updates for you this hour.
First off, Spain is under almost total lockdown with restrictions getting even tougher. Are they working? I'll be speaking to a top political
official.
Then a U.S. health expert predicts as many as 200,000 deaths, even with social distancing in America.
And the faces of the victims of COVID-19, we'll tell you about two health care workers right here in the U.K. who have lost their lives to the virus.
And we start with a close-up look at two of the world's hot spots, Spain and the United States.
First off in the U.S., a look at the numbers for you, the surge in cases sparked President Donald Trump to do something he'd hoped to avoid, extend
social distancing guidelines until the end of April. You'll remember that he was saying that he was hoping for everything to get back to normal by
Easter. Now the decision came after key members of his coronavirus task force warned that up to 200,000 people could die in the U.S., even with the
current guidelines in place.
And Spain now has the third most reported cases after the United States, and Italy. The country is in near total lockdown. This surreal video shows
an airport terminal in Madrid completely deserted, not a car, not a pedestrian in sight.
CNN's Scott McLean joins me from Madrid. And I understand 6,000 new cases were reported in just 24 hours, that's got to be concerning for officials
there and just ordinary Spaniards as well -- Scott.
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is, Hala. Spain now has more confirmed coronavirus cases than China and more than twice the number of deaths -- at
least according to official numbers. This building here is the regional government building, where you can see the flags are flying at half-staff.
Over the weekend the Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced new restrictions on movement and so now all but essential workers in both the
public and private sectors will have to stay home from work.
One of the big concerns in the health care system is the capacity of ICU beds and also the safety of the frontline health care workers who make up
one in every seven confirmed coronavirus cases. They have been in desperately short supply of protective equipment and while the situation
has improved in recent days, it's still far from ideal. And so, some doctors have come up with an unusual plan b.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MCLEAN (voice-over): The coronavirus pandemic has turned the surgical mask into a hot commodity worldwide. Many Spanish hospitals they are in
desperate short supply. A couple of doctors in northern Spain watched colleagues in Madrid struggle with shortages and had an idea.
I had a mask, a Decathlon mask my house and I thought that maybe I can do some kind of connection to use it.
MCLEAN: Dr. Alfredo Redondo is a cardiologist in Valladolid. Dr. Ignacia Amat is his boss.
DR. IGNACIA J. AMAT, CHIEF CARDIOLOGIST, HCU VALLADOLID: As always, Alfredo has brilliant ideas. This one I think it was a little bit crazy,
but it was true that we were already concerned so we asked to evaluate all the crazy ideas.
MCLEAN: Making it work took some engineering. Replacing the snorkel with a common medical grade filter attached by a custom-made tube 3-d printed at
the hospital. Each part can be sterilized and reused and the filters last five days.
AMAT: These are absolutely protective. There is a complete sealing.
MCLEAN: The mask doesn't have official approval from health authorities but ICU staff are using them in Valladolid.
(on camera): I wonder what this tells you about the situation that your country is in?
AMAT: We are in a dramatic situation. I know the health authorities are bringing us as much as they can, but we need some solutions straight away.
MCLEAN (voice-over): That's because 15 percent of all confirmed cases in Spain are health care workers, one of the highest rates on earth. Some
hospital staff in Madrid have had to make gowns out of garbage bags and reuse single use masks. To aid the initiative, sporting chain Decathlon has
now blocked public sales of the 25-year-old mask. Plus --
AMAT: Many people from around are trying to send us their scuba masks from home.
MCLEAN: In Valladolid the hospital is going all-in on the easy breath. They were already bought a second 3-d printer and it's also catching on at
other hospitals desperate for a solution to protect staff on the front line.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[10:05:00]
MCLEAN: So this is what the mask looks like before it's converted. You can see this snorkel comes off and then it's connected here to that special
custom 3-d printed piece that connects then to those two filters which are normally used in hospital ventilators. They are well stocked at most
hospitals and can't be bought up by the general public.
Now this is not certified by Spanish health authorities, and so the doctors say if you are a health care provider and you have a normal mask, obviously
you should wear that. But this is pretty good in a pinch, because one of the advantages is that it seals completely over your face and so it covers
not only your nose and mouth but also your eyes, which can be a source of infection.
Hala, some doctors in Italy have started using this same mask to actually pump oxygen into patients. The Spanish doctors say that could be an option
for them as well. But for now, they're just worried about protecting their colleagues on the front lines of this fight against the virus.
GORANI: All right, well, they're being creative. They're being inventive. They're doing what they need to be doing to protect themselves and help as
many patients as possible. It is a dire situation, thanks very much, Scott McLean there. Keeping us informed from one of the world epicenters, Spain.
Speaking of Spain, joining me now is Javier Fernandez-Lasquetty, a councilor in the Madrid regional government. Thanks for being with us.
You're one of the top political officials in the hardest-hit part of Spain. And I understand the Spanish military is setting up its first coronavirus
field hospital. What are your expectations? Why is the military being asked to pitch in here?
JAVIER FERNANDEZ-LASQUETTY, MADRID REGIONAL COUNCILOR (via Skype): Good afternoon, Hala. Well, we are hearing in Spain, as you know, strongly hit
by coronavirus disease. Unfortunately the second country in the number of deaths and Madrid especially we are an open region, and we have right now
24,000 declared cases, 3,300 deaths, 300 more than yesterday and 1,400 inpatients a day ICUs. So we believe all over the world (INAUDIBLE) have
been war of infections, both public and private health care systems are working amazingly, and of course also the military.
And we were able to build an enormous field hospital within two days, last Monday and last Thursday in convention center in Madrid, IFEMA. That it's
now with more than 900 inpatients, and with capability to have more than 2,000 inpatients here.
GORANI: If I can just jump in, because people are watching us from all over the world, as you know, Mr. Fernandez-Lasquetty, people in London,
people in New York, other large cities. You are basically one of the hardest-hit cities in the world now when it comes to coronavirus. What --
do you have advice for other large cities? What do they need to do now, before they get hit by this inevitable wave of infections going forward?
FERNANDEZ-LASQUETTY: Well, in our experience, I think there are two things that are completely needed. First one is to increase and take very
seriously the measures of social distancing or stay at home measures. We would need to do that before. And the second one is to have the largest
number of ventilators and artificial respirators for transform normal beds into ICU beds. The ICU are really the bottleneck of the system. Because you
know, this kind of pneumonia can evolution very, very quickly, and became really, really worse.
GORANI: Yes. Thanks very much Javier Fernandez-Lasquetty. He's a regional Madrid official there. Thanks as well for essentially your warning to all
of us, your city, Madrid, shut things down.
[10:10:00]
You're saying perhaps a little bit too late, and really urging the rest of the world to know that the lockdown measures are just fundamental. Thanks
so much for joining us.
Let's turn our attention now to the United States, which is the country with the most confirmed coronavirus cases in the world right now, more so
than the official Chinese number. The state of New York is the epicenter of the country's outbreak, more than a thousand people there have died now
from coronavirus and there are about 60,000 confirmed cases.
Health care workers are facing an uphill battle because they are running low on ventilators, basic protective gear, space for the dead even. One
hard-hit Brooklyn hospital gave CNN exclusive access to see just how bad the situation is inside. Here is Miguel Marquez.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIQUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Every corridor, every corner, every ward, every inch of Brookdale Hospital Medical Center
in Brooklyn now inundated with those suffering from COVID-19.
(on camera): What are you looking at on a daily basis? How difficult is this?
DR. ARABIA MOLLETTE, ER DOCTOR, BROOKDALE HOSPITAL: Well, this is a war zone. It's the medical war zone. Every day I come in what I see on a daily
basis is pain, despair, suffering and health care disparities.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): Through Sunday afternoon, Brookdale said it had at least 100 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with nearly 80 awaiting confirmation,
more than 20 people have died so far from the disease, on top of its normal emergency flow, coronavirus is pushing the hospital to the max.
MOLLETTE: We are scared, too. We're fighting for your lives and we're fighting for our own lives. We're trying to keep our head above water and
not drown.
MARQUEZ: Doctors, nurses, even those keeping the floors clean. They say rising tide, uncertain how long it will rise, unsure this coronavirus won't
sicken them as they struggle to stay a step ahead.
(on camera): What do you need right now?
MOLLETTE: We need prayer. We need support. We need gowns. We need gloves. We need masks. We need more vents. We need more medical space. We need
psychosocial support well. It's not easy coming here when you know what you're getting ready to face.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): The deaths here keep coming, while filming another victim of COVID-19 was moved to the hospital's temporary morgue, a
refrigerated semitrailer parked out back. The hospital's regular morgue filled to capacity.
(on camera): How much room do you have in your morgue?
KHARI EDWARDS, VP, EXTERNAL AFFAIRS, BROOKDALE HOSPITAL: Usually we have around 20-plus bodies that we can fit comfortably.
MARQUEZ: And you've gone over that?
EDWARDS: Gone over that, and they've -- the state has been gracious enough to bring us apparatus to help keep families and keep the bodies in
comfortable areas, because we didn't want bodies piled on top of each other.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): Brookdale needs more of everything. Today Edwards said the hospital has 370 beds, they'd like to add more, many more. Two
weeks ago this was the pediatric emergency room, now it's dedicated to victims of COVID-19. Plastic tarp taped to the ceiling offering some
protection and a bit of privacy.
The expensive care unit filled nearly to capacity and sealed, so fewer doors and less traffic than usual comes and goes. This window is the only
place where family members can watch their loved one inside the unit, as they chat with them via cell phone. It's sometimes as close as they can get
as COVID-19 takes another life. As grim as it is right now, Dr. Mollette expects it will get worse.
MOLLETTE: And in the fall, it could end at the end of the year. But this is why we're begging everyone not only to put that pressure on the
emergency department, but also for everybody to help us to help them by staying home.
MARQUEZ (on camera): You think we're in it for the long haul. This is months, not weeks.
MOLLETTE: Definitely.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): Another worrisome thing she's seeing coming through the doors, not just the elderly and those with compromised immune systems.
MOLLETTE: I work at two hospitals. So I work here in Brooklyn and then I work at another hospital in the Bronx, and it's the same thing, the South
Bronx it's the same thing. I've had patients that are in their 30s and they are now intubated and they're really sick. I've had patients that are well
in --
MARQUEZ (on camera): No underlying conditions?
MOLLETTE: No underlying conditions. So the thing that's about -- between life and death as far as this coronavirus is that this virus sees, there's
no difference, has nothing to do with age, has nothing to do with lack of access to health care, has nothing to do with socioeconomics, race or
ethnicity. This virus is killing a lot of people.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): Brookdale has one advantage, hospital officials say it can do rapid testing for coronavirus on site, its own lab. Right now up
to 300 tests a day, they hope to get to 500 a day.
ANDREI LEGOUN, LAB TECHNICIAN, BROOKDALE HOSPITAL: And right now we have about 52 specimens in here. We're about to, that we're preparing to test at
the moment.
[10:15:00]
MARQUEZ: The hospital following Centers for Disease Control guidelines on who gets coveted tests. Patients admitted for possible coronavirus health
care workers showing symptoms and symptomatic long-term patients. Each test a laborious and time-consuming process.
LEGOUN: Very easy to make a mistake, very easy just from an extra milliliter of reagent, adding it to the machine can mess up the entire, all
the batch entire batch, all the 52 specimens we'd have to start all over from the beginning.
MARQUEZ: ER doctors are used to stress. Dr. Mollette says she has never experienced anything like this.
MOLLETTE: I don't really sleep that well at night. I worried about my family. I worry about my safety. I worry about my colleagues. I worry about
how the shift is going to be the next time I come. I worry about if a family member is going to come and be a patient as well, fall victim to the
coronavirus. I worry about a lot of things.
MARQUEZ: The disease a marathon that health care workers alone cannot win or even finish.
MOLLETTE: It's not up to just only to the emergency department to pull through and it may show the curve has flattened. This is a responsibility
for everybody in the country to help us pull through.
MARQUEZ (on camera): So stay the "f" home.
MOLLETTE: Exactly.
MARQUEZ: Is that literally, I mean how --
MOLLETTE: No, stay the f" home. Exactly, exactly. Because it's not just us that has to help flatten the curve and take care of everybody. Help us help
you.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): She says it will take everyone pulling together. The worst day she fears are still ahead.
Miguel Marquez, CNN, Brooklyn, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Really important to see what's going on inside the hospitals and also put names and faces to these statistics. We're going to get to that in
a moment with the death of several doctors here in Britain, after contracting COVID-19, have lost their lives. They are on the front lines of
this battle.
My next guest is Dr. Margaret Harris, she's the spokesperson for the World Health Organization and she joins me via Skype from Geneva, Switzerland.
Dr. Harris, thanks for being with us. What are your biggest areas of concern as you look at the globe right now, and why?
DR. MARGARET HARRIS, SPOKESWOMAN, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (via Skype): Good morning, Hala. There are many areas of concern. We've obviously got
huge outbreaks still going on in many countries in Europe, and also these very large outbreaks we're now seeing in the United States. We've also seen
spread to every continent and we're certainly concerned about the outbreaks that are beginning to get larger in Africa.
GORANI: So as a result of observing and studying these numbers, would you say that the measures that are in place right now, let's say in a country
like the United States, are adequate?
HARRIS: So in each country, each community actually, you can't even talk about a country when you're talking about a country as large as the United
States.
GORANI: Yes.
HARRIS: Each community has to make an effort and work out what works there, but there are certain basics that everybody should be trying to do,
identify every case. Now we say test, test, test. We do know that if you don't have the test (INAUDIBLE). So find everybody who is infected. A
person who think they may be infected or who's been in contact with somebody they know has been infected must consider themselves potentially
infectious and self-isolate.
So I heard one of your previous speakers saying stay at home. That self- isolation is crucial. Up your hygiene, really, really up your hygiene. You know, we've been saying it over and over again but it does protect not just
you, but others. If you're really washing your hands, if you're not taking an unwashed hand to your mouth, nose and eyes, you're stopping an infection
for yourself and also if you're keeping your hands so clean, you're not putting anything on surfaces to infect other people.
GORANI: And Dr. Harris, I'm sure you've seen reports of a choir in the United States where people had used 60 people had used hand sanitizer, they
made efforts not to shake hands or hug, they stayed kind of apart from each other and 45 of the 60 contracted COVID-19, this happened in the United
States. And one of the concerns here is, did we underestimate how infectious this disease is? Is it possible, is it possible that this virus
is airborne in some cases? Is this something we should be worried about?
HARRIS: So it's not airborne in the sense that it's hanging out in the air. But if you're doing something like singing, you're producing a lot of
droplets. You know, you're expelling air in a powerful way. So even though what's expected is that the droplets will really only move a meter normally
when I'm speaking to you, so for instance if I had coronavirus, I'd be spewing it around here. If I was singing, I would be pushing it out because
that's what you do when you sing. So there are certain things that would increase it, again, mass gatherings.
[10:20:00]
That's why we say, just don't do that at the moment.
GORANI: Right. I'm particularly concerned with the joggers. If I'm walking out and a jogger passes me -- because you pant. I mean, you're breathe
differently when I'm jogging. I don't know if I'm right to be concerned about that but there you have it. We're all a bit concerned.
I'm sure the W.H.O. has seen reports that China may have been underestimating the number of deaths. Because there have been reports that
incinerators and people have been collecting many more ashes of many more people estimated than the official number. What is the W.H.O.'s position on
that?
GORANI: And so, at the end of all of this, I think we're going to be going back and tracking country by country, and really seeing the extent of this.
You know, how many people had cases that were so mild, nobody really understood that they had it. So people talk about people having silent
disease. Often the people who have the mildest version of this don't even know they're ill. So the spread --
GORANI: I'm talking about deaths here, that China may have concealed the true number of deaths.
HARRIS: Well, we really again won't know anything about that for any country for quite some time, when you really go back and look at these
things. Sometimes especially a virus like this, that arrives in a community before people understand, yes, it could have been killing people before
anybody realized that that's what was killing people especially since it was killing in the older age group. So people may not have understood that
was what was going on.
GORANI: Last one on South Korea, because initially the country was really praised for mass testing and containing the coronavirus curve infection and
death curve quite early but now we're starting to see a small spike in cases in Seoul, and I wonder how long do you think these containment
measures would have to stay in place? Because we've seen in some parts of the world when we are dialed back, you know, you start seeing spikes again.
HARRIS: So this is again part of -- I shouldn't use the term learning curve, but we are all learning as we go of watching what this virus does
and what different communities are doing to stop it. So indeed, the basics have to continue, the basics, you know, the testing, the isolating, the
understanding that we've got to avoid mass gatherings. We are really in it for the long-term, and we really have to understand, this year is a very
different year for all of us.
GORANI: Yes. I can imagine. Dr. Margaret Harris, spokesperson for the World Health Organization, joining me live from Geneva, thanks very much
for your time. So many people starved for fact-based information.
Still to come tonight, at least two doctors right here in the United Kingdom have died from the coronavirus, contracted while treating patients
on the front lines of the outbreak. The latest from London is coming up.
Plus millions live in India's slums and while the government has instructed them to stay home and self-isolate, well, many of them quite simply cannot
do that. More on that later.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR, CONNECT THE WORLD: You came up with the idea that ultimately became MOBO, when you were really quite young. Just take me
back to that period. How difficult was it?
KANYA KING, FOUNDER, MUSIC OF BLACK ORIGIN: It was very challenging, trying to get support for a platform that was going to celebrate and
champion black music and culture.
I remember, you know, becoming quite frustrated with the injustices I saw around me because, you know, black music and black artists were making
waves that were reverberating around the world but didn't seem worthy enough to be celebrated in their own rights. And I just wanted to do
something about it, but I didn't feel that I had any resources or networks or contacts. Basically it's now or never, and I'm not -- I refuse to fail.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[10:25:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Well, to the United Kingdom now and a prominent epidemiologist here says the outbreak is showing early signs of slowing down. But as he
tells the BBC, the development of an antibody test is critical in gaining information on the extent of the pandemic and of course it's early days.
We're talking about numbers for 24 hours here. So it's important not to get ahead of ourselves.
And we want to tell you about two health care workers who have lost their lives. These are people who are heroically fighting this battle on the
front lines. Amged El-Hawrani was an ear, nose and throat consultant, he died Saturday. Also Dr. Adil El Tayar, a former transplant surgeon, he
passed away last week as well.
Our chief international correspondent, Clarissa Ward, is live outside St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London. And you've been speaking over the last
several days, Clarissa, with doctors, nurses and medical professionals. What are they telling you about where the U.K. is headed with this
outbreak?
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I have to tell you, Hala, it's a pretty grim picture. Doctors are always being forced to
make really difficult life and death decisions. Who gets the medicine, who doesn't, whether it's worth doing another round of chemotherapy, whether it
isn't. But now they're being forced to make those kinds of decisions on just an enormous scale. And let me give you an example of what I'm talking
about.
I spent quite a bit of time talking to a top London oncologist, and they were explaining to me that essentially, they've been asked to categorize
all their patients from one to six. With people in categories six having the least chance of survival, the most sickly of the patients. Those
patients at category six are being told that they cannot continue to receive chemotherapy, that they cannot continue to stay in the hospital if
they are indeed in the hospital, that they need to be released and returned home to receive palliative care.
This of course is a decision, as I said that doctor would sometimes have to make. But now they're having to go through their entire roster of patients
and call everyone in category six partly because of course it's a huge risk for them, Hala, to even go to the hospital, given that they are in that
highly vulnerable group but partly because they simply need to get these hospitals emptier so that they can continue to make room for the tsunami of
coronavirus patients who are already starting to descend.
But you can imagine the amount of pressure this places on doctors. This oncologists told me they're making the decisions in teams, but they have a
real fear that in the future, some of these patients will take legal action, those who survive to tell the tale. And some of them they said are
not happy at all about being told that they will no longer be able to receive chemotherapy -- Hala.
GORANI: I cannot imagine how stressful, how upsetting and anxiety-inducing that is, already having to deal with cancer and this on top of it. I
mentioned the name of these two doctors, there are others, but these are the ones that we've confirmed and for whom we have photos. Dr. Amged El-
Hawrani, Dr. Adil El Tayar, two medical professionals who died after contracting COVID-19. Clarissa, talk to us about those medical workers.
WARD: Forgive me, Hala. So I was just going to show you, there's a lot of the front page of most newspapers today is carrying the images this is of
Dr. Amged El-Hawrani who was a consultant at a hospital in the U.K. The other Dr. Adil El Tayar, originally from Sudan, was a surgeon.
And you know, you're seeing a huge amount of mourning really, people coming out and feeling a collective sense of grief, because simply put, the NHS,
National Health Service workers who are working in hospitals like St. Thomas' behind me are putting their lives on the line every single day,
Hala. Many of them feeling extreme levels of anxiety, that they don't have the right level of PPE or protective equipment. There is an ongoing review
process happening in fact today to determine whether these medical workers need better PPE.
But the thing that struck me, having conversations with doctors is, it's not just that they're concerned for themselves, Hala.
[10:30:00]
They're not concerned about getting sick themselves. What they're concerned about is going home to their loved ones, going home to their parents or
their wives and passing on the disease, particularly because so many people are asymptomatic. Now the NHS is sensitive to that and for people who live
in multigenerational households the NHS is basically allowing or advocating that they should move to a hotel or an Airbnb temporarily during this
period while they're doing this kind of work. Until they get -- and you mentioned it already -- that crucial antibodies test that will be able to
tell medical workers if they've already been exposed and that will just be a game changer, Hala, for how the medical system goes about organizing its
treatment of this deadly crisis.
GORANI: All right, Clarissa Ward, our chief international correspondent there in front of a hospital in central London, thanks very much.
We have some live footage coming into us, the U.S. naval ship Comfort is arriving in New York. Take a look, there it is. This is a medical ship.
It's pulling into the harbor, ready to help at the epicenter of the outbreak there and it is not by the way going to be treating coronavirus
patients. It will be relieving hospitals and treating other patients with other ailments and urgent care needs. We're going to take a quick break.
We'll be right back on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Welcome back to the program. The U.S. President Donald Trump has extended the period of social distancing guidelines until at least the end
of April. He was hoping to lift it by Easter holidays on April 12th, but with the new cases and deaths surging in the country, the President
listened to medical experts and extended the guidelines instead. Dr. Anthony Fauci with the coronavirus task force spoke with CNN about that
decision. He says coronavirus deaths in the U.S. could be much, much higher than the worst flu seasons.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, U.S. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I think, you know, if you look at seasonal flu, we
had a bad season in 2017-18. We lost over 60,000 people just in a seasonal flu. This is clearly worse than that. So I would not be surprised -- I
don't want to see it. I'd like to avoid it but I wouldn't be surprised if we saw 100,000 deaths.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: I don't know. Well, OK, apologies, we're having a few technical problems but we are back.
[10:35:00]
Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins me now live from Atlanta. Let's talk about Dr. Fauci's predictions or potential numbers
here, looking into the future, up to 200,000, and that's with containment measures in place. That's a very frightening number.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, what he said was absolutely sobering and I will tell thaw I've been speaking with Dr. Fauci.
He's been an important source of mine for decades now, and he is usually on the mark. When he says something, he has thought it through. If he is
saying this, he is not just saying is this off the cuff. He is saying it because he really believes it. And I think that's more reason why we didn't
end up having the measures end in the United States at Easter.
If you remember President Trump said, oh, I think we can sort of get people back to work by Easter. Which is of course in about two weeks. And now he's
saying no, we're going to let these continue at least to the end of April. I think that's -- it's those kinds of messages from people like Dr. Fauci
and probably in particular from Dr. Fauci that made him change his mind.
GORANI: I wanted to ask you about a question that people are starting to ask now, because you may have seen that in the United Kingdom now, you have
relatively young doctors who've lost their lives. The federation of Italian doctors are announcing today 61 medical professionals have lost their lives
in Italy since the beginning of the outbreak. The question is, are people who've been exposed repeatedly to the virus developing more virulent form
of the disease?
COHEN: You know, we don't know for this virus, because it's so new that we're just accumulating data right now. But I will tell you that with other
viruses, you will hear doctors talk about what kind of exposure you had. Did you get a little bit of the virus, maybe you were talking to someone
and some of their droplets came from their mouth or from their nose to you or did you get a lot of it. And so, often that viral load makes a
difference. We can't say definitively for this virus but often it does make a difference, how much of it you're exposed to.
GORANI: All right, Elizabeth Cohen, our senior medical correspondent, thanks very much for joining us there live from Atlanta.
Back to Europe now and with no end in sight to this pandemic. The European Union is banding together to fight this horrific disease. Our Fred Pleitgen
is in Berlin with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A German medevac plane on a mission to help ease the stress on Italy's
collapsing medical system as ambulances stand ready to bring six urgent care patients to hospitals, the crews say transporting coronavirus patients
brings a whole set of challenges.
We have to make sure the patients remain in stable condition, the medic says. The flight is additional stress for them so during the entire flight,
we need to assure that their condition does not deteriorate.
After a slow start, EU countries are accelerating their help for the member states hardest hit by the outbreak. France also sending dozens of intensive
care patients to Germany, where around half the country's ICU capacities remain vacant. This after Europeans saw mostly countries like Russia, China
and even Cuba step in to provide medical assistance to countries in need.
Some European leaders especially from countries hard-hit by the outbreak have criticized what they saw as too little solidarity in the union. Italy,
for instance, earlier on has slammed Europe for not responding to pleas for medical equipment. And even the head of the European Commission called for
stronger more concerted action.
URSULA VON DER LEYEN, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT: When Europe really needed an all-for-one spirit, too many initially gave an only for me
response. And when Europe really needed to prove this is not only a fair- weather union, too many initially refused to share their umbrella.
PLEITGEN: On the medical side of things, EU members are now stepping up their efforts, but deep divisions remain on sharing the financial burden,
the crisis is already unleashing.
Several hard-hit countries calling for shared European bonds, so-called corona bonds, while countries like Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and
Finland reject the idea, fearing they would be on the hook for other nations' debts. The disagreement threatening to tear the EU apart, some
warn.
I hope everyone fully understands before it's too late the seriousness of the threat faced by Europe -- Italy's President says. Solidarity is not
only required by the values of the union, but it is also in the common interest.
[10:40:00]
And while European politicians struggle to find common grounds to deal with the virus' economic fallout, medical worker, soldiers and many ordinary
citizens are showing their solidarity. Another German air force plane touching down, this time in France, ready to fly more patients to Germany
helping to ease the strain brought on by the coronavirus epidemic.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, so that's the picture in the EU. You also saw that in the U.K. and other countries and Africa, and the Middle East, people are taking
containment measures very seriously.
Well, that is not at all the case in Belarus, because the leader of that country seems to be brushing this whole COVID-19 off like it's no big deal.
President Alexander Lukashenko played in a hockey game, in fact, over the weekend in an arena filled with cheering fans. They gave high fives and
hugs to each other. The President also shook hands after the game, all obviously in defiance of social distancing recommendations meant to stop
the spread of the virus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO, BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I don't understand, there are no viruses here. Do you see any of them flying
around? I don't see them either.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Well, Matthew Chance, our senior international correspondent normally based in Moscow joins me now from London with this very unique approach to COVID-
19 in Belarus -- Matthew.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, O mean, it is pretty unique. It's pretty shocking as well, isn't it, given what we know
about the dramatic spread of this virus elsewhere. That there are still countries in the world, in this case Belarus, that are treating it so
flippantly. The Belarusian President there, Alexander Lukashenko, basically telling the country, look, if you drink a bit of vodka -- I think he said
at one point -- that that's going kill the virus. If you have a banyan for sauna that's going to kill the virus or if you play hockey on ice, that can
have an impact as well.
It's that kind of sort of false precautions to take if you like, that are really sort of fueling or could really fuel a terrible spread of that
virus. You saw something similar actually in Russia just a couple weeks ago where we had the Russian President come out and say, it's under control,
there's not a problem. You know, they said they'd taken the measures that they needed to take and it was much better in Russia than it was in other
countries.
That situation in Russia has turned around dramatically over the past 24 hours or so, they've enacted a full lock-down in the Russian capital with
no immediate end. Perhaps until April the 1st, but perhaps -- April 5th rather -- or perhaps it will be extended longer sort of into the future.
And you know, I think looking at these countries of the former Soviet Union, a couple of things occur to me. First of all, the slack attitude
toward health and safety, a sort of cavalier attitude towards whether you're going to die or not, whether it's in a car crash or a house fire or
in this case in a virus. And so, that's something that really exists and accounts for the very high rate of premature death in these countries.
But it's about something much more political as well. I mean, these authoritarian states, and I include Russia in that as well as Belarus and
some of the surrounding former Soviet Republics in central Asia particularly. They depend for their legitimacy on the idea they've got
control over everything, control over even this virus, and so admitting that they have lost control is something that they find very hard to do.
And that's I think why we're seeing a reluctance on the part of the dictatorial leader to admittedly come clean with their population -- Hala.
GORANI: All right, Matthew Chance, thanks very much for that.
OK, so this just coming in, this year's World Expo in Dubai is not going ahead as planned. Officials have announced just in the last few minutes
that the event will be postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Expo 2020 Dubai was set to be held in October. So really looking quite far ahead
here with an estimated 11 million visitors from all over the world. So now we're starting to see big events taking place in the autumn that are being
canceled or postponed from now.
And in India, the population density issue is making all of this very complicated and potentially deadly. 74 million people live in the country's
slums. The government has ordered the nation to stay home, and to socially distance, but one in six Indians simply cannot follow those orders. Most
have no running water in fact near their homes and some places have to share toilets. Vedika Sud has more from New Delhi.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VEDIKA SUD, CNN FIELD PRODUCER: One would think that adhering to the three-week lockdown would be India's toughest challenge.
[10:45:00]
But it's the movement of migrant workers across India that is turning out to be a nightmare. But there are at least Indian 14 migrant workers who
travel across states for employment. Now with this lockdown they have been rendered both homeless as well as jobless. Some of them earn as little as
$5 to $7 a day, with no money for rent and no food, these migrant workers along with the family members are traveling hundreds of miles back to the
native towns and villages. Some migrant workers say they fear hunger more than the coronavirus.
While the Indian government has pledged $22 billion for migrant workers. They have also directed state governments to ensure no movement of laborers
across state borders and to treat this as a violation of the lockdown.
Prime Minister Modi on Sunday apologized for the hardships caused by the lockdown especially for India's work. But given the situation on the ground
what's quite clear is that this lockdown is no solution for the poor people of the country.
Vedika Sud, CNN, New Delhi.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: And still to come after the break, some Amazon employees are concerned, they say fear and frustration is growing over their working
conditions, but Amazon says their safety is their first concern. That story is just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Welcome back. So if you're stuck at home and all likelihood you've used the internet to order essential supplies and goods. Perhaps you've
even used Amazon. And though the demand for Amazon products obviously is skyrocketing, some of the employees working in warehouses are saying
they're being put in danger. Let's get more now from CNN's Natasha Chen. She is in Atlanta, and what are employees saying that they are afraid that
they're going to be exposed to coronavirus, have any contracted the virus at this stage?
NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, yes, Hala, a lot of, a number of employees at Amazon facilities across the country have tested positive. I
spoke to one cargo handler in Kent, Washington, and that's near the Seattle area, where the outbreak in the U.S. really began. He says that the
warehouse in Kent near his delivery station also has at least one worker who has tested positive, that's also seen reported in "The Seattle Times."
Now his concern -- what he's telling me -- is that workers for a while now have been asking for hand sanitizer and masks to be provided on the job,
and thus far, they have not gotten that. And as late as last week, he said, they were still holding meetings in the morning with his group of about 60
people gathered together.
[10:50:00]
So really not quite abiding by social distancing guidelines and it wasn't until yesterday that he was called by his lead driver and told to stay at
home for two weeks in efforts to do social distancing, because his job requires being in a truck all day with a second person in close proximity.
He says that should have been done weeks ago. So here he is talking about the mood of the employees right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT SMITH, AMAZON CARGO HANDLER: And the fact that we've been asking for these things over and over and Amazon a trillion-dollar corporation owned
by the richest man in the world refused to take basic steps to protect us. So there's anxiety, there's fear and there's huge frustration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHEN: And so, he's talking about whether he will see some of those precautions, protections like hand sanitizer or masks when he returns to
work -- Hala.
GORANI: All right, Natasha Chen, thanks very much.
Well, the impact of this coronavirus outbreak is being felt also in the travel industry. You can imagine with pretty much everyone grounded and not
that many people traveling, British Airlines, EasyJet, they've announced that they're grounding their fleet. EasyJet is, in fact, due to what it is
calling the unprecedented travel restrictions caused by the pandemic. And let me correct myself, it is EasyJet, not British Airlines. It is a British
airline, EasyJet saying this.
Global stocks and oil prices extremely volatile right now after the U.S. President extended social distancing guidelines for another 30 days. Well,
Richard Quest joins me now with more on the impact on the travel industry. And all these grounded airlines, I mean, obviously we're going to be
looking at very, very tough times ahead for this entire sector.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR AT-LARGE: Yes, and that has arrived those tough times which is why in the United States United States there is
$25 billion to $35 billion specifically reserved in the bailout plan for the airlines. And now just a question of which other European governments
are going to do the same. Otherwise there won't be an airline industry to come back to.
Airlines are facing both sides of the equation. On the demand side they can't fly anywhere. There's no demand. Countries are boarded down and they
simply -- they're just not able to sell tickets. And on the supply side, well, nobody wants to fly anyway. So on both sides of the equation they've
had to ground the fleet because of government actions or at least they're not allowed to fly because there's too many restrictions. There're no
passengers that wish to fly. They have high capital costs. Those planes are extremely expensive. There are large infrastructures. So, Hala, it is not
surprising EasyJet grounded its fleet. One would fully expect when repatriation flights finish other top airlines to do the same.
GORANI: And it's obviously not just the airline industry, it's practically every single sector of the economy and major indices are down, for instance
in Europe. But I think part of it is probably that people really don't see a light at the end of the tunnel yet, in terms of when these restrictions
will be lifted. Already economies were kind of coming to the end of the growth cycle and were looking potentially at a slowdown and now this is
really compounding the economic disaster.
QUEST: The situation was poor to begin with, particularly in Europe. Now you have this, which has taken it into a quantum different area. It's
completely and utterly out of anything that any investor, any fund manager, any form of financial manager has ever experienced. And people just don't
know what to do. Let's call it for what it is.
But there is a flaw under all of this, and that's called government, and we've seen it in Britain in the United States and Germany, all of the
different governments have put floors under their economies below which they will not let them go. However the floor may not be high enough at the
moment and they may have to put reinforcements underneath even that, and that's why economies are so uncertain. Companies don't know when they're
going to reopen.
What you need to be careful of, Hala, is the so-called bottom fishing. Those investors who feel, oh, this is as low as it's going because this is
as low as I've ever seen it. That is not the case. Remember, during the great financial crisis, stocks lost 50 percent of their value. On this
crisis, they've only lost roughly 25 percent to 30 percent of their value. So any idea that quote, well, it's all over bother shouting, as Goldman
Sachs said this morning that's probably not the case.
[10:55:00]
GORANI: Probably not. Thanks very much. Richard Quest, we'll see you later on "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS."
Still to come -- Elton John and his famous friends put together a benefit concert produced in the new normal way of living for all of us. We'll be
right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Welcome back. Well, this pandemic has led to the cancellation or the postponement of many events including the iHeartRadio Music Awards
show. To fill the empty programming space, iHeartRadio and the Fox Network held a benefit concert called, Living Room Concert for America. Famous
singers gave performances from their homes to maintain social distancing and Sir Elton John hosted the television concert from kind of like what I'm
doing now, from his kitchen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIR ELTON JOHN, SINGER, SONGWRITER: Don't let the sun go down on me. Although I searched myself, it's always someone else I'd see I just allow
a fragment of your life to wander free.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: There you have it. Well, we're broadcasting from our kitchens, from our living rooms, from our studies, from our spare bedrooms to keep
you informed here on CNN. Thanks for being with us this hour. Do stay with us. I'm Hala Gorani. I'll see you next time. The news continues after a
break.
[11:00:00]
END
