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Connect the World
Boris Johnson In Hospital; Inside A New York Emergency Room; Astronaut Chris Hadfield On Coping With Isolation. Aired 10-11p ET
Aired April 06, 2020 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:00:22]
HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone. We're coming to you live from London. I'm Hala Gorani. This is CONNECT THE WORLD. Britain's Prime
Minister is now in the hospital 10 days after catching coronavirus. We'll have the latest on his condition.
And meanwhile in the United States, the number of debt is hurtling toward 10,000 people. We get an exclusive look inside an overwhelmed emergency
room in New York. And as the majority of the world deals with social isolation. I'll speak to Commander Chris Hadfield who had lots of
experience with just that on the International Space Station. He'll tell us how to do deal with a lot of time alone at home.
Now, we have a look across the entire world today. Let's give you a quick snapshot in the U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has spent the night in
the hospital after being diagnosed with COVID-19 about 10 days ago. Downing Street says he was admitted for tests as a precautionary step after still
experiencing persistent symptoms.
Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth rallied British citizens in a rare televised speech yesterday declaring if we remain united and resolute, then we will
overcome it. As far as the United States numbers not very encouraging there. It is the deadliest day for the U.S. over the weekend with more than
1300 fatalities on Saturday alone. And as the death toll inches closer to 10,000, the U.S. Surgeon General is warning that the week ahead will be the
"saddest" many Americans have ever faced.
Even comparing it to a Pearl Harbor or 911 moment. But there is some reason for optimism. All right. We're going to say this cautiously But still, we
try to find positive angles where we can both Spain and Italy. Two countries ravaged by the coronavirus are showing signs of the outbreak
slowing down with a decrease in number of reported cases, day on day.
So as we mentioned, Boris Johnson, the U.K. Prime Minister, is the only world leader that we know of was been hospitalized as a result of being
infected by COVID-19. Our chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward is live at St. Thomas's Hospital here in London where the Prime Minister is
being evaluated as a precautionary step we're being told. Do we do we have any idea how he's doing and when you might be discharged?
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it's fair to say, however, that Downing Street is really trying to sort of
downplay the significance of this. They are saying, as you mentioned that this was a precautionary step that it was taken because after 10 days, he
still had persistent symptoms. But what we're not hearing anymore is an attempt to categorize this as mild symptoms.
Because quite clearly, Hala, you would not come to St. Thomas's Hospital late on a Sunday evening. If there were not some real concerns about the
Prime Minister's health. We haven't been given any information on the types of tests that he may be undergoing. 10 Downing Street has said that he's in
good spirits. And then he remains in charge, that he is essentially able to continue his duties leading Britain through this crisis from his hospital
room.
But it will be interesting to see when he does leave. If he does leave today, there are now more people speculating that he might be here until
tomorrow. And of course, as our viewers now have come to understand, Hala, it's -- the concerning moment in the coronavirus comes roughly 10 days
after you can track the virus if those symptoms are still bad, if you still have a fever, if you still have a heavy cough.
That's when doctors start to get a little bit more worried that potentially this is developing into something else, that secondary pneumonia or
something of that nature could have been contracted. No one's saying that is what is happening in the case of the Prime Minister Boris Johnson, but
certainly, of course, no one wants to take any risks with his health, particularly given the importance and prominence of this moment
historically for Great Britain. Hala?
GORANI: Yes. Absolutely. And it is interesting, it will be interesting, as well, and certainly potentially worrying of the Prime Minister spends a
second night in the hospital and the U.K. is still not over the worst of it far from it, because according to the sort of statistical curves that we've
been seeing, the U.K. still very much is adding -- I mean, terms of the numbers, deaths day on day, the numbers are higher and higher.
[10:05:05]
GORANI: So we're not -- we're not past the worst of it here in the United Kingdom?
WARD: No, we certainly are not. We have not reached the apex or the peak of that curve that you hear people talking about so much. We have seen
steadily increasing numbers of fatalities every day. There was a moment last week where it seemed like hospital admissions, were possibly flat
towing but certainly, there is no sign that this virus has really, actually quite hit its stride yet.
And that's providing a lot of anxiety, particularly with the Prime Minister in the hospital, people want to have a sense that he really is able to
govern efficiently during this critical time. It's not just about how, as you mentioned, the healthcare system, the number of fatalities, the social
problems associated with that. It's about The economic problems as well. So far Downing Street says he's still in charge, he's able to do it from his
hospital, Hala.
GORANI: All right. Thanks very much. Clarissa Ward is at St. Thomas's hospital. And while the Prime Minister is in the hospital, it's the Foreign
Secretary of this country, Dominic Raab, that will be chairing in all -- cheering all these government meetings, including the coronavirus crisis
meetings happening at 10 Downing Street.
So the question is, what kind of tests would a Prime Minister only be able to receive in a hospital versus say at 10 Downing Street, where obviously,
you could presume he would be able to get blood drawn and he could be seen by top doctors in 10 Downing Street. Let's bring in Dr. Peter Drobac, he's
a global health expert at Oxford Said Business School. And let me ask you that question. I mean, what kind of tests could you not administer at 10
Downing Street that would require a potentially two-day hospital stay for the Prime Minister?
DR. PETER DROBAC, GLOBAL HEALTH EXPERT, OXFORD SAID BUSINESS SCHOOL: Thanks, Hala. As we heard a moment ago, 10 days into the illness is about
the time when we see progression to more severe disease in those cases where we do see that type of progression that typically involves more of a
pneumonia and a focus in the lungs. That's when people tend to have difficulty, difficulty breathing beginning.
So the main kind of testing and the situation that I would want to think about would be imaging of the chest, chest x-rays and a C.T. scan of the
chest to look for evidence of a pneumonia developing. Obviously, there's also the opportunity to do more sophisticated testing of heart function and
lung function and oxygenation as well.
GORANI: Yes. And I guess the question is, you know, if you've done all those tests, and you have the result the next day, if those results are
encouraging, and the Prime Minister says he needs to get back to work, and he's still -- at least the government is telling us this, leading the
country and leading the fight against coronavirus, you'd expect a discharge pretty soon, right? If this isn't anyhing too serious.
DROBAC: Yes, of course. I have no direct knowledge of this. And so I can't speculate. What I would hope is that the Prime Minister will be able to
follow the advice of his doctors. And obviously, in the midst of this crisis, he very much wants to get back to work as much as possible. But of
course, his health is his most important. What we do know is that in those cases, when people progress to more severe disease, they're better off when
they get hospital care early on and that deterioration rather than waiting a little bit later.
And so certainly out of an abundance of caution, it's appropriate to me that he is where he is right now.
GORANI: And let's, of course, his, his partner is pregnant. What has -- what have tests and research told us about the risks to pregnant women
here?
DROBAC: In otherwise young and healthy pregnant women, there's not necessarily an increased risk from COVID-19. At least the reports we've
heard that her symptoms have been mild and we can certainly hope that to be the case. I don't know how many for along she has in her pregnancy, we have
of course seen newborns become infected in a couple of cases as well. Though in most cases, they've also not tended to have severe disease.
GORANI: Now a pivot to something completely different. And I'm talking about tigers testing positive in a zoo in the United States. And the reason
I bring this up is because we've been told really pretty much from the beginning that household pets and animals usually cannot carry this virus.
Should people be concerned -- first of all, I asked you, why did these Tigers get tested at all when some humans have been waiting in line and not
necessarily getting the testing?
But secondly, should people be concerned for instance, if they had household, domesticated cats at home?
DROBAC: Sure. So this is a tiger in the Bronx Zoo, who along with a couple of other big cats developed coffin kind of failure to thrive symptoms a few
weeks ago, and this was in the setting of a zoo worker having tested positive for COVID-19, although not having really had many symptoms and
because the zoo was closed, and there weren't many other exposures, a test was done for this tiger.
[10:10:07]
DROBAC: To be noted, this was done in a veterinary laboratory. So it was a different test than the one that's used in humans. So it's not as if a test
was taken away from a human or a health worker to be given to a tiger, but did test positive. It's interesting obviously, we don't know a lot about
this novel virus yet in animal populations. There have been a couple of isolated reports of dogs in Japan and a cat in Belgium who have contracted
the virus.
It appears from humans and other coronaviruses we do know that cats tend to be susceptible. What WHO is saying right now is that there's no evidence of
transmission of the COVID-19 virus from pets to humans. We have seen a couple of cases the other direction. So at this time, we don't know but
absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, if you understand and so It's not to say that it's impossible.
At this time, I think the guidance is to use some, you know, some care with your pets and maybe not to be licking one another and to practice good hand
washing.
GORANI: All right, Dr. Drobac, thanks very much for that. I guess it is important to note the transmission is what matters here. So let's see.
Let's hope that that remains that there are no instances of transmission from animals to humans. Thank you very much for joining us.
At this hour, the number of confirmed cases in the United States is inching closer to 338,000 people across America. The death toll is also rising,
reaching nearly 10,000 in the country. Places like New Orleans and Los Angeles are preparing for those numbers to go even higher. Speaking on Fox
News this week end, the U.S. Surgeon General compares what's expected this week with some monumental tragedies in American history.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEROME ADAMS, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: This is going to be the hardest and the saddest week of most Americans lives quite frankly. This is going to be our
Pearl Harbor moment, our 911 moment only it's not going to be localized. It's going to be happening all over the country. And I want America to
understand that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: All right. That's the U.S. Surgeon General. An interesting analogy obviously, those two were attacks -- sneak attacks by an outside enemy.
This has been a virus slowly developing with some visibility for a few weeks. U.S. National Correspondent Athena Jones is live in New York with
more on these quite terrible numbers still in the United States, Athena.
ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Hala. That is exactly right. Really a grim projections coming from the U.S. Surgeon General and other
officials like Dr. Anthony Fauci. We've been seeing so much the top infectious disease expert who's on the coronavirus task force, and that's
because of the numbers you just laid out. Over 30 -- 300,000 New York, of course, as we've been saying for weeks.
It is the epicenter of -- the epicenter accounting for more than two 120,000 cases in New York City where we are right now, accounts for about
half of those. So clearly a lot of cases, a lot of cases surging into hospitals all around New York City and also on Long Island where we're
seeing a rise in cases. That is why you have the Javits Center behind me. This is a huge convention center taking up several blocks of the west side
of Manhattan.
There are 2500 beds that are now going to be open to COVID-19 patients starting today and I can already tell you that several coronavirus infected
patients are already being treated inside as of the last 45 minutes or so. Our latest update, there are about 36 patients inside. Now the governor of
New York believes that this is a, you know, something that could be a dramatic change. Calling it a big operational shift.
Governor Cuomo saying it's coming at a time when we desperately need a relief valve for the system and that is because of some of the pictures
we've been seeing coming out of these hospitals that are just overwhelmed with patients, they've changed surgery wards and pediatric wards into COVID
wards. At one hospital administrator said look, it's a good thing that Javits is going to be housing COVID patients because really, almost all of
the patients the hospitals are seeing all across the city are people who are infected with coronavirus. Hala?
GORANI: All right. Thank you. Athena Jones live in New York. Well the coronavirus death toll in New York where Athena is reporting from is now
topping 3000. Very worrying numbers there as well. That's almost a third of the people killed by the virus in the entire country. New York's governor
is now requiring three hospitals in this state to treat only coronavirus patients including the State University of New York Hospital in Brooklyn
where 25 percent of patients are dying. 25 percent. CNN's Miguel Marquez brings us an exclusive look at the situation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[10:15:03]
MARQUEZ: The front line in the fight against coronavirus. The Brooklyn emergency room of SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University. Patient after
patient struggling to breathe. This morning has been brutal.
DR. CYNTHIA BENSON, EMERGENCY ROOM PHYSICIAN, SUNY DOWNSTATE: Today is pretty intense. We've had a bunch of people die in a very short period of
time and which we, you know, are prepared for but when it happens so many times in one shift it's pretty hard to tolerate.
MARQUEZ: As we arrive in the E.R., the latest victim of coronavirus at SUNY Downstate is being wrapped up in the emergency room bay where doctors try
to save them. We visited SUNY Downstate for about three hours, midday Friday in the short time we were there in the emergency room alone, six
patients coded. In other words, they suffered heart or respiratory failure, four of them died. A devastating part of just one day.
BENSON: This is what we trained to do. And this is what we signed up for just not in this volume. You know, you may have a code, maybe on a bad
shift, you may have two codes, where you carry that emotion and you wonder if you did everything that you could. I think it's emotionally hard to
prepare for this level of sickness and suffering and morbidity and mortality in such a short period of time. I don't think any of us are well
prepared for it.
MARQUEZ: Have you ever seen this E.R. jam like this?
DR. LORENZO PALADINO, EMERGENCY ROOM PHYSICIAN, SUNY DOWNSTATE: Not quite like these days. No.
MARQUEZ: You're not at max yet. But you're pushing it?
PALADINO: Yes, we're pushing it. So at times the emergency room here there is no room to move but we have a system of where we decompress them out
behind here in the hallways or other rooms is the fast track. Not many people have been bringing in their children so we've taken over part of
pediatrics. There's also clinics back here that we can turn into beds and they wait there once they're stabilized from here and then go upstairs.
MARQUEZ: The corridors in the E.R. here lined with those suffering from coronavirus. Patients unresponsive, struggling to breathe. It is the hard
reality of this virus, for some patients it attacks the lungs depriving them of oxygen slowly suffocating them.
PALADINO: With COVID, the pneumonia is not just in one lung but rather in both lungs leaving the patient with no good lung. And it's also widespread
throughout both lungs with a massive inflammatory reaction that's damaging the lung.
MARQUEZ: Keeping the most critically ill patients suffering from coronavirus breathing. It is as simple as it gets in medicine but still
limited as coronavirus resists treatments, confounds doctors and kills patients.
PALADINO: Here in terms of the airway, we have to manage their airway once they become so altered from the lack of oxygen, that they're unable to keep
it open themselves.
MARQUEZ: And what is the mortality rate? Once they go on event, what happens to mortality?
PALADINO: It increases exponentially.
MARQUEZ: More patients die in other words?
PALADINO: They do. The numbers are not exactly the same from country to country, and there are various factors for that. But we all agree that it
skyrockets. This is showing that there's some fluid in the lungs.
MARQUEZ: Dr. Lorenzo Paladino is an E.R. doctor who has done groundbreaking work on putting more than one person on a single ventilator. It's research
he hopes that will never have to be used here.
PALADINO: What keeps us up at night is precisely what motivates us to do that kind of research here at SUNY Downstate, is that we want an
alternative to give to these patients, not just the ventilators but also for CPAP in isolation, oxygenation high flow, we try all sorts of maneuvers
in order to keep them breathing and keeping them from suffocating or having a cardiac arrest.
MARQUEZ: And it's not just in the emergency room where patients struggled to breathe and code. While interviewing doctors in other parts of the
hospital, nearly constant overhead announcements that another patient has coded. Those announcements for patients already admitted, not those in the
E.R. Can I just stop you for a second? This is the fifth or sixth code 99.
DR. ROBERT FORONJY, CHIEF OF PULMONARY AND CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE, SUNY DOWNSTATE: Code 99 is typically a rare event. We're having -- I would say
10 code 99s every 12 hours at least.
MARQUEZ: Well, we've been here for about 30, 40 minutes and that's the fifth or sixth one?
FORONJY: And a lot of that, what that represents is calling for a team to put a individual, a patient on a breathing machine.
MARQUEZ: What is most jarring about seeing the inside of an E.R. in hospital making the transition to being one of three in New York State that
will only treat patients suffering from coronavirus. Outside it is quiet and feels like an early Spring day.
[10:20:04]
MARQUEZ: It's slow moving, and is damn boring for a lot of people. But this is a disaster.
DR. ROBERT GORE, EMERGENCY ROOM PHYSICIAN, SUNY DOWNSTATE: This is definitely a disaster. It's kind of difficult to -- for people from the
general public who don't work in the hospitals. Because when you walk -- when you drive down Clarkson Avenue, you're driving down in New York
Avenue, on Nostrand Avenue, which are pretty busy thoroughfares. It's almost crickets.
But then here in the emergency department is the level of intensity that you only see in disaster zones that they've been televised around the
world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: And that was Miguel Marquez reporting, just hearing code 99 over the loudspeakers, they're just absolutely chilling.
As for China, where this all originated, it has reported just 39 new coronavirus cases. Today Monday, all but one of those cases were imported
according to officials there and with the infection rate, essentially under control. The country is emerging from lockdown, popular tourist sites are
packed with people. Despite health officials' warnings that the risk is far from over. Look at some of these images coming to us Huangshan.
You can see this train station, people are standing shoulder to shoulder on Friday. Now critics in Hong Kong say Chinese officials may be lifting
restrictions too soon. They're concerned about a new wave of infections. Hong Kong is now considering more strict measures like only allowing
restaurants to provide takeout services, or even a city wide lockdown. But clearly in some parts of China even though people are wearing face masks
they are gathering once again in large numbers.
As far as Japan is concerned Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he is ready to declare a state of emergency on Tuesday. That's tomorrow. He noted that
Japan's approach will be different from restrictions in western countries. Basic economic activity will continue like public transit and supermarket
shopping. The order is meant to target seven Japanese prefectures, including the capital Tokyo. Mr. Abe says the state of emergency will last
about a month.
It's going to be very interesting to see in Japan what kind of restrictions will be in place if public transport is still open. Let's take a look at
the markets now. And of course it has been quite the rollercoaster ride just over the last several weeks with the worst declines in history and
some big bounce -- bounces upward. Here we're seeing the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 1000 points. It's becoming kind of a routine
thing up 1000 down 1000.
Currently we're up more than five percent at 22,147. The Dow, S&P and NASDAQ are all pretty much up around five percent. Markets in Europe and
Asia are making gains today as well.
We have a lot more to come as we continue our worldwide tour of the coronavirus pandemic with a very latest fact based information for you.
COVID-19 deaths are finally on the decline. In Spain, but cemeteries are so overwhelmed that they're carrying out funerals, almost like drive-throughs.
We'll take you to Madrid live after the break.
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GORANI: Welcome back. A large order of ventilators that were being held up in Turkey. That order is now heading to Spain. We understand Turkey had put
limits on exports of medical equipment about a month ago when the coronavirus outbreak was getting worse there and all this comes as the
COVID-19 death rate in Spain continues to slow down now. It's important to note that though the death rate is slowing down, the number of daily deaths
is still very high.
Just in the past 24 hours, 637 people have lost their lives. For people losing loved ones, funerals have taken on a decidedly unfamiliar town and
that is adding to the anguish. Scott McLean reports.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[10:26:08]
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Every 15 minutes or so, a horse pulls up in front of the crematorium at La Almudena Cemetery. Father Edduar, a
Catholic priest comes out to greet no more than five grieving family members who keep their distance. Hugs and kisses are an uncommon sight. The
blessings and prayers lasts barely five minutes. The sealed casket is doused with holy water and taken away on a gurney.
No eulogies, no visitation, no public burial. There's hardly even time for a goodbye. These are the rules under Spain's coronavirus state of
emergency, a strange scene even for one of the largest cemeteries in Western Europe. It's been there through wars, famine and the Spanish Flu.
I can't express the sadness that people are carrying not only because their loved one has died, but because the system is so overwhelmed that they may
have been taken to the ice rink for several days before they're brought here he says.
In Madrid, the epicenter of Spain's pandemic, two ice rinks are now being used as temporary morgues. Cemeteries say they're burying two or three
times as many bodies as usual.
FELIX POVEDA, VISITED THE DRIVE-THROUGH FUNERAL: We're going do things by the book because there's -- unfortunately there's no book
MCLEAN: Felix Poveda, contracted the virus at a family gathering weeks ago. His brother and mom got it too, all were eventually hospitalized. His
mother who was 77 died in the hospital. She was not given a ventilator.
POVEDA: I don't know what to feel. I am alone here. My brother and sister they couldn't come. My wife is not coming, grandsons and granddaughters are
not coming, just me.
MCLEAN: It's not the kind of final sendoff anyone would hope for. Felix plans to have a funeral for his mother when the crisis is over. He's just
not sure when that will be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: All right. And Scott McLean joins me now live from Madrid, Spain with more. Just so many just individual tragic stories, one after the
other, not just the anguish, Scott, obviously, of losing a loved one but not being able to say goodbye properly.
Now, the number of deaths still very high, as I mentioned before your report, but the fact is that every day that number is getting smaller, that
has to be encouraging for officials and assign that this lockdown is producing some results.
MCLEAN: You're right, Hala. Under any other circumstances, you would expect that more than 600 deaths in a single day would be a national tragedy. Here
though it is a sign of progress, a sign that these harsh strict restrictions that Spaniards had been under for three plus weeks are
actually working. The increase in new active cases has decreased substantially. In fact, today's number is the lowest that it's been in
three weeks.
Recoveries and deaths are starting to take some of the strain off of hospital. But as you saw, now, some of that is being felt by cemeteries,
Spain stay-at-home orders we know, Hala, is likely to be extended until April 26th. And even after that restrictions will only be lifted gradually.
The hope is that they can issue enough tests. They're distributing one million across the country beginning today.
They're hoping that that will help further slow the spread of this virus. They're particularly targeting nursing homes and hospitals. Healthcare
workers have been particularly hit almost 20,000 healthcare workers infected. That is about one in every seven confirmed cases in this country.
GORANI: Scott McLean live in Madrid, thanks very much. And Italy as well as starting to see some positive results from the lockdown that has been going
on in a pretty strict way across the country for several weeks now. The number of COVID-19 deaths in the last 24 hours, 525, the new number of new
infections has also fallen, which is significant.
[10:30:03]
GORANI: Even the number of people in critical condition has gone down with intensive care units reporting fewer patients. Italy has seen the worst of
coronavirus losing more than 15,000 people. But day by day as deaths declined, people are hoping the worst may be over.
Now we know that all these numbers and all these stories of death and despair can be a hard thing to listen to and take in every day. If you have
any questions or a story about your own experience that you'd like to share, please visit our Web site at cnn.com.
And still to come. Queen Elizabeth II invokes World War II in a rare televised speech as coronavirus deaths in the U.K. near 5000. We'll speak
with royal correspondent, Max Foster about the significance of this address. We'll be right back
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Welcome back, everybody. Let's take a quick look at the markets here before moving on. As you can see there a very healthy rebound for the
Dow Jones up 1000 points, 4-1/2 percent higher for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. There is optimism that there is a light at the end of the tunnel
on the coronavirus pandemic. U.S. stocks followed a positive trend in Europe and Asia as well.
Could be also people and investors looking for a few bargains after some very, very severe and significant declines over the last few weeks as well.
Here in the U.K., Britain's Queen Elizabeth II has made a rare special television address. It kind of felt like that the whole country sat on
their sofas at 8:00 p.m. local to listen to the Queen. She called for unity as Britain's undergoes social distancing measures to try to control COVID-
19. The Queen said this challenging time reminded her of addressing the nation during World War II when she was a child.
She invoked the most famous British song from the war years of the 1940s. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELIZABETH ALEXANDRA MARY WINDSOR II, QUEEN OF THE UNITED KINGDOM: We will succeed and that success will belong to every one of us. We should take
comfort that well, we may have more still to endure better days will return. We will be with our friends again. We will be with our families
again. We will meet again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: And Max Foster, a royal correspondent joins me now live. Max, what I noticed on Twitter is that royalists and Republicans alike seem to all
agree that the Queen struck the right tone, that she -- this was exactly what the country needed to hear from their monarch.
[10:35:06]
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We were looking to how she would speak to history because one thing that she can do, which no
other global leader can is speak to these moments in history, but she was part of. So when she talks about being a teenager at Windsor Castle,
speaking to the young, caught up in World War II, she can speak to that with direct experience, she can talk about so many events.
And what she was doing by invoking the war era, and not necessarily the conflict of that time but the separation and isolation and loneliness at
that time, was to say this is very serious, we have to come together in the same way that people did at that time. So what she was doing away from
appreciating the key workers was really, you know, really toasting those, who've come together to help others by staying at home, by sticking to the
rules.
So we know that Downing Street was very closely consulted on this, the speeches written by her and their private secretary, but the time, you
know, this was in consultation with Downing Street. So we know that this is really supporting the Downing Street message and give you the impetus that
they needed at this time.
GORANI: All right. Max foster, thanks very much. That Vera Lynn song by the way, you'll know it probably, it's, we'll meet again, don't know where,
don't know where. And so, you know, maybe she was referencing that in her address, she close with that line in any case. Max, thanks very much.
Over to Washington and multiple sources tell CNN, a heated, very heated disagreement broke out in the Situation Room this weekend. Officials
feuding about an anti-malaria drug and its possible effectiveness in treating COVID-19. Health officials have repeatedly urged the president not
to recommend this drug before it's been proven to be effective. Then there was this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why not just let the sun speak for itself? Why are you promoting this drug?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm not. I'm not. I'm just -- very simply, I'm not at all. I'm not. Look, you know what I'm trying to do.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But (INAUDIBLE) everyday, right, sir? Talking about the benefits --
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: I want them to try it. And it may work and it may not work. But if it doesn't work, it's nothing lost by doing it, nothing. Because we know
long term what I want, I want to save lives. And I don't want to be in a lab for the next year and a half as people are dying all over the place.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's already out.
TRUMP: It may not work, in which case, hey, didn't work. And it may work in which case it's going to save a lot of lives. Now a lot of people say if
the people walking in prior to getting it, if they take it, it has a profound effect. Well, maybe it doesn't maybe it does. I don't want to wait
a year and a half to find out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: All right. That's the president speaking, some of his advisors as well have embraced the strategy of looking into this drug. The top health
officials, including Anthony Fauci have said that its effectiveness is certainly unproven. Our Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is
here with us. This has been a big topic of discussion because the President has been pushing again and again the notion that this anti-malaria drug
could be effective one day.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Hala. Before I begin, I want to tell you, have a lovely singing voice now to talk about
hydroxychloroquine. The President has been saying -- the President has been saying this could be a game changer. And I'll tell you that isn't even the
weirdest part of it. The weirdest part of it to me is when he says, I don't want to have to wait while this is in the lab for a year and a half.
What is he talking about? Nobody wants it to be in a lab for the year and a half. It's not in the lab and it won't be a year and a half. So he is wrong
on both counts. I'll tell you the status. The status is that it's being studied in actual people, in actual clinical trials as we speak. There are
trials going on in Washington State, there are trials going on in New York City, there's a trial that's being run out of the University of Minnesota.
In real life people, and they are hoping to get results in just a matter. They're hoping for weeks, although I think that may be a little bit unclear
whether that can happen, that may be overly optimistic. But certainly within months, nobody's talking about a year, nobody's talking about
keeping it in the lab. The bottom line is this has to be studied in real life people and it is, it has to be placebo-controlled.
You give half the people the drug, you give half the people basically a sugar pill that does nothing. And you see if it makes a difference. Here's
the reason why this drug can cause heart problems. It can cause eye problems. We don't want to just give it out willy-nilly. And the thing is,
if you give it to people, they will, most people will get better, they'll get better with the drug, they'll get better without the drug. That's the
nature of this virus. Most people do recover.
So you can't just give someone hydroxychloroquine and say oh, praise everybody. Look at this. He got better. He's fine now. Well, it might have
been the drug or it might not have been.
[10:40:08]
COHEN: That's why you need to study this and carefully controlled trials. I don't know why the President is having such a difficult time with this
concept. I know eighth graders who got this concept, don't get it, why he's having such a tough time with it.
GORANI: Yes. And a lot of people are certainly puzzled by his insistence on promoting this as a -- as a cure or as a possible cure. And the President
has recommended combining this anti-malaria drug with an antibiotic. I don't know if I'm pronouncing it correctly, azithromycin as well, but there
are risks associated with the antibiotic usage as well.
COHEN: Well, again, it's key, we're very close. It's called azithromycin. It's also called Zithromax on its brand name, people know it as the Z-Pak.
So there was one study that used it together.
There may have been more but there was one study that people point to they used it with hydroxychloroquine. I will tell you, I think I've not spoken
to a single physician and I've spoken to the physicians who are running most of these trials who think that the azithromycin is important.
They're leaving it out. They are just using the hydroxychloroquine. The azithromycin seems to be a bit of a blip. I don't know why that's been
combined with it. Maybe it would be helpful, maybe it wouldn't be helpful. But the doctors I'm talking to say it's hydroxychloroquine that they really
want to take a good look at.
GORANI: All right. Our Senior Medical Correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, thanks very much for joining us.
COHEN: Thanks.
GORANI: Now, experts are going beyond medicine to fight the coronavirus. They are using technology but doing so presents privacy concerns for people
who are potentially downloading apps or allowing some of their information to be made available to authorities. You can see here for instance, German
soldiers testing an app designed to track the virus. Tracking and tracing the virus is equivalent to tracking and tracing people.
And this leaves critics to question the risks to civil liberties and whether or not that risk is greater than the reward. The Technology
Correspondent for The Economist Hal Hodson joins me live now from Hong Kong. And talk to us about some of these privacy concerns because usually
when there are threats to public safety, you know, whether it's an outside threat, whether it's terrorism, whether it's anything else, usually people
willingly give up control of their data and some of their privacy.
But governments very seldom then roll all of that back. In the case of coronavirus. What can you tell us?
HAL HODSON, TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT, THE ECONOMIST: Well, I think the most important thing to think about with the application of technology to sort
of tracking tracing and mitigating the spread of the virus is not actually privacy. I think it's whether these solutions work in the first place. As
you say, I think people are relatively willing to give up some civil liberties in order to fight this thing.
But to roll out a bunch of apps that we don't really have any clinical validation on whether they work tool might be is a different question.
GORANI: All right. And I mean, the fact that they're not working or that they might not be working. Explain that. Because authorities seem to think
that by downloading apps, for instance, in Poland, there was a -- the notion that downloading an app to geo locate yourself to make sure that
you're abiding by lockdown measures was something that the government felt was a good idea. Why wouldn't they be working?
HODSON: The reason they wouldn't be working is that tracking people is not actually equivalent to tracking the virus. Just because you and I are in
the same place for a period of time is not actually a very good indication that I might have an infection if you subsequently turn out to have COVID-
19. And so essentially, the granularity of the data that we can collect through these kinds of systems, it's very amazing. clear that it will
provide any benefits or tools to tracking COVID.
GORANI: Can tech help at all. And if so how?
HODSON: Well, it depends, right? I mean, it depends how broadly you want to go with this. One thing that definitely needs to be in place with any kind
of contact tracing solution is widespread testing. Because if you don't have testing to go and send suspected cases too, so if I get, you know, a
call from the CDC, or if I get a notification on my phone saying you've crossed paths with an infected person, if I can't go in for testing, then
there's really very little point in that. Especially when we're all just sheltering in place already.
GORANI: All right. Hal Hodson, thanks very much joining us from Hong Kong. Appreciate it.
All right, still to come tonight. He spent a lot of time alone aboard the International Space Station and he's well-known for his elaborate music
videos. We'll speak to retired astronaut Chris Hadfield about how to deal with isolation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:47:10]
GORANI: Well with much of the world under some sort of form of self- isolation, we wanted to talk about the best ways to cope. How do you occupy yourself? How do you get yourself from climbing up the walls or becoming
stir crazy or feeling a cabin fever?
Even becoming depressed or anxious? Well, former Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield has spent a lot of time in isolation aboard the International
Space Station and became a worldwide sensation. You'll remember when he's saying his own version of David Bowie's Space Oddity.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, Commander Hadfield joins us from Ontario, Canada via Skype. Thanks for being with us. What advice would you give us in self-isolation
as we try to keep ourselves occupied without really being able to go out all that much?
CHRIS HADFIELD, CANADIAN RETIRED ASTRONAUT (via Skype): Hi, Hala. In that video, it looks like I'm pretty relaxed, but I'm relaxed on board the
spaceship for two different reasons. One is, I work really hard to understand the danger that's around me. So I don't just have to be afraid
of some big nebulous thing. And the other is that I have a really full sense of purpose of things to do. And I think both of those apply to
everybody around the world, understand the risks.
So you're not just afraid, but you actually know what the danger is. And then start breaking up your day, you know, everybody's all disrupted when
you're trying to isolate. So start breaking up your day into chunks, give yourself tasks, make up a wish list. Give yourself a, you know, a task
list, a to-do list. Do the things you have to do, do the things that are just for you, but start giving everyday a real sense of purpose.
And it, it suddenly stops from being sort of a cloistered, fearful isolation, the bus just being life in a different set of circumstances.
GORANI: And just I guess, have to kind of adapt your -- I mean, it's a different approach to your day, you're not getting a sense of purpose from
the outside in, you're bringing it to your day. You're the author of an Astronauts Guide to Life on Earth. And on YouTube, you offer tips on self-
isolation. I just want our viewers to take a look and then I'll get back to you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HADFIELD: Once you understand the risk, and your mission, your sense of purpose and your obligations, then take action. Start doing things. They
don't have to be the things that you always did before. Take care of family, start a new project, learn to play guitar, study another language,
read a book, write, create, it's a chance to do something different.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[10:50:02]
GORANI: I mean, I think that's a great advice. But I personally I'm having trouble. Because I'm full of great attentions, you know, obviously, I'm
still working every day and I'm thinking, OK, I'm going to do these things that I've always wanted to do. But then I don't know. I just -- it's just
difficult because you still feel like the outside world and the virus and everything outside the house is controlling your mood. How do you break
free from that?
HADFIELD: I think you need to break it. You know, it's like eating an elephant, you need to break it into digestible little -- all right. just
like, oh, I'm going to learn to play guitar. I mean, there's not time and that's a -- that's a long time endeavor. Instead, learn to play two chords
on guitar or I'm going to learn to speak Chinese. Learn to say five words, break each thing into a little enough piece that you can feel a sense of
accomplishment.
On the spaceship, I was so nervous when I first got up there. I had no idea whether I could function. So I started doing the little things that I knew
like to do. And after a while I was building like a sense of momentum, like when you catch a wave and you're body surfing, it's like, wow, I've got
some stuff happening here. And be forgiving of yourself and the people that you're isolated with.
And one other important thing, Hala, if everybody else in notice is sort of behaving like a jerk today, then it's probably you that's behaving like a
jerk. And you need to cut yourself some slack too. Give yourself some alone time. Recognize this is hard for everybody.
GORANI: Yes. And so mentally, so when you first got up into the -- into space, you're saying you were -- I mean, it wasn't easy. It was anxiety
inducing. And it was just taking these little incremental steps that got you -- that got you through it, but I hear from friends, from family, that
they're feeling mentally, you know, anguish, that there's anxiety and depression setting in. What would you people to do about that?
HADFIELD: People are afraid. But if you don't know what to be afraid of specifically, then there's just sort of this paralyzing overall fear. On
board a spaceship it's much, much riskier than what everybody's facing right now. But the way we deal with it, is to truly get into the details of
the -- of the danger, understand what the actual risk is, how is COVID transmitted? How can I minimize my chances? What are the symptoms? If I do
get the symptoms, what should I do?
What numbers should I call? Get it squared away in your head and then you can sort of set that aside and go, OK, I understand the risks. Now, let's
get on with defining my life the way I want it to be. And recognize that just because your life isn't the same as it was two months ago, doesn't
mean it needs to be terrible. So just trying to redefine and give yourself things to do everyday. Give yourself a sense of purpose.
We're all fighting this together, there's a great unifying activity going around the world. Make yourself and your family like a little crew on a
spaceship part of that.
GORANI: All right. Chris Hadfield, thanks very much, we really appreciate it. We're going to take a quick break here on CNN. When we come back. Some
things just can't wait. Even in a pandemic. We'll meet one couple that used zoom to move up their wedding date. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:55:03]
GORANI: Well, COVID-19 may have disrupted our lives but there are some things that just cannot wait. For instance, when you're planning on getting
married come what may. CNN's Anna Stewart met one couple that moved up their wedding date.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are now husband and wife. May break the glass.
DAN KRAEMER, NEWLYWED: It's actually an old Duo bag or something, because we're in a pandemic, I couldn't get a nice one. But here goes. Look out. I
don't want to step on you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mazel tov.
KRAEMER: Mazel tov.
ANNA STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Newlyweds Dan Kraemer and Linda Feldman planned to have a private wedding in Chicago in April.
KRAEMER: And all this corona stuff happening, and I saw all these people postponing things and canceling. And I said, let's just move it up instead.
STEWART: Rearranging plans, the couple decided to take their ceremony virtual, via the video conference app Zoom.
KRAEMER: Instead of a secret wedding with no relatives, there are no drama, yes, we kind of invited everybody.
STEWART: I know and I've seen it. I loved it. I really enjoyed your wedding. Thank you very much. Complete with musicians, officiants.
KRAEMER: Father Gross, you got your camera on?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think so.
STEWART: And corona beer photos.
KRAEMER: Put a ring on it. That's good.
STEWART: Dan and Linda tied the knot in front of their friends and family across the United States and abroad, all from the comfort of their homes.
LINDA FELDMAN, NEWLYWED: It was just such a new thing to be able to have people from all over the country and honestly, the world. We have friends
that are abroad. And even, like, a 90-year-old lady that's in a nursing home that's quarantined that would have never been able to make it because
of her health, cost, safety, able to watch it enough to be able to figure it out on her iPad and attend. So that was just the coolest thing.
STEWART: And the two have a piece of advice for performing a virtual wedding. Don't forget the bride.
KRAEMER: I'm sorry to interrupt. We forgot to bring the bring the bride in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We should probably bring the bride in. That's a good idea.
STEWART: Much like Dan and Linda, many others across the world haven't let coronavirus cancel their declarations of love.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the midst of chaos, only love can stand as a beacon of light to guide us all and remind us of what is most sacred in the world.
STEWART: All to show that music can come from chaos.
Anna Stewart, CNN, London.
KRAEMER: That was great. Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Mazel tov to them. You've got to wonder, after all this time together, if there's going to be online divorces in a little while.
Thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM, everyone. Just kidding. I'm Michael Holmes. Up next, the CNN special report, inside the incredible fight
against coronavirus. It is compelling. Please watch. I'll be back in another hour with more news.
You're watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's actually an old jewel bag or something because we're in a pandemic, I couldn't get a nice one. But here it goes, look out.
I'm going to step on you.
GORANI: All right. Always like a good love story to end the program. Thanks for watching. Hope you're all safe and healthy. And I'll see you next time.
I'm Hala Gorani, stay with CNN. A lot more ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
