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U.K. P.M. Admits His Case Could Have Gone Either Way; Spain Lift Some Restrictions; U.K. Has 10,000+ Deaths, Fourth Most In Europe. Aired 10:00-11a ET
Aired April 13, 2020 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[10:00:27]
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome, everybody. I'm Hala Gorani. This is CONNECT THE WORLD. We continue to cover the very latest on the
coronavirus pandemic. And this hour Boris Johnson says he has hospital staff to thank for his coronavirus recovery and that it could have gone
"Either way."
Also, Spain takes some cautious steps lifting restrictions for thousands of nonessential workers. I'll ask Madrid's employment minister if he worries
that all this might be happening too soon.
And Donald Trump wants to get back to normal next month even as U.S. cases soar past half a million.
Well, we start with a very grim prediction for the number of coronavirus cases that might ultimately afflict this nation in the United Kingdom. A
government advisor on COVID-19 says the U.K. will likely have the highest death toll in all of Europe, eventually surpassing France, Spain and Italy.
Jeremy Farrar tells the BBC it will take a couple of weeks before deaths plateau here, then start to go down.
His comments come as Britain's highest profile coronavirus patient is finally out of the hospital and recovering. Boris Johnson spokesperson says
the Prime Minister tested negative for the virus before his discharge on Sunday. Mr. Johnson says that without proper medical attention, he would
have died.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon. I've today left hospital after a week in which the NHS has saved my life. No question. It's
hard to find words to express my debt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, Nick Van Walsh joins me now live, he is at 10 Downing Street. First, let's start with the numbers here and this really, really terrifying
prediction that the United Kingdom might have -- having -- might end up having the most number of coronavirus cases than any other European
country. I guess the natural question here is, how is that possible given the amount of notice this country was given that the pandemic was coming
its way?
NICK VAN WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you can hark back to possibly over a month ago where the government we're talking about
herd immunity, were criticized for perhaps not putting in lockdowns closing schools as early in England, certainly as other parts of the United Kingdom
had done. And that debate continues now as well. The difficult thing to work out at this stage is exactly where we are, as you said in terms of
getting towards the peak.
Now of the past two days, it's been a public holiday here over this weekend. The numbers of dead everyday reported have dropped to the 700. 717
today, 737, the day before. And that's down from peaks of the high 900s which were deeply terrifying. We've now crossed 11,000 total debt in the
United Kingdom. The question is how much of that is the entire picture because we know that these are counted on a daily basis from positive
tested patients who then die in hospital.
Other numbers have suggested there are substantial more who died perhaps in care homes or elsewhere in the population. It's not a precise science, but
for one period, it suggested maybe - there may be as many that are counted in this daily toll, who die outside of that toll elsewhere in the country.
So when you refer to that key U.K. advisor, they're saying that this may be the worst afflicted European country.
It could be partially to do with that number, it could be also down to the fact that we may be seeing many more days of these high death tolls ahead
of us. It is unclear at this point what exactly the government think the peak may be, and you have to bear in mind, they're weighing up the need to
keep the public vigilant and at home whilst also being as truthful as they can about the signs they have, which is itself constantly changing.
But certainly the U.K., its policies up until the point where it shut the country down under intense scrutiny now, as is their desire, frankly, on
many levels to get it back functioning again. We are likely to see this week the restrictions continued. But it's unclear how long for because the
economy here is taking a real beating, Hala.
GORANI: All right. Apologies. Just had a bit of a technical problem resolved that though. Nick, can you still hear me?
WALSH: I can, yes.
[10:05:01]
GORANI: Oh, great. So let's talk about Boris Johnson and we're learning more about his condition after he was discharged and that it was more
serious than previously thought. In his own words, he said it could have gone either way. Let's listen to what the Prime Minister had to say after
he's released from hospital.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: I hope they won't mind. If I mentioned in particular, two nurses, who stood by my bedside for 48 hours when things could have gone either
way. That Jenny from New Zealand, Invercargill on the side of Ireland to be exact, and Luis from Portugal, near Porto. And the reason in the end, my
body did start to get enough oxygen was because for every second of the night, they were watching and they were thinking and they were caring and
making the interventions I needed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: And his partner also, his pregnant partner, Carrie Simmons, put out this tweet there were times last week that were very dark indeed. Were we
misled about the condition of the Prime Minister, when cabinet members kept telling us he's in good spirits and he's leading the nation from his
hospital bed?
WALSH: I think the most charitable answer is that we are dealing with ministers under intense strain who possibly had a disconnect with the
doctors inside the hospital, dealing with the immediate medical treatment and knowing the day by day updates. There was a very strange moment last
Monday, when the man deputizing for Boris Johnson said he'd had a comfortable night in hospital pretty much just at the moment that he was
being rushed into intensive care there.
And then there were questions towards the spokesperson of number 10 as exactly why they kept using the phrase in good spirits throughout his time
when he was in hospital and then in intensive care in hospital. And the answer to that was well, we had everything we will said to people was
cleared by St. Thomas's doctor.
So, yes, certainly a government here under pressure as to how transparent they have been, there were clear moments, frankly, where the people doing
the speaking for the government didn't seem to know exactly how bad it was. And then you have to balance on top of that too, the fact that any
government, frankly in the world is loath to admit that the man in charge is possibly it seems, in this instance, quite close maybe to death indeed.
I mean, it was startling to hear Boris Johnson using that terminology, a very emotional, straightforward plea thanking the NHS immigrant staff who
assisted him and brought him through that particular dark period. But frankly, yes, a statement from him, which suggests things were
significantly worse inside Thomas's -- in Thomas's hospital than had been suggested by the daily briefings.
We were getting that for possibly understandable reasons didn't want to necessarily let on that the Prime Minister was quite that badly off, Hala.
GORANI: Nick Paton Walsh, thanks very much. And Nick was mentioning that the Prime Minister is saying to nurses in particular, one from New Zealand,
the other from Portugal, so notable as well after a very divisive few years here in the U.K. where the topic of immigration, especially E.U.
immigration was one of the hottest topics during the Brexit debate and the Prime Minister making sure to note that one of his nurses came from
Portugal.
Spain says there were more than 500 COVID-19 deaths in the past 24 hours. It's the second time in three weeks that that number has been below 600.
This comes as the government eases some lockdown restrictions, police officers in Madrid handed out masks. You can see it there. As some 300,000
nonessential workers returned to work. Let's get to Scott McLean. He's in Madrid.
What nonessential workers will be allowed to start working again and contributing to the economy, Scott?
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Hala. So we're talking about 300,000 workers in Madrid alone. These are in sectors like
construction and manufacturing. Anywhere where you cannot work from home and your job isn't facing the public. We're on one of the busiest metro
stations in Madrid right now we're official say, thankfully, they're seeing a fraction of the ridership that they normally would.
You can see there's still a couple of people coming and going. Just a couple of minutes ago there are actually police officers here handing out
surgical mask to people coming and going. I thought it really would have been unthinkable at the beginning of this outbreak because they didn't even
have enough for health care workers. Luckily, some of these trains that we've seen have been pretty empty, which is good, but this is not the
Spanish rush hour.
Those police officers handing out the masks are going to be back in about two hours from now, so that they can be here for the Spanish rush hour
which is about, you know, six to seven or six to eight or so. This decision though to send people back to work is not without controversy, not even
close, Hala. Spain is still seeing about three or 4000 new confirmed coronavirus cases every single day.
The president of the Catalan region called the reckless and irresponsible, one of the biggest unions is raising concerns about workers having the
proper safety equipment, the proper protective equipment to go back. The people that we've had here have had some mixed feelings.
[10:10:08]
MCLEAN: What -- we met one woman who said look before the she would even leave her house to go and buy bread and so she's obviously nervous. Now
having to take public transportation to get to work. Other people, though, say, look, this is a good development because I need to work, I need to put
bread on the table. It's important to remember though, why this segment of the workforce was told to stay home or forced to stay home, I should say in
the first place.
And that's because they didn't want to see the ICUs in hospitals completely overwhelmed. But remember, Hala, Spain is still using 13 hotels in the
convention center in Madrid as hospital board. So pretty risky decision here by the powers that be and certainly a controversial.
GORANI: Yes. Scott McLean, thanks very much in the metro station there in Madrid. As Scott mentioned 300,000 people in Spain considered non-essential
workers, construction workers and others allowed to return to work.
Joining me via Skype from Madrid is Manuel Gimenez Rasero. He's the region's economy minister. Thank you for being with us. Why do you believe
or do you believe it is too soon to lift 1these restrictions in terms of public health? Why or why not?
MANUEL GIMENEZ RASERO, MADRID REGIONAL ECONOMY MINISTER (via Skype): But it has -- it has been a decision that is -- that is strictly based on health.
So, we endorse that decision, it is very important that the going back to work has to be taken in terms of preserving health. So if -- from a
technical perspective, the decision is correct, the economy has to make sure that it is useful.
GORANI: Uh-hmm. But is it risky? I mean, I spoke with the COVID-19 envoy to the World Health Organizations. One of the things he told me is that when
you start lifting restrictions, you should be able to shut everything down to have the ability to shut everything down very quickly if the number of
COVID cases spikes once again. Do you have that ability in the Madrid region?
RASERO: Definitely, definitely. The decision to immediately shut down, it was taken in one day in a few hours. So, if necessary, if proved necessary.
And that has to be -- must be our sole priority. It can be taken right away immediately in hours, in minutes.
GORANI: Uh-hmm. Can you quantify how much this is costing your region economically, this lockdown?
RASERO: Madrid has been deeply affected. Any economist or public servant that has taken the opportunity to give -- to give a view has been
immediately overcome by facts. So, I wouldn't -- I wouldn't dare to take a fixed position or there are some experts we all know them that are given an
evaluation of around 10 percent of the GD -- of the region on GDP. That could be a figure to keep in mind to start thinking on how to reactivate 99
percent of the Madrid economy is based either on SMEs and autonomous workers.
That's why the first and most important decision of the regional government has been to endorse SMEs and autonomous workers in all sectors tourism
industry. Professional Services, the Madrid based -- the Madrid economy is based 85 percent in services, that value added services. So, it's not --
GORANI: Right. And those are --
(CROSSTALK)
RASERO: That important --
(CROSSTALK)
GORANI: Sir, as you say SM -- to tell our viewers SMEs, meaning small and medium-sized businesses and people who might be freelancers, or who might
work for themselves as -- I don't know, drivers or, you know, shopkeepers, that kind of thing. The economy of the Madrid --
RASERO: You know, doctors or lawyers.
GORANI: -- region relies so much on those workers. Yes. So, how do you -- I mean, this is -- this is a question that many regions, countries, in fact,
in Europe and beyond are going to have to confront. What is the best response to try to help avoid bankruptcies, avoid long-term unemployment?
What do you need to do after this lockdown is fully lifted to try to get people on their feet again?
RASERO: Definitely. The first stage is to preserve the economy. Those actors, if they don't have income, they don't -- they must not have
expenses.
[10:15:02]
RASERO: That's the kind of support that we're giving them at this specific moment. And any assistant -- assistance has to be both general, not sector
specific and scalable. You have to have the opportunity to increase the level of the assistance if the situation gets worse, first. Second,
reactivation, reconstruction. There, we have to think on the best way to assist any and each sector specifically.
So, first stage to preserve the economy, to present the actor, to make sure that they will be able to grow to reactivate once the economy reopens. And
second, when the economy reopens, we have to sit to realize and to understand the best way to help them to recover their income.
GORANI: Got it. Thank you very much Manuel Gimenez Rasero, the Economy Minister for the Madrid region.
Some -- also quite depressing numbers in the United States. Americans are facing mixed messages right now about when the lift down -- the lockdown
will be lifted. The President wants the nation back to normal next month, but with more than half a million confirmed cases in the country, some
governors just don't think that that's possible. Athena Jones has the very latest from New York.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The clock is ticking toward President Trump's possible May 1st target to end the virtual national
shutdown. And Trump is seemingly growing anxious to declare the country open again amid the coronavirus pandemic. But some state leaders worry a
push to ease social distancing could cause even more harm.
GOV. PHIL MURPHY (D-NJ): I fear if we open up too early and we have not sufficiently made that health recovery and crack the back of this virus
that we could be pouring gasoline on the fire even inadvertently,
GOV. CHRIS SUNUNU (R-NH): There's still a long way to go. We're not getting out of this in a couple weeks or probably even a couple months. So we got
to keep this momentum going.
JONES: In New York state which has the highest number of cases anywhere in the world and the most deaths in the country. Governor Andrew Cuomo says
the human cost of the crisis can't be compared to any amount of money lost in the economy.
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): We need a public health strategy that is safe. That is consistent with an economic strategy.
The last thing we want to see is an uptick in that infection rate and an uptick in those numbers that we work so hard to bring down.
JONES: Dr. Anthony Fauci suggesting the easing of some restrictions could happen as soon as next month.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: It is not going to be a light switch that we say OK, it is now
June, July or whatever click, the light switch goes back on. It's going to be depending where you are in the country.
JONES: But the director of the Institute that created models cited by the White House causes that lifting social distancing protocols to soon could
be detrimental.
Dr. CHRISTOPHER MURRAY, DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH METRICS AND EVALUATION: We don't think the capability in the states exists yet to deal
with that volume of cases. And so, by July or August, we could be back in the same situation we are now.
JONES: A New York Times report this weekend outline cases of the President downplaying warnings from top health officials on the dangers of a possible
pandemic. Saying it took me three weeks after the first recommendation to implement national social distancing strategies. Fauci, admitting beginning
mitigation efforts earlier could have saved additional American lives.
FAUCI: But what goes into those kinds of decisions is complicated. Obviously, if we add right from the very beginning, shut everything down.
It may have been a little bit different, but there was a lot of pushback about shutting things down back then.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, Athena Jones joins me now live. And Athena, what are the latest numbers? I mean, what are the predictions in terms of when the
United States might hit a peak in the number of cases?
JONES: Well, here in New York, at least it looks as though the curve is flattening. That is what we've been seeing over the last several days. You
got to, you know, look at the trends several days out to see if that continues. But in terms of the peak nationwide, it's going to be different
in different places because different places, you know, kind of -- are getting the -- having different experiences with the virus.
But the latest numbers in terms of nationwide are 557,590 cases. So that is a lot of cases across the US. 22,109 people have died from this virus. And
of course, New York State has the most cases of any state is the epicenter of this crisis here. And we're approaching 200,000 cases here. But the good
news at least here is that it appears as though things like hospitalization rates and people being put on breathing machines, that sort of thing is
slowing.
If you look at the three-day averages, deaths are going to lag behind Governor Cuomo saying look, this has stabilized at a high level with over
700 people dying each of the last several days.
[10:20:06]
JONES: And so that is something that they hope will begin to fall as they get a real handle on the spread of this virus. Hala?
GORANI: All right. Athena, thanks very much. The U.S. Navy says a sailor aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt has died of the coronavirus. So far
nearly 600 sailors on the aircraft carrier have tested positive for COVID- 19. The former commander of the Roosevelt Captain Brett Crozier was ousted earlier this month after flagging his concerns of the rapid spread of the
virus onboard that very ship.
Coming up. China issues instructions to "Strictly and tightly manage information about the corona virus." The new restrictions on research next.
Stay with us.
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UNIDENTIFIIED MALE: Hala.
GORANI: All right. Are we on the air? We are on the air. Yes, another technical issue, but that's OK. This is how it's going right now. China is
keeping a tight grip on the coronavirus narrative we understand with new restrictions on COVID-19 research this time. Academic papers about the
origin of the virus must now be approved by the government before they are published. An internal directive said this type of research must be
strictly and tightly managed.
CNN's Ivan Watson joins me now live from Hong Kong. So, placing these restrictions on academic research, why are they doing that?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We don't know why. We've reached out to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of
Science and Technology to get an answer and are still waiting for Beijing to respond to us. Finding out about the new guidelines required a bit of
detective work, Hala. Last week, our team found that the guidelines had actually been published on the Web site of one of China's premier
universities, Fudan University.
And along with the sentence, "Any paper that traces the origin of the virus must be strictly managed." And there were instructions there. If you're an
academic doing research about the origins of the coronavirus, you have to submit an application first to a government committee to get permission to
do that. I think we would all agree around the planet that the more research for understanding the coronavirus, this deadly disease, the
better.
But some doctors that we spoke to who had recently coauthored research papers that have been published alongside researchers from mainland China
as recently as January and February said that this restriction, this new regulation was not in place just two months ago. When we called and
official in the Ministry of Education whose name was on that web page, as well as a phone number, when we got through that number a person confirmed
that the new guidelines had in fact been imposed, but they were not for public consumption.
[10:25:15]
WATSON: And shortly after that phone call, the Web site disappeared from the university's platform. We've since learned that at least two other
universities in China have similar guidelines published about coronavirus research.
GORANI: What are we learning about the origins? I mean, are we getting a glimpse? Because this pandemic obviously originated in China, in Wuhan? Are
we getting a glimpse now into many months later? What was the spark that led to this worldwide pandemic?
WATSON: Look, the first diagnosed cases of coronavirus were in that Chinese City of Wuhan going back to December of last year. But the origin of this
pandemic has turned into as one bioethicist we spoke to describe it a titanic political football, because the Trump administration has tried to
call it the Chinese virus. And we've had some top officials in the Chinese government who've spread conspiracy theories that the U.S. military
introduced the disease in Wuhan.
There's nothing supporting that conspiracy theory. So, it's amid that backdrop of controversy that we're seeing these new regulations emerge.
We've talked to a number of doctors and researchers that say these new guidelines smack of censorship, and they could be obstacles to getting
valuable information out -- to the outside world, the whole world. All countries need to share this information right now.
And arguably no country, aside from China has more data and research on the coronavirus since it first was diagnosed within China. So, they have
important information that could be shared. And the fear is that these guidelines would restrict that sharing. There's another important element
here is that from the beginning of the discovery of this new strain of pneumonia in Wuhan at different layers of the Chinese government, they were
efforts to shut up the doctors and researchers that were trying to sound the alarm.
And the most famous case involved a doctor in Wuhan named Li Wenliang who was actually summoned to the police headquarters and reprimanded for
sharing information about the coronavirus in January. Actually, at the end of December. He shortly thereafter caught the disease and died from it in
hospital in February becoming a hero in China. So there's been a trend of the Chinese government trying to manage information about a disease that's
killed lives all across the globe.
GORANI: All right. Ivan Watson, thanks very much. Live in Hong Kong. Still ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. MELANIE MALLOY, ATTENDING PHYSICIAN, MOUNT SINAI BROOKLYN HOSPITAL: It's hard to think that some of your patients that you diagnosed today
might not be here tomorrow.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: A New York City doctor takes us inside a hospital stretched to the limit by COVID-19. But it's like on the frontlines of this epidemic, next.
Plus, Turkey announced as a surprise lockdown with just two hours notice, leading to some panic. We'll be right back with that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Well the number of coronavirus cases in the United States has soared to over 500,000. 200,000 of those cases are in New York City alone.
That's more than any country in the world. Medical personnel and supplies are severely stretched in New York City and health care workers are
desperately trying to make do with what they have. CNN's Clarissa Ward introduces us to Dr. Melanie Malloy, one of those physicians on the front
lines.
MALLOY: Hello, my name is Dr. Melanie Malloy. I am an attending physician at Mount Sinai Brooklyn and Mount Sinai Queens. I'm on my way to work.
CLARISSA WARD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We've asked my old friend to show us what life is like on one day in one New York hospital.
MALLOY: So, I'm picking up my PPE. Going to get some scrubs. I'm going to mask, face shield. (INAUDIBLE) I need to be safe for my chest.
WARD: For Dr. Melanie Malloy, this is the new normal.
MALLOY: I'm going to start my shift.
WARD: The emergency room at Mount Sinai Brooklyn hospital has been overflowing.
MALLOY: I walked in and they said everybody's intubated. And it looks like it's true actually, most of our bags are taken up by intubated patients,
meaning patients who can't breathe on their own and who are on the ventilator. Almost everybody is on oxygen. And almost everybody is a COVID
patient.
WARD: Since the pandemic began, more than 1200 corona cases have flooded in. Pushing the hospital to 150 percent of its capacity.
MALLOY: Today, there are 43 people in the department. That's pretty much full. But I have to say it's doing a lot better than a couple weeks ago
when we had 86 to 96 in the department already people boarding. It was really tough. It was really bad week.
WARD: In the intensive care unit. It's a similar scene.
MALLOY: I just wanted to give you guys I get a little look at the ICU. So, we have a full ICU. We have every patient in here on a ventilator. As you
can see, it's not a huge space but it's quite full. Every bed is full.
Now I'm going to try to go to the tents. This is our fast-track extension to -- you know, from the get-go, you can see, you know, we have to tell
people we can't test them for mild symptoms.
They can get registered here -- good morning -- here is our fantastic staff, and then we have separate areas for people getting treatment.
WARD: For the doctors working around the clock to save lives, there are occasional perks.
MALLOY: One of my favorite things to do is eat free food. I'm super- excited because we have Shake Shack, what?
WARD: Moments later, it's back to work.
MALLOY: So, I'm waiting for my next patient to be placed in a room. This one is different because as opposed to the mostly older patients we've been
seeing today, he's in his early 20s. I think one thing we're learning is that we don't really know what somebody's going to come in with, and have
COVID.
Everybody has coronavirus, but some people also have heart attacks at the same time. This happens, and it makes things even harder.
Well, my day's over. Well, my hospital day is over. It was -- it wasn't the worst day I've had, but it's always pretty draining. It's just -- it's
hard. It's hard to think that some of your patients that you diagnose today might not be here tomorrow, when you come back for your shift. Or, you
know, all of it. I don't know, I'm just tired.
WARD: For Dr. Malloy, the challenges don't end with her shift. A widow, she's raising three children on her own.
[10:35:07]
MALLOY: So, it's almost 10:00 at night, and on my way home, I got a FaceTime from my youngest child, who's four. And I think that's the hardest
part. I think that's like -- just being alone when I come home, knowing that, you know, my child care is going to go home, my helpers are going
home and it's just me and whatever state my children are in. And I don't really have a lot left in me.
WARD: The next day, Dr. Malloy takes a moment to talk to us.
It's crazy, what you're seeing and dealing with. Have you ever experienced anything like this?
MALLOY: Never. And, you know, like, even the older folks, like the older doctors, are like, I've never seen this before in my life.
WARD: So one thing that I know you weren't allowed to show us is the morgue.
MALLOY: There are now two large tractor-trailer trucks that are refrigerated. They are full of bodies, wrapped in white plastic bags. I was
told that they can hold 50 people, and the one that I saw was full.
WARD: Do you not worry about getting sick?
MALLOY: Of course we do, of course I do. The way that our -- that we're working in the E.D., it's so -- it's a pit of coronavirus, it's literally
dozens of positive patients. The viral load in that place must be astronomical.
WARD: What do you wish all Americans understood about what you're going through?
MALLOY: I really want Americans to take this seriously, to know that even if you're in an area that's not a big city, you still are in danger and we
don't know who is going to get really sick. It does not spare anyone particularly.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: And that was our chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward reporting.
To Turkey now and there was some panic after an announcement was made very quickly with only two hours notice that there would be a lockdown across
the country. So as a result, people lined up outside of stores as they have in other parts of the world to try to stock up on essentials. Arwa Damon is
in Istanbul. The interior minister submitted his resignation by the way, Arwa, and the president declined to allow the interior minister to resign
as a result of this snafu. What -- what's going on there with the lockdown in Turkey?
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, they had that lockdown over the weekend. And as you were saying there, they
announced it barely giving people enough time to stock up. So of course, some people did panic and it was complete chaos in some areas. Now that
being said, there have been some who have been saying that Turkey needs to take these types of severe measures.
But equally so the way that it ended up playing out was less than ideal. For the weekend, no one was allowed to leave their homes. If you did it,
you were fined. Now, by and large, the population was actually sticking to this. There is a sense of unity among Turks that they are in this together.
Of course, though, this is a heavily polarized country. Right now that particular lockdown has been lifted so people can go out.
But if you are under 20 years old or over 65, you're under a stay-at-home order. What the government has been doing well so far, is trying to assist
people who are unable to go out. So if you're within that age group that is under that stay-at-home order. There's call centers that you can dial into
and they will send people to do your grocery shopping, to go to the pharmacy for you. If you retired, they'll go to the bank, they'll pick up
your monthly retirement check.
They'll deliver all of this stuff straight to your door. Masks right now are obligatory, but the government is handing them out for free. No one is
actually allowed to sell them right now. But there are great concerns about the growing numbers here because, Hala, Turkey right now is in the top 10
countries when it comes to confirmed COVID cases.
The mortality rate is at just above two percent. And the government keeps reassuring people every single night that it has this situation under
control, that there's plenty of room in the ICU, that there's plenty of hospital beds, that they don't have a PPE, Personal Protective Equipment
issue here. There's no issue with face masks with any of the medical supplies that hospitals need. In fact, Turkey has actually been shipping,
medical equipment and PPE overseas to a number of countries including Spain, Italy, and the UK. But there's still a great concerns about the
measures that the government is taking here
[10:40:03]
DAMON: Again, many people saying that perhaps the kind of a lockdown not necessarily how it was carried out, but that type of a lockdown that we saw
over the weekend is what we need to be seeing more of moving forward for Turkey to be able to get this situation here under control.
GORANI: All right. Arwa, thanks very much in Istanbul.
Now over the past few days in France, there have been some encouraging numbers, the number of critical cases has started to drop. France, of
course has been in a near total lockdown situation for several weeks now. The big question for the French president who's addressing the nation this
evening is how do you move the country forward? Do you start reopening the economy?
Parts of the economy? Do some nonessential workers go back to work? The country wants and needs a plan right now. Cyril Vanier is outside Paris and
sent this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CYRIL VANIER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The scene plays out almost endlessly on the news. Patients, unable to breathe. The faces, the names,
rarely, if ever, remembered. There are too many.
We are at war, said President Macron when he addressed the nation mid- March, putting life as we know it on pause. Schools, nonessential businesses, closed. Visiting relatives, forbidden. A nationwide confinement
declared indefinitely.
Almost one month on, the epidemic is just beginning to slow down in France, but hundreds still die every day. Macron is set to address the nation again
Monday evening, this time two minutes after the traditional 8:00 o'clock start. A nod to the new evening ritual, celebrating healthcare workers.
For the president, one unavoidable question. What comes next?
THIERRY ARNAUD, BFM-TV JOURNALIST: The longer the crisis is going, the less popular the president is becoming, and that is a problem for him, clearly.
And that is certainly one of the reasons why he wants to address the nation.
VANIER: The stay-at-home order will be extended. That much has been can firmed by Elysee Palace. But for how long? The government's scientific
counsel advocates several more weeks.
Meanwhile, Emmanuel Macron searching for answers, on the phone with the head of the World Health Organization. In research labs in Paris and
Marseilles. But breakthroughs on a possible cure for the virus are still thought to be weeks or even months away.
ARNAUD: He doesn't want to create a false sense that the hard part is over with, that the peak of the crisis is either now or just behind us and that
the weeks to come are going to be very easy. Much to the contrary.
VANIER: Faced with the biggest challenge of his presidency, Emmanuel Macron has few, if any, good options. The French press expects him to double down
on the stay-at-home order, possibly until mid-May.
Expect a Churchillian speech, warns a member of the government. Blood, sweat and tears.
The fact is, lifting the stay-at-home order without mass testing of the population and some form of tracking of the sick, could spark a second
epidemic wave.
Meanwhile, the pressure to reopen the economy builds. The government's rescue package has ballooned to an unprecedented $100 billion and counting.
Eight million workers already furloughed. Recession already here.
Cyril Vanier, CNN, outside Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, still ahead. The world's top oil producers agree on a record production cut. We'll look at the economic impact as they try to put the
brakes on a free fall in prices. Richard Quest joins me next.
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[10:50:13]
GORANI: Well, we continue our world tour, our depressing world tour of the coronavirus pandemic. Let's talk about the situation in Russia now. That
country has reported its largest jump in coronavirus cases so far, with more than 2500 new cases in the last 24 hours. This is the second day in a
row with Russia reporting more than 2000 cases. Moscow under strict lockdown for the last two weeks has been hit the hardest with over half of
the country's reported cases.
Though, it's important to keep in mind that it does take three weeks sometimes a little bit longer for the effect of the lockdown to transpire
when it comes to the numbers. The COVID-19 outbreak appears to have stabilized in Denmark due to its early lockdown measures there but limits
on social gatherings have not stopped one high-profile chef from helping the society's most vulnerable, the homeless. Susanne Gargiulo has that
story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUSANNE GARGIULO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to the alchemist. This two- star Michelin restaurant is the latest shining star in a city fam for World Class restaurants. But these days in a place where the average meal costs
around $700. The menu is changing.
RASMUS MUNK, CHEF AND OWNER, ALCHEMIST: So today we are making rice salads, tomato parsley.
GARGIULO: In the week since the novel coronavirus, shut down restaurants across Denmark Munk and his team of volunteers say they've been cooking
around 500 meals a day for the homeless.
MUNK: Look the list chefs in the kitchen, a little bit more calm actually. Back to the basics and make some just good decent food and good food for
the -- for the homeless the people who really need it.
GARGIULO: The strive to make a difference is not new. His 50 Course Menu addresses everything from animal welfare to climate change, like this one,
an edible dish calling attention to plastic pollution and the world's oceans.
MUNK: We're trying the different dishes to create that awareness about subjects. And then when we can do that make sense to change the concept.
GARGIULO: It's a much needed change. Government restrictions and efforts to curb the spread of coronavirus have forced a number of homeless facilities
to limit service and staff making it harder to find a bed and a meal.
(INAUDIBLE) who runs a nonprofit helping the homeless has been delivering meals to Frank while he's been quarantined with a suspected case of COVID-
19.
UNIDENTIFIIED FEMALE: He wasn't going to get any food if I didn't bring him anything.
UNIDENTIFIIED MALE: It's difficult. So, we have to find some other stuff to do to survive.
UNIDENTIFIIED FEMALE: Having this meal every day in this rhythm, his energy's up, his mood is up and you never know what's coming. But you know
it's going to be really good because it's from you.
GARGIULO: Frank agrees. Except on portion size.
UNIDENTIFIIED MALE: It's not a lot but it's OK, you know.
GARGIULO: But there is more coming. Munk says for now he's secured funds for at least another six months. Susanne Gargiulo for CNN in Copenhagen.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: All right. Interesting there and always nice to see people giving back.
The world's oil producing nations have struck a deal to end a week's long price war, agreeing to record production cuts, almost 10 million barrels a
day. You can see there what's happening with Brent Crude prices, they're up. Oil Futures went into freefall as the coronavirus spread around the
globe. But this measure is giving oil prices a bit of a boost. Richard Quest joins me now live from New York.
So, I guess the coronavirus forced the hands of some of these oil producing nations that initially were reluctant to cooperate. In fact, were openly
battling with each other. What impact longer term will this have?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Well, we know that oil was already too much oil chasing the demand in the world. And what seems to
have happened is that as coronavirus shut down the global economy, so that demand went even lower, but supply remain high. Now they say they'd cut 10
million barrels a day out of global supply. That is an absolutely huge amount.
What's unusual today Hello, is that President Trump says in a tweet that they've actually cut 20 million barrels a day out of the global supply. No
one knows where he's getting that figure from this deal that was put together between OPEC, Russia and the other countries extremely
complicated. It's unlikely to stand the test of time, but it seems to be even more uncertain. Now President Trump has actually cast doubt on the
amounts of oil involved.
[10:55:04]
GORANI: All right. Certainly there is some confusion out there. Richard, thanks very much and we're going to see you in a few hours on "QUEST MEANS
BUSINESS." So Richard, there is just a silver lining to this giant COVID cloud as people continue to stay home under quarantine, there is an
unexpected outcome. You may have smelled it yourself. Maybe on your one walk a day. I certainly feel like the air is cleaner.
Los Angeles, California is home to the second biggest population in the United States. Along with that normally comes pollution. The towering
skyscrapers of downtown L.A. most of the time are barely visible. But now since people are staying home from work in school, the air is nearly
crystal clear. It's unbelievable. It's the same vantage point. Well that will change once quarantine is lifted. The difference is quite dramatic.
London's West End now on to another part of the -- another area of life that we deal with but this city theatrical spirit is not being silenced. On
the streets of London. Some people are having fun with Shakespeare.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, that was the balcony scene of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, part of it performed by actors perched in windows and enjoyed by an
audience full of neighbor --neighbors maintaining social distance. Thanks, everyone for watching. I'm Hala Gorani. A lot more head on CNN after a
quick break. I'll see you soon.
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