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U.S. in Freefall as Coronavirus Spirals out of Control; GOP Governors in Florida and Texas Split as Coronavirus Cases Surge; Australian Health Authorities Taking Drastic Moves to Contain COVID-19; TikTok Leaves Hong Kong; Mexican and U.S. Presidents to Meet; Trump Using Pandemic to Crack Down on Immigration; Brazilian President Tells Fans He Had Lung Screening; English Pubs Shut Down Again; Spain and Israel Reimpose Restrictions Due to COVID-19; Dubai Reopens Borders to Tourists; Sprinter Accuses London Police of Racial Profiling. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired July 07, 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]
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST (voice-over): Hello. Welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Kim Brunhuber in Atlanta.
Ahead, Dr. Anthony Fauci sounds the alarm on the spike of cases in the United States and says it's still knee deep in first wave of the pandemic.
Happening right now, Australia is closing the border between its two most populous states.
And TikTok pulls out of Hong Kong after a new sweeping and controversial security law.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: We begin in the United States where the number of coronavirus cases has doubled in just the past 1.5 weeks. And now, a dire warning from
the nation's top infectious disease expert.
Dr. Anthony Fauci says the U.S. is still knee deep in the first wave of this pandemic. Meanwhile, at least 31 states are reporting higher rates of
new cases this week compared to last week, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The U.S. is nearing 3 million infections. More than 130,000 people have died. Now officials in at least 24 states are rolling back or pausing
reopenings. And one of those states is Florida, where ICU units have reached capacity. Dr. Fauci warns the rapid increase in infections must be
addressed now. Rosa Flores has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A warning from the nation's top infectious disease expert, reminding Americans this is still just the beginning of the
coronavirus pandemic.
FAUCI: We are still knee-deep in the first wave of this. We went up, never came down to baseline and now we're surging back up. So, it's a serious
situation that we have to address immediately.
FLORES: Dr. Anthony Fauci says the number of new daily infections nearly doubled over the past week and a half.
FAUCI: A series of circumstances associated with various states and cities trying to open up in the sense of getting back to some form of normality
has led to a situation where we now have record-breaking cases.
FLORES: Some of Florida's reopening plan coming to a halt. In Miami- Dade County, by Wednesday, businesses like gyms and dine-in restaurants will be
closed once again in an effort to slow the spread.
MAYOR DAN GELBER (D), MIAMI BEACH, FL: We're starting to roll the carpet back up. You know, it's pretty clear we have this real problem. Two weeks
ago, there were 60 COVID patients on -- on ventilators. Today it's 160.
FLORES: Ventilator use is up 127 percent across Miami-Dade County and hospitalizations are up 90 percent. Forty-three intensive care units are
already at capacity and an additional 32 show a bed availability of 10 percent or less.
Doctors reminding young people just how dangerous the coronavirus could be, regardless of age.
DR. DAVID DE LA ZERDA, ICU MEDICAL DIRECTOR & PULMONOLOGIST, JACKSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL: We've seen everybody, from 34 to 45, dying in the ICU.
So the message to young people is they can also get sick and they should also take care of themselves.
FLORES: In Miami-Dade, 26 percent of tests came back positive on Sunday, with a spike in cases involving 18- to 34-year-olds.
MAYOR CARLOS GIMENEZ (R), MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FL: We need to curtail the social activities of young people, because that's where our problem
started. My concern is that we're going to reach the capacity, our medical capacity.
FLORES: Thirty-one states, including Florida, are experiencing a rise in new cases in the past week.
DR. WILLIAM SCHAFFNER, CDC EXPERT: It's all over the country now. It's spreading widely. It now relies on us as individuals, if we don't have a
national plan. We have to wear our masks, watch the social distancing, avoid large groups.
FLORES: In California, the state capital shutting down after five assembly members tested positive.
Texas crossing 200,000 confirmed cases and Dallas reporting another high in hospitalizations. The military announcing it is sending 50-some medical and
support personnel to the San Antonio area to help with the surge.
DR. PETER HOTEZ, DEAN, NATIONAL SCHOOL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: The cases are rising so rapidly that we cannot even do
contact tracing anymore, I don't think. I don't see how it's possible to even do that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: That was Rosa Flores.
Now in California, showing no sign of flattening the curve with hospitalizations up and more than 11,000 cases reported over the weekend.
CNN's Sara Sidner is live.
[10:05:00]
BRUNHUBER: There's some new hot spots as well, right?
SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It really is dotted all over the state but some of the large population areas like Los Angeles County
really experiencing dangerous spikes.
Health officials are concerned about the spikes. Over the past three weeks they have seen hospitalizations rise about 40 percent. And they are very
concerned that if it keeps going this way, the ICU beds they will be filled in Los Angeles County itself.
But there are hot spots all over the place and we should mention there's an outbreak in prisons here that's causing quite a stir. The state medical --
the head of the state corrections medical examiner, he is basically been ousted, replaced because, at some point in one facility, where there were
hundreds of people who had coronavirus, inmates, those inmates sent to another facility, San Quentin, where now a third of the inmate population
there has coronavirus.
Of course, some of those inmates also have to utilize the hospitals in the area and that's in Northern California as well. So a lot of concern there.
And also we're hearing from the governor; there's a difference in who seems to be getting coronavirus. Now younger folks are coming out with it. And
they're concerned that younger people aren't taking seriously all of the rules that are put in place before the reopening happened.
Now the reopening is basically being put on hold. There are some changes to the reopenings here and they can't go forward with the next phase when they
have such a spike here. So there's a lot of concern about the coronavirus spikes as well as the economy.
And it's almost as if you can't have one without the other. You have to have safety, you have to have self-distancing, wearing masks. Those are the
things that authorities and health officials are saying have to happen before we can get the reopening going and the way that people want to see
it.
BRUNHUBER: Well, part of what you're saying comes down to individual responsibility. We heard from L.A. officials that about a third of
restaurants, about half of bars aren't following social distancing protocols.
Is that what you're seeing there?
SIDNER: Yes. There's that and there's also the testing, right?
So people need to have constant testing to make sure that they are infected. There are a lot of asymptomatic people. don't even know they have
it. There are people that just a few days before they actually started to get symptoms they are going to be spreading the virus.
And when you're in enclosed quarters -- that's what they're worried about. Sort of when people are in enclosed quarters, even family gatherings. Those
are the times when you're more susceptible to potentially getting it.
So there's responsibility to be spread throughout, individual responsibility, the business community's responsibility, the government's
responsibility. All those things have been to be in place in order to get a hold on this coronavirus outbreak -- Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Absolutely. All right, thank you so much, CNN's Sara Sidner.
The White House has so far been reluctant to encourage mask wearing, which is one of the key recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control to
help curb the spread of coronavirus.
But CNN has learned White House officials are considering switching that stance and taking a more active role in encouraging masks for the public,
even as Mr. Trump continues to go without one. Joe Johns joins me now from Washington, D.C.
So we have seen many senior Republicans like Mitch McConnell touting masks.
How much pressure has there been in the Republican Party for the president to change his stance?
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: There's clearly been some pressure from the Republican Party and it's evident because, over at the
White House, you're starting to see a shift.
And that shift is the people here trying to put together a strategy to encourage Americans to come to grips with the idea that the coronavirus
could be around for a while and they'll have to live with it.
In the process, they're also trying to fix the messaging that has been so mixed and confused over here at the White House, Kim, that messaging, on
the one hand, the president of the United States resisting the idea of wearing masks in public.
And he's done that almost all the way through the pandemic. Now on the other hand, his medical and health experts are saying, look, it's one of
the very few ways we have to stop the spread of the virus.
When you put that together with Republicans up on Capitol Hill, advocates of the president, including Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate majority
leader, all in support of this idea of wearing masks, that's certainly a potential for change.
In the end of the day, though, the question is whether the president himself will sign off on this.
[10:10:00]
JOHNS: Because it's a change of direction which he sometimes doesn't like unless he's the one pushing the boat, if you will. But he said last week as
a matter of fact, that there was nothing wrong with masks and he thought they were a good idea.
But he did not telegraph that message to his supporters out in the country and people here are waiting to see if the president does that -- Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Well, that's exactly it. The president's notoriously loath to back down. But he did notably on the Juneteenth question.
So you know, how likely is it that he does this?
And, you know, especially for his followers, certainly not wearing a mask has kind of become the new MAGA hat. It's an identity question.
JOHNS: Very much so. I was out in South Dakota, Mt. Rushmore just last weekend, and really shocked by the number of people who did not wear a
mask. And quite frankly, on the ground there, people would have been given a mask once they arrived if they didn't have one. And it didn't appear that
people were asking for masks.
So sure, at the MAGA rallies and other events where the purists, the loyalist supporters of the president are attending, we might not see as
much mask wearing.
On the other hand, when you look at the polling on the issue of masks and when you listen to the experts, it's pretty clear that most of the country
has gone in one direction; that is, they understand what the experts say, what the science says and that there is a need to wear a mask to protect
other people and to protect yourself at the end of the day.
BRUNHUBER: All right, Joe Johns, thank you so much. I appreciate it.
A bit of good news from Beijing. Chinese health reports report no new coronavirus cases on Monday, the first time since the cluster of infections
linked to a food market caused a partial shutdown last month. More than 11 million people in the capital have been tested since that outbreak. And
across China eight new cases were reported on Monday.
In just the last 15 minutes or so the border between Australia's two most populous states has been closed. The government shut down roads between
Victoria and New South Wales at midnight local time. The aim is to stop the spread of coronavirus between two states.
And that's also why the city of Melbourne is going back into lockdown. Starting at midnight Wednesday, residents can only leave for essential
trips, like getting food and going to work or getting or giving care. Angus Watson joins us from the Victoria-New South Wales border.
Explain where you are and the importance of what's happening there.
ANGUS WATSON, CNN BROADCAST JOURNALIST: That's right, Kim. So I'm here on the border between Victoria and New South Wales. And what you can see
behind me is the beginnings of a massive police and military operation to try to keep coronavirus on one side of the border and not on the other.
As you mentioned, coronavirus is spiking in Victoria, in the southern part of Australia. And over the border in New South Wales they're handling it
very well. Seven cases here in New South Wales; 191 in Victoria. So that gives a sense of the difference between the two states.
Now the Victorian government isn't shying away from that challenge. The premier Daniel Andrews was very stern about it. Take a listen to what he
had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL ANDREWS, VICTORIA PREMIER: Let's not see this simply as an inconvenience. It's much more than that. It's a pandemic. And it will kill
thousands of people if it gets completely away from us. And that'll be more than inconvenient. That will be tragic. We don't want that. We can avoid
that. But we have a part to play in that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: So this all goes to show, Kim, just how seriously the country as a whole is taking this virus. The shutting down of Victoria, of the Victorian
economy is set to cost $1 billion a week. That's according to the federal treasurer. A quarter shut down, lost, that's what Australia is willing to
do to get on top of this thing, Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Wow, on that note, we were talking in the news meeting how striking it is that the state should declare this lockdown after a daily
increase of 191 cases in a population of 6.5 million people.
And in a state like South Carolina, about 5 million poor people, 1,500 new cases. So it shows how serious that Australia is taking this.
But how hard, you know, with the police and everything that we're seeing behind you there, how hard is it to close a border like this?
[10:15:00]
BRUNHUBER: And are you seeing resistance to these extreme measures?
WATSON: Well, it is very hard and the town I'm in crosses that border. Half is over on the river and on the other side, it is in Victoria, where
the coronavirus is ripping through. Right here we'll have a situation in which the community is cut in half and the residents are going to have to
have to deal with that as they can.
BRUNHUBER: Thank you so much, Angus Watson in Australia.
Ahead on the show, TikTok is leaving Hong Kong. Why the Beijing based video sharing app is pulling operations from the city and the pressures it is
facing from other markets.
And international students in the U.S. have to worry about the format of their classes. Why it will determine if they can stay stateside.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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BRUNHUBER: There's more fallout over China's controversial national security law. TikTok, the social video sharing app, is pulling out of Hong
Kong. Under the new law, police can demand that tech platforms remove messages that endanger national security.
It's owned by a Beijing based company but it isn't actually available in Mainland China. Hong Kong will be a small market loss for TikTok. Last
week, India with hundreds of millions of TikTok users, banned the app along with dozens of other Chinese apps.
And now the U.S. also says it's looking at banning Chinese apps including, TikTok. Here's what the secretary of state told FOX News.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We're taking this very seriously. We are looking at it. Whether it was the problems with having Huawei
technology in your infrastructure, we have gone all over the world and we're making real progress in getting that out.
We have declared GTE. We have done all of these things with respect to the Chinese apps on people's cell phones the United States. We will get this
one right, too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: CNN reporter Sherisse Pham is in Hong Kong now.
Sherisse, TikTok isn't the only one refusing to go along with this new law.
SHERISSE PHAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: We have TikTok and Facebook and Zoom and LinkedIn and Google all coming out and showing there's a growing
unease amongst tech firms about operating here in Hong Kong.
All of this, of course, comes after the national security law was imposed on the city, a controversial law passed by Beijing, that puts freedom of
the press and freedom of speech in danger.
[10:20:00]
PHAM: That's according to critics. Those are freedoms that Hong Kong has long enjoyed but are prohibited in Mainland China. Now TikTok's move does
go further than the other tech companies. It goes further than Facebook and Google, who are just saying that they're suspending processing requests for
user data from the Hong Kong government while they review the national security law.
But I want to be careful about casting TikTok's move as a heroic move because TikTok wasn't exactly forthcoming in why they're pulling out of
Hong Kong. They gave an incredibly brief statement for the reason they're pulling out of the city.
They said, "In light of recent events we have decided to stop operations of the TikTok app in Hong Kong." Now that's not exactly a profile in courage,
right?
At the end of the day, they're owned by a tech company based in Beijing and they'll do what's best for the bottom line.
These moves coming in light of TikTok trying to distance itself from China because it is facing an incredible amount of scrutiny in Washington. It
wants to win over Washington. It hired Disney veteran Kevin Meyer as CEO in order to do that, to try and assuage critics and U.S. lawmakers, who are
worried that the app could be used for Chinese spying.
But it doesn't seem to be working. Like you mentioned in the introduction, Pompeo saying that the administration will be looking into banning Chinese
apps, including TikTok.
And later in the interview he said that he was asked, should people download this app, this app meaning TikTok. He said only if you want the
private info, your private info in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party, to which TikTok also did give a response and they said, quote,
"TikTok is led by an American CEO with hundreds of employees and key leaders across safety, security, product and so on in the United States.
"We have never provided user data to the Chinese government nor would we do so if asked."
Now, of course, we have heard similar language from other Chinese tech firms, who have come under fire in Washington but, of course, the big
question on the flip side of that is, if these Chinese firms refuse to comply with Chinese government orders, they can face some serious risks to
their business in Mainland China.
BRUNHUBER: Interesting.
So what about Chinese tech giant Huawei and its 5G network, is there a growing movement to move away from it?
PHAM: Absolutely, Kim. There seems to be growing steam in that. And that is for a variety of reasons. Analysts I talked to say it is because
carriers are now worried that Huawei won't be able to supply the 5G equipment they promised, mainly because Washington has come out with a
brand-new sanction on the company, which is cutting off Huawei's access to American technology.
It cuts it off access to foreign firms using American equipment to build vital parts for 5G equipment and computer chips. Now you're seeing the
U.K., Germany and Italy making some moves, a little bit of a noise there, about potentially blocking or restricting Huawei's access and supply of the
5G networks in the countries.
BRUNHUBER: We'll be following that. Thanks so much. Sherisse Pham in Hong Kong.
In the U.S., CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandburg are set to meet with civil rights leaders in a few hours amid the growing boycott. Some of
the biggest brands in the world are refusing to advertise on the social media until it changes the policies on hate speech.
But some civil rights leaders are expressing skepticism. This comes on Blackout Day, a call for African Americans to showcase their economic power
by spending money only at black-owned businesses.
Mexico's president is headed to Washington in the coming hours but he won't be boarding his own presidential plane. He'll be flying commercial like the
rest of us. Matt Rivers has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, later on today, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of Mexico will begin his journey to meet with
President Trump in Washington, D.C. They have meetings on Wednesday and Thursday mainly to celebrate, in their words, the implementation of a new
free trade deal between the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The USMCA went into effect on July 1st. It is replacing NAFTA.
[10:25:00]
RIVERS: And that is is really the main reason why the Mexican president is journeying to D.C., even as the Canadian president said he's not at the
moment, in part due to concerns over the coronavirus.
And, you know, you can certainly question the timing of this meeting, given that the pandemic continues to rage both in the United States and in
Mexico. But there's also questions about exactly how the Mexican president is getting to Washington, D.C.
So later on today, we know that he's taking a commercial flight to D.C. We don't know the exact itinerary but he'll be making a stop somewhere in the
United States because, in his words, there are no direct flights right now between Mexico City and Washington, D.C.
And it's interesting because the president does have use of a presidential plane here in Mexico if he wants to but he's never used it because he said
it's an example of presidential and government excess. So he's trying to sell the plane, which is currently sitting in an airfield in Los Angeles.
He is trying to sell it for around $130 million.
And that's why he is flying coach. Now critics would say that that is just a cheap political trick; he is putting not only his own personal security
at risk but also those on the same flight as him, especially when he could take another plane, say one that is owned by the Mexican air force.
But that is not changing the president's mind. He is going to take a commercial flight later today to Washington, D.C. So that means that the
president of the tenth most populous country in the world could be your seat mate, if you, for example, find yourself traveling on a plane this
week between Washington, D.C., and Mexico City -- Matt Rivers, CNN, Mexico City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Just ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD, yet another dilemma for international students studying in the United States and trying to survive
this health crisis.
And pub owners in England discover that drinking and social distancing are not the best of mates. There's an about-face for some pubs on reopening
after the coronavirus lockdown.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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BRUNHUBER: The coronavirus pandemic may force international students to leave the United States. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says
student visa holders will have to go home or face deportation if they're switched to online studies.
Additionally, new student visas won't be issued. A press release from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said that the U.S. Department of
State will not issue visas to those enrolled in schools and/or programs that are fully online for the fall semester nor will they permit these
students to enter the United States.
[10:30:00]
BRUNHUBER: CNN Justice correspondent Jessica Schneider has more on the announcement.
Many students across the U.S. and abroad waiting to get in are thrown into turmoil here.
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. This puts the universities and international students in a very precarious position
because if these universities only offer these online classes and if international students don't have any in-person classes to go to, they will
have to leave this country or risk deportation. That was the guidance put down from Immigration and Customs Enforcement just yesterday.
It comes at the same time that many of the universities are announcing their plans for reopening. Harvard University, for example, saying that
students will be allowed back on campus. Some students but they will be offering all of their learning online only.
Princeton University also saying most of the learning will be online as well. So these students, there's really a lot of fear and anxiety and
uncertainty as to what factually happens here.
There are more than 1 million international students that come here to this country every year to partake in the studies at universities across the
country. They come from mostly China, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Canada.
Most are wondering what happens if they come to this country and if initially there are online classes offered but then maybe the pandemic gets
worse and some universities switch back to online only classes?
Will they have to go back to their home country?
What if they can't go back to their home country?
So there's a lot of uncertainty. This, though, is status quo for ICE. Their guidance in general is that international students coming here cannot take
online classes only. However, they are not easing up during this pandemic, as some people thought they might. So it is very strict guidance here.
You know, Kim, this is really just the latest restriction on legal immigration imposed by the Trump administration. It was just last month
that the Trump administration suspended employment related visas.
And now it appears that they are being just as hardline when it comes to student visas, saying that any of these international students, they cannot
stay here if these universities do online courses only -- Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, it's -- it's an odd one. There doesn't seem to be any health justification for this.
Is this just political or what's behind it?
SCHNEIDER: It seems that ICE Is really sticking to the normal protocol. They always say that international students cannot come here if it's for
online learning only. You would think, given the times, given the worldwide pandemic, that they might ease some of these restrictions.
But based on the guidance issued yesterday, it is not being eased. And these students are going to face a very tough time if their university does
not offer the in-person classes. They will have to leave the country or risk deportation.
You can read into it, that it is being political, you know, the president tweeted at least twice yesterday saying that schools must reopen. So
perhaps this is the administration's way that the administration's way of forcing the hand of some the universities of announcing these online only
classes.
Maybe these universities will have no choice but to offer in person classes to keep these international students here -- Kim.
BRUNHUBER: We'll see. Some people have said about having one class of day a year to satisfy the requirements.
SCHNEIDER: That might work.
BRUNHUBER: Thanks, Jessica.
We'll be speaking to a Harvard graduate student about her ordeal so please stay with us for that.
While universities are still figuring out their approach, schools for children in Florida are now ordered to reopen in the fall. School districts
are required to submit a reopening plan but questions remain over how it can be done safely with virus cases spiking in the state.
The education commissioner issued the mandate and on same day retweeted a demand from the U.S. president for schools to reopen, sending the message
that the Republican-led state is following President Trump's guidance.
Now to the surge in coronavirus cases in Brazil. President Jair Bolsonaro is now awaiting results from a test for COVID-19. Bars and restaurants are
beginning to reopen to the public in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
And while the country's leader continues to mock the disease as overblown by the media, the death toll in Brazil has topped 65,000. Photos are
showing Bolsonaro at the U.S. embassy in Brasilia. Neither he nor the U.S. ambassador next to him is wearing a mask or social distancing.
Like the U.S. president, the Brazilian leader has rejected most warnings from public health officials.
[10:35:00]
BRUNHUBER: And now those two countries are seeing the highest case count and death toll from the virus. CNN's Bill Weir is in Sao Paulo.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: In the age of COVID-19, Presidents Trump and Bolsonaro are two of a kind. Both love Twitter and by
all appearances hate wearing masks. Both are openly at odds with their nation's top doctors go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Therapy is good. Bolsonaro is good.
WEIR: And reliance instead on the support of fans as they dismissed the pandemic as a little flu and a lot of hype. So, you don't believe COVID-19
exist at all?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I think it is --
(CROSSTALK)
WEIR: It's a hoax?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
WEIR: It could exist, this pro-scenario YouTuber tells me, but if it exists, it is weak. He sounds just like his president. Who, when ask about
his nation passing China in fatalities said, so what?
"I mourn, but what do you want me to do. I can't work miracles."
But the pot and pan protest that now ring out every time he goes on TV are just one sign of a nation at odds with itself. Testing is still hard to
come by and as they dig mass graves from Amazonia to Rio, some experts believe the officials' 1.6 million infections reported could be 12 to 16
times higher. And yet, the big cities are opening it up.
Just as Bolsonaro uses his veto power to water down new laws to protect the public, ones that would make mask wearing mandatory in churches, schools,
shops and prisons.
NATALIA PASTERNAK, MICROBIOLOGIST & PRESIDENT, QUESTION OF SCIENCE INSTITUTE: It's crazy. It's crazy. Science is being ignored in this
government, as it has never been before.
WEIR: Natalia Pasternak is a microbiology's who lobbies for more science in government policy and is among the many who are horrified when Bolsonaro
fired his respected health minister for advancing quarantines, a loyal general with no healthcare experience is now running the nation's pandemic
response.
PASTERNAK: Are we going to be able to care for these people?
I mean, will there be hospitals for everyone?
Will there be ventilators for everyone?
We never reached the situation that they reached in Italy where the doctor is forced to choose the person that gets the ventilator. I hope we never
come to that but we I'm afraid we might.
WEIR: Bill Weir, CNN, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Brussels Just ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD, Emirates Airlines is using the reduced demand for travel as a positive moment to look to the future. We'll
hear from the airlines chairman and CEO.
And the mayor of Atlanta says she has coronavirus. Why that has her bewildered coming up.
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[10:40:00]
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BRUNHUBER: As we just mentioned the coronavirus pandemic may force international students to leave the United States. U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement says student visa holders will have to go home or face deportation if they are switched to online studies.
Additionally new student visas won't be issued. I want to bring in Doris Meissner, the former commissioner of the U.S. Immigration and
Naturalization Service and now the head of U.S. Immigration program at the Migration Policy Institute.
Thank you very much for joining us on this.
As someone who has handled this portfolio essentially first hand, what's your reaction to what you've seen here?
DORIS MEISSNER, MIGRATION POLICY INSTITUTE: Well, I find it to be a very shortsighted decision. I don't understand what the purpose of it is. These
are students that are in the United States, going to colleges and universities all around the country.
They did nothing that brought about the circumstances they're in now. And if they're going to schools that have decided they can only provide classes
online for some while, that is not anything that the student did to bring about a violation of the terms of the visa.
So it seems to be to me to be quite a -- quite a punitive measure. I don't see what purpose is served by it.
BRUNHUBER: But the immigration agency is saying we're just following protocol.
Do they have a choice?
MEISSNER: Well, that's absolutely correct that that is the rule. That is a rule that was suspended in the spring when the lockdown first came about
and it is a rule that is intended to prevent people from coming to the United States simply to be here and take online classes when the online
classes could be taken from their home countries.
But that's not the circumstance that this rule is now addressing. The rule is not -- they're implementing the rule or forcing students to abide by the
rule when the students have not done anything to break the rule. It's the schools that are unable to provide classes.
It's now -- you know, the rule -- the decision does allow for students to stay if they are attending the universities that are offering in-person
classes. But some universities will be, other universities will not be.
And so it creates a situation where higher education is already very, very much under pressure in terms of trying to open up schools. This additional
pressure of students who come from abroad creates much more anxiety and chaos.
And for what public purpose other than the fact that that is the rule?
They chose not to implement the rule last spring. They do have the choice not to implement the rule for the fall.
BRUNHUBER: So as someone concerned with immigration policy, then what would you suggest?
Because I mean, obviously this is part of a pattern here. We have been coming down on the immigrant visas, so on. We are seeing a brain drain away
from the U.S.
What would you suggest?
MEISSNER: Well, it seems to me that students who are already in the United States should be allowed to stay here and continue to pursue their studies.
I mean, the international student picture is one that is very much in the interest of the United States.
It's in the interest of schools. The international students bring very large amounts of revenue into the United States, both to schools and to the
communities in which they live. They enrich the experience of American students, who have an opportunity to meet people from other places of the
world.
They create an opportunity for people from all over the world to see what it's like to live in the United States and take that with them for the rest
of their lives, presumably a positive experience.
So implementing this rule simply because it's a rule when these are very extraordinary circumstances that nobody could have foreseen seems to be
very short-sighted.
BRUNHUBER: Extraordinary indeed. Thank you very much, Doris Meissner, in Washington. I appreciate your insight.
MEISSNER: Thank you.
BRUNHUBER: Over the weekend, lockdown-weary residents in England finally returned to their favorite pubs. It was promoted as super Saturday but the
good times did not last long.
Several English pubs and restaurants have shut down again after customers tested positive for the coronavirus. Anna Stewart joins me more from London
with more on this course correction we are seeing here.
Sad to say but it doesn't seem very surprising, does it?
[10:45:00]
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kim. Well, as lockdown lifts anywhere in the world, there are risks that more people are out and about. And when
there are still cases of the virus, it can spread easily, as people socialize and go to pubs and restaurants.
Now three pubs in different areas of England have decided to close after three customers, one in each, tested positive for the virus. No suggestion
here that they caught the virus at the pub, very unlikely given they were only able to reopen on Saturday and the incubation period.
But this is why the social distancing measures, all the safety measures in place, are so crucial to limit how close a customer can be to other
customers and also contact tracing, which seems to be fairly successful at this stage.
Pubs now have to take contact details from customers arriving, keep that on record for 21 days. Rather than waiting for the NHS contract tracing system
to kick in, the pub took the initiative. They decided to close down, get their staff tested.
And as a result, the health minister today has actually really applauded the pubs. They have done the right thing by their customers and
communities. This is hugely concerning for the pubs up and down the country. It will come at a cost for having to close for a few days.
They're finally taking the staff off of furloughs, losing out on the money there. And they're really struggling to make money given all the new
measures in place. They can only serve a limited number of customers in the pub. And they have to police the new measures to make sure that people are
served at the tables, not the bar. To make sure there aren't queues for the toilets, so on.
So this isn't good news for the pubs after three or four days of lockdown lifting.
BRUNHUBER: Anna Stewart, thank you in London.
Israel is fighting a second surge of coronavirus infections and re-entering a strict lockdown to flatten the curve. In the last week, Israel has
averaged more than 800 new cases a day and hit a daily high of more than 1,100 cases last Thursday.
In response, the government has shut down gyms, public pools and bars and is limiting the number of people allowed in houses of worship. Oren
Liebermann joins us now from Jerusalem.
Many people in Jerusalem thought the country basically had overcome the virus and now a worrisome situation there.
What happened?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (INAUDIBLE) 40- or 50-fold increase. We already saw 1,100 new cases in the day last week and yesterday more than
a thousand new cases as well. The average probably around 900 new cases right now.
But that's very much trending in the wrong direction. It's because of that the prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced yesterday afternoon they'd
reimpose the closures on gyms, clubs, pubs as well as limiting the number of people inside the houses of worships and restaurants.
All of this as an attempt to flatten the curve that suddenly doesn't look flat anymore. Warnings of a second wave now coming from health officials
and, in fact, adding to this worry, the top public health official from the ministry of health resigned, announcing that the government is no longer
listening to the health opinions of professionals and is instead taking different considerations into account.
They were also seeing a spike in cases in Palestine. They, too, were complimented and commended for the early closure, the early lockdowns to
try to contain the virus but they also appear to be in a second wave.
BRUNHUBER: All right. Thank you so much, Oren Liebermann in Israel.
Across the Middle East, countries are struggling with the pandemic. But Dubai is reopened for tourism with new safety measures in place. CNN's John
Defterios spoke with the chairman CEO of Emirates Airlines about what's being done to assure the workers and the tourists.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: In this new normal, there's nothing without risk but the Dubai government believes this is a calculated
one. It has introduced more testing on the ground at the Dubai airport and increased hygiene in the air.
Tourism represents about 11 percent of GDP and, clearly, the government wants to protect its role as a major tourism hub in the Middle East and as
a bridge between Asia, Europe and beyond.
Emirates Airlines is now flying to 52 destinations, about a third of the pre-pandemic level. Here's the chairman and chief executive officer of
Emirates Group.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHEIKH AHMED BIN SAEED AL MAKTOUM, EMIRATES GROUP: We have done whatever it takes to ensure people will come here. I think we did so many tests to
make sure that we are geared for it. The airport, we're using the PCRs.
[10:50:00]
SHEIKH AHMED: People coming in or leaving and also to make sure people leaving here.
It is our obligation, that we want to make sure and also to protect our staff around the airport and the city that to feel very happy to do what
they've been learning over the last while.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEFTERIOS: Dubai welcomed over 16 million passengers in 2019. Those numbers are down and so is the price of oil, which is an elixir to the
economy. They're also thinking of 2021 when it will be hosting a world expo. It was delayed due to the pandemic.
If it can get this reopening correct, it's both good diplomatically and economically as it engages in business -- John Defterios, CNN, Abu Dhabi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: The coronavirus pandemic has an impact on the sports world but one NFL superstar is set for the biggest contract in sports history. We'll
give you the staggering numbers just ahead.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD. Let's get you caught up on the international sports scene and bring in CNN's Patrick Snell.
What have you got for us this hour?
PATRICK SNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we are going to be starting with the latest. This is actually a story we brought you at this time yesterday.
The British athlete, Bianca Williams, accusing the Metropolitan Police of racial profiling after she and her partner were stopped and searched over
the weekend.
She was with Ricardo Dos Santos and their 3 month old son when they were stopped. Footage was posted online. They both have been speaking about the
ordeal to Darren Lewis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNELL: OK. We're going to try to get that to you in a few minutes.
I want to say since that interview with Williams and Dos Santos, police commander Helen Harper issued a statement, saying she was keen to speak to
the occupants of the vehicle and to discuss the concerns that they have. Meantime, British athletics is telling us that they're aware of the hugely
distressing footage and that they're in touch with Williams to offer any support.
(WORLD SPORTS)
[10:55:00]
SNELL: I want to get back to that interview, the British Bianca Williams, accusing London's Met Police of racial profiling after she and her partner
were stopped and searched in the capital over the weekend. Here is CNN's Darren Lewis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DARREN LEWIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You never think you're going to find yourself in a situation where you are handcuffed by police and you are in a
situation as traumatic as you were.
BIANCA WILLIAMS, ATHLETE: Yes. And you don't ever think it -- think that, here they were literally pulling me away from my son, who is 3 months old.
They already pulled Ricardo out of the car and I was trying to stop them from -- I thought they're arresting Ricardo. I was trying to stop them --
do what I can to stop them from arresting Ricardo.
I didn't understand why I had to be pulled out of the car and put in handcuffs and I don't -- somehow, I have to be taken away from my son.
You know, they could have just spoken to me nicely because he said, you know what, miss, calm down. We're just going to explain what we're doing
and what the situation is. And then -- I don't know and then do something.
But instead, they just put me in handcuffs and then said that we're detaining you and we're searching the vehicle for weapons and drugs.
LEWIS: Ricardo, where were you coming from on the day that it had unfolded?
RICARDO DOS SANTOS, BIANCA WILLIAMS' PARTNER: We were coming from training. I was on the way home from training probably about three, four
minutes away from home. You know, I was already -- I was shattered. I was so exhausted.
The thing that he gets to me is I know my area inside out and I know when there's going to be traffic. I know how to get around that traffic. But I'm
getting penalized for being street smart per se. I've been here for over 20 years in this area.
That being said, that is my only crime. My only crime was knowing how to get away from traffic. This happens so often that I know -- and that's the
bad thing. It shouldn't be so normal. It shouldn't be so common that I can tell, I can sense when they're going to -- when something is going to
happen. It shouldn't be.
LEWIS: Bianca, what's your view on the way that they spoke to Ricardo?
WILLIAMS: They spoke to him as if it was nothing, as if he was worthless and as if he was just -- like he was a scum. It was horrible. But they
didn't -- they don't have any care at all.
LEWIS: And was that throughout?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNELL: Just to make it clear, since that interview with Williams and Dos Santos, the police commander Helen Harper of the Met Police issued a
statement, saying she was keen to speak personally to the occupants of the vehicle to discuss the concerns they have.
And British athletics telling us they're aware of the "hugely distressing" footage and are in touch with the Williams.
BRUNHUBER: A very distressing story.
To end on a more lighter note, terrible to see the Spurs teammates coming to blows and tearing each other apart. Really sad to see. For an Arsenal
fan, of course.
All right, thank you very much for joining us. Another hour of CONNECT THE WORLD coming up next.
[11:00:00]
END
