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Australian State Of Victoria Declares State Of Disaster; CDC Forecasts 173,000-Plus U.S. Deaths By August 22; U.S. Struggles With Testing As Finding Sits Unused; Student Nurse's Criticism Of U.K. Prime Minister Goes Viral; TikTok Users Troll Trump Campaign's Oklahoma Rally; Justin Thomas Returns To Golf's World Number One. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired August 03, 2020 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi. This is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: It is 1:00 am in Melbourne, 11:00 am in New York, 7:00 pm here in Abu Dhabi our Middle East Broadcasting Hub. Let's connect
you to the stories shaping your world, and in Australia, a Coronavirus calamity this hour. The state of disaster now declared in the State of
Victoria.
The country's second Coronavirus wave is beating smashing record after record, week after week. Melbourne the epicenter of the outbreak now forced
to adopt its toughest restrictions yet. The city has ramped up to a stage IV lockdown with a curfew and restriction of movement put in place for the
next six weeks.
Meanwhile, measures for regional Victoria have also been tightened with schools closing statewide. Victoria's Premier, Daniel Andrews, made this
urgent plea for everyone to do their part.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL ANDREWS, AUSTRALIA'S VICTORIAN PREMIER: There is no stage for us. This has to work. Otherwise we will have to devise a set of rules that will
even further limit people's movement. We all have to follow these rules. We all have to accept that this is the reality that we are now confronted by.
How might this work, because it is uncertain what the next steps would be?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Journalist Melbourne resident Kellie Pollock connects you us to the story. It's just after 1:00 in the morning, Kelly a second night under
curfew and six weeks of this ahead of you in Melbourne. How are people feeling?
KELLIE POLLOCK, JOURNALIST: Well Becky, I guess the first thing is everyone is really disappointed, obviously, because the numbers have increased when
we had already been under stage III restrictions. But I think there is also a determination in Melbourne. We want to get through this and we want to
come out the other side of it as soon as possible.
I was out earlier today for one hour of exercise every day. One person in the household is allowed to go shopping. But everybody was wearing masks,
which is mandatory. Now in across Victoria there is a $150 or $160 fine if you're not wearing masks. And that states are certainly much quite as state
of disaster was declared as you say like two nights ago.
ANDERSON: What happened, Kellie, and do people genuinely feel now responsible for their health and welfare as well as those around them?
POLLOCK: Well, it's a big question isn't it Becky? What did happen? We know that there was some quarantine breaches at hotels, and initially the health
authorities were able to trace where the new cases were coming from. But in the last three weeks, that has changed.
There is a lot of community transmission, and that's what the scary part about this is. So there's certainly - largely the vast majority of people
are doing the right thing, and you do see people calling each other out in the streets, like where's your mask, keep your distance, that kind of
stuff.
So we're kind of policing each other a lot, but there are those enforcements that are happening as well. People are getting fined. People
are still breaking the rules. As you heard Daniel Andrews there, he's not mincing his words. This has got to stop. We need to get through this.
Everybody just has to stay home. If there's any doubt about whether or not you're allowed to go out, there is no doubt, stay home. That's his very
clear message. I think people are generally starting to accept the responsibility.
ANDERSON: Premier Andrews as you rightly points out said the stage IV lockdown will cost - this is expensive and it's tough. And he said it will
cost another 250,000 jobs. There is financial support being provided for individuals and for businesses. Do people genuinely feel that that is
enough?
POLLOCK: Well, it depends who you talk to?
[11:05:00]
Obviously everybody wants a bit more at this stage. We haven't really, I think, had a real gauge of just how much this is going to cost, not just
the Victorian economy but the Australian economy, because there is still so much uncertainty around our industry like education. It's huge for
Victoria.
Until those foreign students that support that part of the economy are largely and until the borders open up will - that's one big loss just to
Victoria alone. So there is just still so much uncertainty. Until we get on top of this pandemic, people are doing what they can. But yes, they going
to want a lot more support, but how much can the government really give? They, too, are really suffering as a result of the pandemic Becky.
ANDERSON: We often talk about the economic impact of this health crisis and rightly so, and we talk about it around the world. We also must not forget
that the mental impact of this crisis, and we have spoken to people here on CNN who have said that having been through the first stage III, the idea -
and this is always the case, isn't it, at the beginning of a lockdown - I remember feeling this same way myself to be honest. In London, the idea at
the beginning of another strict six-week period is that people really feel this mentally, don't they?
POLLOCK: Definitely. It was almost a bit of a novelty in the very beginning, wasn't it? Stay at home, we don't have to go to work, that kind
of stuff. But it is getting wearing and people are starting to feel the financial pinch of it. And I have to say in Australia the community
announcements are fantastic.
There is so much on television and in the media around if you're suffering any kind of anxiety or hardship around it, there is a huge amount of
support there, and that messaging is really strong in Australia, quite unlike anywhere I've seen in the world, actually.
So I feel quite proud to be part of that, and you do feel there is certainly a huge amount of support out there if you want to reach out for
it. But you're absolutely right, we thought we were almost through this in Victoria, and then we had the first stage III restrictions imposed three
weeks ago.
People still weren't doing the right thing. Then they introduced the masks and now we've had this state of disaster declared and we're under curfew
which is just unprecedented here. It's a strange new world. It's one way that we'll have to just get used to until we get through it, Beck.
ANDERSON: Those from Melbourne are optimistic sorts. Australians tend to be so. Can Melbourne get through this, Kellie?
POLLOCK: Absolutely. I have absolute confidence in that. You're quite right, they don't mind that having a bit of an underdog status, and they're
battlers and all the rest of it. And there is so much - even through all this, there's still a lot of joking, lots of laughing, and people seeing
the bright side of it.
People are seeing a silver lining in some of this as well. So, yes, we will get through it, we just need everybody to do the right thing, really and I
know it's hard. It's hard for everybody, particularly for families, particularly for people with small businesses.
Everybody is really struggling and has their own story of struggle but this also similarly our stories coming and I guess hopefully we'll start to see
a bit more of that coming true in the next few weeks.
ANDERSON: Kellie Pollock is in Melbourne. Look after yourself, Kellie. Thank you.
POLLOCK: Thank you.
ANDERSON: The story out of Melbourne in Australia. There will be drastic containment measures in Australia. Not happening in the United States which
has entered a new phase in the Coronavirus pandemic.
Dr. Deborah Birx tells CNN the virus is now, in her words, extraordinarily widespread in rural areas just as much in the COVID-19 crosshairs as big
cities. That means mitigation efforts are becoming more localized. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. DEBORAH BIRX, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS TASK FORCE COORDINATOR: We are in a new phase, and that's why we really wanted to make it clear to the
American people, it's why we started putting out Governor reports directly to the health officials and the Governors in every single state. Because we
could see that each thing had to be tailored. This epidemic right now is different and it's more widespread, and it's both rural and urban.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Dr. Birx also says case counts are finally improving in some hard-hit areas, but the death rate which, of course, lags behind case
counts, is not. It remains around a thousand a day week-to-week death rates rising in 30 states.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicting 173,000 COVID-19 deaths in the United States by August the 22nd well, California has just
become the first state to record a half a million cases, dozens of counties there face a return to strict lockdown measures if case numbers don't
improve.
[11:10:00]
ANDERSON: Stephanie Elam has the latest.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: California was the first state to shut down, and now it's the first to have more than half a million Coronavirus
cases. On Sunday the state recorded almost 509,200 total infections. Back when California began reopening in May, there were roughly 64,600 cases.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): Governor Newsom contained and controlled, how this spread in the beginning, when the opening up took place? We have more
cases and that should be instructive to others. The virus is vicious, and you have to have shelter in place as long as you need it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELAM: California added over 9,000 new cases yesterday. On May 8th, it was just over 2,000. The rise hitting major cities like San Francisco hard and
state leaders fear it's because residents are becoming too relaxed when practicing social distancing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR LONDON BREED (D), SAN FRANCISCO: We have to get more comfortable with changing how we interact with one another? This has been the biggest
challenge when we find out through our contact tracing teams the fact that people are still coming together in large groups and family groups. This is
where people are spreading the virus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELAM: In Los Angeles, the County Health Department is now investigating this party for first responders at a Hollywood bar, despite businesses
being required to close indoor operations. Top health officials say Americans following preventative measures like wearing masks could have
positive, long-term effects on fighting the Coronavirus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADMIRAL BRETT GIROIR, U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH: Wearing a mask is incredibly important, but we have to have like 85 or 90 percent of
individuals wearing a mask and avoiding crowds. That essentially gives you the same outcome as a complete shutdown.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELAM: This as Dr. Deborah Birx warns the United States has already entered a new phase of the pandemic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. BIRX: What we're seeing today is different from March and April. It's extraordinarily widespread. It's into the rural as equal urban areas. No
matter where you live in America, you have to wear a mask and socially distance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELAM: The CDC now predicts 19,000 more Americans could die from the Coronavirus over the next 20 days if the current trajectory continues.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. JAMES PHILLIPS, PHYSICIAN: Some more serious measures need to be taken in order to flatten the curve. I'm concerned that the sort of complacency
that we've seen with the Coronavirus has led to these mass gatherings and a general sort of disagreement with the science in many parts of the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Thanks to Stephanie Elam for that report. Well, up next, call it a tale of two Coronavirus testing strategies as the U.S. struggles with
theirs. The United Arab Emirates brings its "A" game to virus testing. We'll speak to our Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen about that
and about a new antibody therapy which could help in treating the disease.
And a damning review of the UK's treatment of nurses during the pandemic is going viral. We will speak to the nurse who started that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:15:00]
ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson. This is CONNECT THE WORLD. Getting a coronavirus test and getting the results back quickly has been a
huge hurdle in the United States. The Trump Administration still sitting on billions of dollars set aside for Coronavirus testing. U.S. lawmakers say
they cannot get a straight answer. Why?
Well, some labs are running short of testing supplies, and in some cases it can take a week for test results to come back or even longer. The top
official in charge of testing tells CNN's Anderson Cooper things will improve.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIROIR: By September, we'll have about half the tests in the country will be point of care, between 15 and 20 million, not assuming any new
technology, just based on what we're doing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, by comparison, testing here in the United Arab Emirates is as different as night and day. The UAE government now says it has conducted
more than 5 million tests. That is in a nation whose entire population is just shy of 10 million.
As I found out, the most vulnerable people don't even have to leave their homes to get tested. This is Coronavirus testing unlike almost anywhere
else. In Abu Dhabi, if you can't come to the test, then the test will come to you.
Medical teams kitted out in full protective gear come to take swabs right at the homes of the country's most vulnerable, people with long-term
illnesses, those with special needs and the elderly, like 68-year-old Jessim Al-Sabi (ph). And for those who don't qualify and can't afford it,
you can pull up one of a dozen or so drive-thru centers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANWAR SALLAM, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, SEHA: We've made testing very easy. We made drive-thru centers throughout the country. We do have also
home screening center which means we're reaching out to our population.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: The country is also home to millions of foreign workers who live in close quarters, a potentially ripe breeding ground for the virus. So in
one of the capital's most cramped industrial areas, the government offered free tests to absolutely everyone, including those unauthorized to work in
the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was six weeks comprehensive screening and testing campaign. We are pleased to announce it is contained, the spread of
infection.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: All those samples end up in labs like this one at Sheik Khalifa Medical City where new machines have brought turnaround times to as little
as two hours, we're told. Speed of the results and the all-in approach mean the country has one of the most intensive mass testing campaigns in the
world.
Checking in on more of its population than almost anywhere else, its per- person rate easily outstrips its other wealthy neighbors and it's more than double the rate the United States has been able to pull off.
In parts of the U.S., tests often find cases with positivity rates in some states reaching around 20 percent. That's compared to a rate of around 1
percent in the UAE. And those who are infected stand a strong chance of survival with a mortality rate amongst the lowest in the world.
In July the country announced zero deaths for three consecutive days. And so, slowly, the country has been getting back to normal. Hotels and
shopping centers are carefully reopening with strict social distancing conditions. And the UAE is welcoming tourists back through the door.
And the way to keep on top of things while authorities tell CNN that they will keep on testing, testing and more testing. Let's get you straight to
CNN's Health Elizabeth Cohen. That's the story here in the UAE where, as I said, authorities arguably running one of the best mass testing schemes in
the world.
The U.S. President continues to claim the problem with the U.S. isn't the virus, it is the fact that it is testing so many people, which is wrong on
a whole bunch of levels, isn't it?
[11:20:00]
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. I mean, we want to test a lot of people, so certainly President Trump kind of tried that
trick. He said, don't worry, it's not that more people are sick we're just testing more people. That was shot down a while ago.
Everybody knows that that is not true. Just four months after his wedding, George Bernt, a nurse, caught Coronavirus from a patient. Then George
infected his wife, Jennifer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNIFER BERNT, NURSE: The headache and the severe fatigue, I was sleeping about 16 hours a day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: Jennifer, who is also a nurse, heard from a colleague about an experimental drug for people with COVID-19. It contains neutralizing
antibodies made by people who have recovered, and hopefully those antibodies will block the virus from entering cells. Jennifer received an
infusion like this. She might have received the drug or she might have received a placebo which does nothing. Either way--
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BERNT: I did feel better within a couple of days, like wanted to go back to work within a couple of days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: Since the U.S. is still at least months away from a vaccine, doctors are on the hunt for an effective treatment to bridge the gap. Dr. Anthony
Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease doctor, says he's cautiously optimistic about antibody drugs, especially since they worked well against
Ebola.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I think there is a reasonably good chance that they will turn out
to be very much now added to our --.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: The federal government awarded with Regeneron which made the drug being used in Jennifer's study $450 million to fast-track its development
in manufacturing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: And they said they could have up to 70 to 300,000 viral doses of this by the end of the summer or
early fall.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: Doctor Anita Kohli who is running Jennifer's clinical trial in Arizona says they've been overwhelmed with calls from people who want to
take part in the study.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANITA KOHLI, INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST: These trials will hopefully get enrolled quickly and we'll get this data, the data on these drugs to
show whether they're effective or not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: Jennifer didn't hesitate to join the clinical trial. She takes care of patients who have cancer, their immune systems weak from chemotherapy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BERNT: I've seen people sick from this virus. I've had a friend struggle for his life with this virus. I've had patients in the hospital who are
scared because their family can't be there at an awful time in their life.
COHEN: It sounds like you're doing this for your patients?
BERNT: It seemed like an easy decision to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: An easy decision she hopes might help change the outlook for this pandemic. So, Becky, there are several prongs to dealing with this
pandemic, and three of them are testing, treatment and vaccines. What we just heard about is treatment.
There is a lot of hope for these antibody treatments, that it will help people like Jennifer who are sick to get better, but also hope that it will
work kind of like a vaccine in preventing treatment in the first place. That's why they're doing this study, why Regeneron is doing this study.
Another company, Eli Lily, has just started their phase III trials. Becky?
ANDERSON: Let's talk about vaccines, Russia making new promises on its vaccine. What more can you tell us at this point?
COHEN: They're making promises, and I'm glad you said it that way, because what they're not doing is supplying data. They say that they're going to
start vaccinating people in October, which is right around the corner, but they have not shown anyone the data that shows that this vaccine is safe
and effective.
As a matter of fact, they say that they're going to start vaccinating people before they've even done their phase III trials. Those are the large
trials that show whether the vaccine works or not? They're in tens of thousands of people.
They say they've done phase I or II, but those are only in hundreds of people and don't really tell you if the vaccine is effective. So there is a
lot of mystery around this Russian vaccine. We don't know if it really works, and really, we don't know any data on it.
ANDERSON: Elizabeth Cohen on the story for you. Thank you. Coming up, the UK government is being criticized for its response to COVID-19, for
everything from mixed messaging to its failures on testing and more health care workers speaking out. One of them has written a blistering critique of
the British Prime Minister, and that has gone viral. We will speak to her, up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:25:00]
ANDERSON: Welcome back. This is CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson. You're watching CNN more on the global Coronavirus crisis now. The White
House Task Force Coordinator says her country, the United States, has entered a new phase pandemic with cases now "Extraordinarily widespread" in
both urban and rural areas across the U.S.
Dr. Deborah Birx is warning Americans take the virus seriously, wear a mask and follow other safety measures. Well, the U.S. could look at what's
happening right now in Australia as a stark example of clamping down again to mitigate the spread?
The State of Victoria has declared a state of disaster. Millions of people are now on a strict lockdown in the epicenter, Melbourne with nightly
curfews now in place.
Well, the UK National Health Service or the NHS is often referred to as the country's national religion, applauded by politicians of every party. Prime
Minister Boris Johnson got a firsthand look at the impact of the NHS when he himself was hospitalized with COVID-19, and he has had nothing but
praise for the nurses who watched over him. Here is what he said back in April.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: And I hope they won't mind if I mention in particular two nurses who stood by my bedside for 48 hours when
things could have gone either way. They're Jenny from New Zealand, in the Cargo on the South Island 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)
ANDERSON: Well, now a letter written by a student nurse is making its rounds online. It's gone viral. It offers a scathing review of the British
government's treatment of the NHS nurses. Written directly to the Prime Minister it says, and I quote.
"At this point in time, your government absolutely does not have my vote in the next election. I say this with the utmost certainty. The main reason
you don't have my vote is because every single time you've failed, you've not once turned around, held your hands up and said that you have made a
mistake. It's because I've not once heard you say sorry but that you've learned and you'll do better next time".
Well, the author of that letter is Jessica Collins. She is a pediatric nursing student who blogs under the title "Student Nurse Mommy." She joins
us now via Skype from Leicester in England.
[11:30:00]
ANDERSON: And you do not hold back in what was a letter to the British Prime Minister which, as I understand it and the way I read it, you really
didn't expect he would ever read. In some ways you didn't expect anybody, really, to read it. Just explain why you wrote this, Jessica?
JESSICA COLLINS, STUDENT NURSE: Um, I think that after a few months of working on the front line, there was a multitude of things that I
personally have written to local people about before, and as a student nurse from my perspective there are many things that I've tried to
highlight in terms of our struggles.
And I just think I got to a point where I was seeing statement after statement saying how appreciated we all are, saying how much we've done and
how the government recognized that. I was just tired of seeing them and not seeing any action following that, and I just think I got to the point where
I just had enough, really.
ANDERSON: Well, certainly this letter has been doing the rounds. When I say doing the rounds, it will have got to the right place, there is no doubt,
because this letter has gone viral, not just in the UK but around the world. I'm talking to you, for example, from the United Arab Emirates here
in the Gulf. Jessica, just explain to our viewers what your experience has been, not just of the COVID period, but your wider experience?
COLLINS: Yes, obviously being a student nurse, I started my course in 2017. So straightaway I was on a back foot with the government because I'm one of
the first students that is being affected by the varsity that was taken away by the Tory government.
So I'm leaving university with 65,000 pounds worth of debt after doing God know how many hours on - within the NHS on the wards and a lot of pressure,
obviously the same pressures as every other health professional.
So, you know, straightaway it's really hard, but obviously you don't really recognize - you go into it, you don't really recognize how hard and how
much of a struggle it's going to be until you're doing it? And then obviously with Coronavirus and the whole pandemic, those pressures have
just multiplied tenfold.
And I think that with everything that's happened and oversee with the announcement of pay rises in other sectors and nurses specifically missed
out, given everything that, you know, the profession has given not just during this pandemic but in general, it's just really frustrating.
And I've never really been political before, but I've come into this profession and I've become aware of all of these huge injustices in terms
of all of my colleagues and my peers and how underappreciated they are. I mean, at the moment they're currently sitting, I think it's around 20
percent behind inflation in terms of looking over the last ten years in terms of their pay.
You look at all these MPs and you think, you know, you've never had a pay freeze or I doubt you've ever taken a bit of a hit to your salary. So why
is it fair that people, just because they're in a caring profession, to have to undergo such injustices? It's just sort of right.
ANDERSON: Jessica, what do you hope will be achieved by this? You say I'll close this letter off by saying that I'm fully aware nothing will come from
this. I don't expect anything I've said to resonate with you, British Prime Minister.
And I'm definitely not posting it in the hope that someone will waive their magic wand to make everything okay. But this has done the rounds. What do
you hope will come of this, Jessica?
COLLINS: I don't know. I think if it has reached the Prime Minister, which just seems absolutely crazy, but if it has, I'd like to think it could
resonate with him and he would read it and maybe look at how our profession is being treated, and just think about moving forward, actually doing
something about it. Because at the moment, all I'm hearing is the same statements. They release the same statements continuously.
You are appreciated, we do know the work that you put into it, but now we're going to keep you where you are, and actually in real-time, we're
going to not appreciate you at all. I hope they do something about it.
I hope they look at our position, appreciate how far, how much we've given during this pandemic and actually do what they need to do, which just show
a little bit of appreciation to all of those that have held the NHS out during this horrible time.
[11:35:00]
ANDERSON: And I guess what you'll say is leading the clap for care which happened for the first few weeks of the pandemic every Thursday evening is
not enough. So just look down the barrel of your camera that is there on your device and tell me - this is a message for the Prime Minister
specifically. What do you want to say to him?
COLLINS: I just want to say, you know, open your eyes, appreciate what we've been doing. Don't just clap. Clapping is amazing, and it's the most
incredible thing knowing there are people all over the UK that are showing their appreciation.
But as a Prime Minister, you can do so much more, and up until this point, you haven't done enough and it's time that you held your hands up, faced up
to the reality which is we are so underappreciated and actually do something about it.
ANDERSON: With that we're going to leave it there. We thank you very much, indeed, for joining us, and I hope the British Prime Minister is listening.
Thank you.
COLLINS: Thank you.
ANDERSON: You can see more from front line workers just how tough it's been to deal with this pandemic as ever. Let me connect you to a simple truth
here on CNN. Wear a mask, one of the America's most prominent public health officials echoing that and explaining just how effective it can be.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIROIR: Wearing a mask is incredibly important but we have to have like 85 or 90 percent of individuals wearing a mask and avoiding crowds. That
essentially gives you the same outcome as a complete shutdown, and why do I say that?
Well, theoretically we can go through the models but look at Arizona, look at Florida, Texas, and Louisiana. These measures are being implemented and
that changes it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: That's the message. Let's get you up to speed on some of the other stories on our radar right now. The Lebanon's Foreign Minister,
Nassif Hitti has resigned from his post. He blames the government and the international community's lack of will to implement reforms in the country.
Hitti says the government's mishandling of Lebanon's worst financial crisis in decades is turning the country into and I quote him here a failed state.
The Foreign Ministers of Iran and the UAE discussed strategies for handling the Coronavirus pandemic during a video call on Sunday. Iran's Foreign
Minister called it a frank and friendly conversation with his UAE counterpart. They agreed to work together on the pandemic as well as on
other regional disputes.
China is sending medical personnel to Hong Kong to help the city cope with the surge of Coronavirus cases there. Beijing's National Health Commission
says more than 50 clinical laboratory technicians will help with the lab work. Medical experts from Wuhan will also help set up a 500-bed hospital
at Hong Kong's Asia World Expo site.
Well, despite the mounting death toll in Brazil, some of the people there refusing to take things seriously. In fact, in some areas life is starting
to look much like it did before the pandemic. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in Rio for you with more.
NICK PATON WALSH, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: 94,000 dead now here in brazil, a startlingly high number for a country which on the
surface of times appears day-to-day to be trying to act as though the disease hasn't retaken a grip of its population.
And we've seen over the weekend, the 24-hour period ending Sunday, the number of dead contributed to by just over 500 and 25,800 new cases,
startlingly high numbers. But for Brazil, possibly because the reporting like over the weekend not as high as we've been seeing in the 50,000 or so
cases that have been reported daily in some days over the past couple of weeks.
And the disease continues to tear its way through the high levels of government. A sick Cabinet Minister, the Comptroller-General reporting
himself positive late last week that comes after the first lady, Michelle Bolsonaro, said that she, in fact, had tested positive.
And after her husband, President Jair Bolsonaro, the man whose behavior is so much the focus of Brazil's at times contrary response to this disease
after he recovered from a two-week infection from the disease.
He was seen in the south of the country meeting supporters in the town of - waving Hydroxychloroquine again, a medicine which is proven ineffective in
study after study, and in fact, may even be harmful to people with Coronavirus.
He was seen, too, on Sunday leaving the presidential residence in Brasilia, the capital at times not wearing a mask. As I say, the time surreal to see,
particularly here in Rio de Janeiro, how daily life tries to carry on un- impacted by this virus and how the government spent at times appears to behave as though it isn't the most grave problem they face.
[11:40:00]
WALSH: In fact, President Bolsonaro was critical over the weekend about how local officials had been providing unemployment support to those affected
by the lockdown. Startlingly high numbers every day, and still Brazil's government doing its best to downplay the disease. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN,
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
ANDERSON: Well, up next, it is TikTok for TikTok. Its time in the U.S. could be running out, but Microsoft could be about to swoop in on the app.
Details on that are next. Plus, he's a combat veteran and former military intelligence officer well now the British MP says he has come under attack
by Chinese hackers. We will explain his story after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, big tech geo politics in kids dancing, they've all got something in common. TikTok. Microsoft says it is keen to buy the video
apps, U.S. Canadian and Australian operations. The tech giant is talking with TikTok's owner, which is the Chinese startup, by dance.
Now this all follows President Trump's threat Friday to ban the app over possible national security risks. TikTok which features a lot of dancing
teenagers is far from kids' stuff, though. It's got 100 million users in America alone, and Washington and Beijing are already furious with each
other.
President Trump's ban threat did nothing to help that. Hadas Gold is watching this story. Can he ban this and just explain for our users why
exactly Mr. Trump is so upset with this company.
HADAS GOLD, REPORTER: So we can start with why there is this tension, and that really goes to the general geopolitical issues we're seeing between
China and the United States. It's a similar story to what we've seen play out with Huawei as well.
There are fears about what the sort of data TikTok has on Americans, especially all of these teenagers, because there is a law in China that
says any Chinese company could be compelled to hand over information and has to work with the Chinese government.
TikTok says it never has or will supply information to the Chinese government, but there are other concerns here as well. We saw the TikTokers
saying that they patrolled President Trump at his rally and bought all these - of the tickets and had empty seats as a result.
We don't know what the connection is necessarily if whether there is empty seats are a direct result of the TikTokers, but clearly we've seen
President Trump go up against a lot of different social media companies.
But in terms of whether President Trump can actually do this and ban TikTok, technically he can, but it's not as simple as flicking a switch
tomorrow and saying no more. We could see him take action like the U.S. did against Huawei and trying to ban American companies from working with them.
[11:45:00]
GOLD: But the more likely scenario is the one that what we're actually seeing play out right now, and that is the U.S. Treasury's Committee on
Foreign Investment in the United States which investigates foreign acquisitions and how they affect national security has already been looking
into TikTok's parent company.
And this is the Committee that could force a company to spin off or sell off part of their company if they want to continue operating in the United
States. We've actually seen this happen in the past here with a different Chinese company that already owned an app and they were forced to spin off
that app, so there is precedent for this.
Microsoft says that they're in active talks. They have been talking with both President Trump and TikTok's parent company to potentially acquire
this. And they say that most importantly the data on American users if they acquired TikTok would stay in the United States. They're hoping that would
appease the Trump Administration.
They say that their discussions should be done by September 15, so just in the next couple weeks we might know whether TikTok will have new ownership.
Biggest question is now Becky though, is how much this will be valued at? And what kind of price tag is Microsoft willing to pay? And will this be
enough to satisfy the U.S. government?
ANDERSON: Hadas Gold on the story. So you had a thank you, and the story of the West versus China truly shaping our world right now, isn't it? Let me
connect you to another fragment of how it is playing out?
A senior British MP says that he is being targeted by hackers based in China. Tom Tugendhat has been a local critic of Beijing and now he says
Chinese cyber agents are trying to discredit him personally and professionally. As Sam Kiley now reports, the Chinese Embassy in London
rejects the allegations.
SAM KILEY, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: A combat veteran, Former Military Intelligence Officer and now the Chairman of the UK's
Powerful Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliamentarians. Tom Tugendhat is obviously no stranger to danger. Now he says he's under attack again from
China.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM TUGENDHAT, CHAIR, UK FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: There is accounts have been set up that look as though they might be mine. They're similar in
format, if you like, and have sent out e-mails to friends and members of my family.
KILEY: Suggesting what?
TUGENDHAT: Oh, suggesting personal issues and just generally trying to cause trouble.
KILEY: And what makes you think there are Chinese efforts behind this?
TUGENDHAT: Well, when I contacted Google and the officer of the GCHQ, the Government Communications Headquarters, both of whom I have to say were
absolutely fantastic and responded literally within hours and took down e- mail accounts that were clearly fakes.
I won't go into detail how, but I was told pretty clearly where the accounts came from. And though it wasn't definitely state tactics, it was
certainly from within Chinese jurisdiction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KILEY: After serving multiple tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, often working alongside U.S. and British special forces, this MP from Britain's ruling
conservative party is now sounding an alarm at what he sees as the greater strategic danger to democracies worldwide.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KILEY: What in a nutshell do you think China is trying to achieve?
TUGENDHAT: Well, I think that what we're seeing is we are seeing a culmination of different things that China is trying to achieve. It's
trying to reset the global economic system and it's trying to undermine the west, in the broader sense of the term, by harming the democratic outlook
on our freedoms.
KILEY: Do you think the west is being complacent?
TUGENDHAT: I don't think we're being as active as we could be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KILEY: The Chinese embassy in London said that it strongly opposes accusations and irresponsible remarks of Tugendhat, adding that China is a
staunch defender of Cybersecurity.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TUGENDHAT: If we do not create a global response to this, if we do not defend ourselves as democracies and rules-based systems, then we are going
to be defeated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KILEY: Tugendhat says there is hope. China's recent actions in Hong-Kong border clashes with India and wider trade wars with the U.S. may have
energized our position to President Xi Jinping.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TUGENDHAT: It feels like he's acted in a way too early. What he's done is he's galvanized the response at a time when other countries are able to
respond.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KILEY: Cold comfort from the English country side for China's critics and for its friends in trade. Sam Kiley, CNN in Eden Bridge.
ANDERSON: Well, just ahead celebrations in the day of Coronavirus, the women's golfing thing hasn't crowned a winner, since February, but these
days staying safe is the name of the game.
[11:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, the return of sport during the pandemic has been a welcome sight for many players and fans alike. But for some athletes, it is just
not worth the risk. 20 Major League Baseball players have opted out playing since the league began in a delayed start less than two weeks ago.
Let's bring back Don Riddell. And Don, the latest player to withdraw did so under the strangest of circumstances.
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: Yes, Becky, this one was just a little bit different. The New York Mets outfielders - was in Atlanta with this
team for a game on Sunday, but he didn't show up for the game against the brave. So the game started without him. And there was a awful lot of
confusion about where he was and what had happened to him? It turns out that he picked up his belongings and left the hotel without telling anyone.
The Mets didn't find out what happened until the middle of the game when his agent informed them that he would be opting out of the rest of the
season due to concerns about COVID-19. The Mets General Manager said his first concern was for his player's well-being.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRODIE VAN WAGENEN, NEW YORK METS GENERAL MANAGER: Any time a player doesn't show up, there are questions and concerns. Now, as far as anger or
the situation that Louie was put in and the teammates were put in, I think that first and foremost it was about making sure he was okay. And now we
have a lot better understanding that he had a decision that he hadn't communicated to us yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIDDELL: Well, that was unusual. Best highlights of the weekend. It has to be the British Grand Prix of Silverstone. And this was just extraordinary.
F1 fans will tell you that a driver winning a race by a huge margin isn't the most exciting.
But all of a sudden, this race was edge of the seat stuff, and some motor sport observers have described the climax of the 20-20 British Grand Prix
as one of the great moments in the history of the sport.
It had seemed just though the Mercedes drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas were cruising towards a comfortable 1-2 finish. But at the start of
penultimate lap, Bottas blew attire and dropped out of the point. Hamilton's front left tire then shredded on his final lap, thus setting up
a spectacular finish.
Just under four kilometers to go, Max Verstappen suddenly had a chance to win the race. Hamilton was trying to keep his car on the road with only
three wheels. Now that he was able to do it while still driving at pretty high speeds on corners where the principal load would have been on his
damaged tire was just remarkable. And it further cements his legacy as a legend of the sport.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEWIS HAMILTON, WINS THIRD CONSECUTIVE RACE: If he had to got coming down from 19 to 10, that's all I remember just get on the - given the full gas
that's in a corner, a lot of under stare and I heard him go at 9, 8, 7 and I was like just get back on the path trying to get the things to turn.
So oh my God - I had definitely never experienced anything like that on the last lap and my heart definitely probably nearly stopped. I think that's
probably how cool I was because my heart nearly stopped.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIDDELL: Amazing. All right, the PGA Championship used to be the final Golf Major of the year. Then in 2019 they changed the calendar around and made
it the second. But now thanks to the Coronavirus, it's going to be the first major tournament of the year starting later this week in San
Francisco.
Justin Thomas won the PGA Championship in 2017. This week he'll return to the event as the new world number one. Thomas is one of the hottest young
players in the game and he returned to the top of the rankings with an impressive win - classic on Sunday.
He played almost perfectly in his final round, shooting a five under par, a score of 65, to win by three strokes. It's his 13th win on the PGA Tour. At
the age of 27, he's the third youngest to amass that many titles. Only the greats Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods got there faster.
[11:55:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTIN THOMAS, CHASING SECOND MAJOR TITLE: I've been working really hard, I really have. I feel like I've been playing better than my results since we
came back from the quarantine. And I know that if I keep put myself there, I feel like I'm going to get it done eventually and hopefully more often
than not. This is the time of year where it's obviously nice to get on a little bit of a run.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIDDELL: The PGA Tour emerged from lockdown back in early June, but the main women's tour, the LPGA Tour only returned last week and it ended in
high drama at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.
The American Danielle Kang showed a two on the pass score of 70 in her final round to win her fourth event on the tour. But she was put under a
lot of pressure down the stretch by the French player Celine Boutier.
Boutier did almost everything right, but needed to think of fore-foot-pat to force a playoff and agonizingly she missed it. That prompted seas of
jubilation for Danielle Kang, but the celebration was respectful of the Coronavirus, air hugs only. And so, how we have to do it these days, Becky,
back to you.
ANDERSON: We all had the - over a four-foot putt. I'm sure she gets a lot more in than I would ever do that, thank you sir. Ahead from Melbourne to
Washington, Northern Iraq to Manchester. This hour or in the past couple of hours we've connected your world, the world that's ever-changing fast and
in unpredictable ways.
We are here to help you understand it all. Stay well. Good night from Abu Dhabi.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
