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Belarus' Opposition Leader Tikhanovskaya Offers To Act As Country's "National Leader"; U.S. Testing Slows As Positive Rates Increase; COVID-19 Forces Democratic Political Convention Online; Australia's Victoria State Reports Deadliest Single Day; Scotland's Children Return To School After Lockdown; Riders Escape Terrifying MotoGP Crash. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired August 17, 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)
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Record protests in Belarus. The president says he's ready to share power but the people do not believe him.
They are out in force. Plus this, the U.S. Democratic National Convention ready to kick off today virtually, though. Michelle Obama and some
Republicans will be showing up for Joe Biden on screen.
And the U.S. counts more than a thousand deaths nearly every day since late July. And new questions around why fewer people are being tested for COVID.
Let us begin this hour in Belarus. This is CONNECT THE WORLD. It is reaching a boiling point, the situation there. Factory workers, miners,
state television staff, they're all now on strike. They're walking out from their jobs and joining these huge demonstrations against President
Alexander Lukashenko.
Demonstrations are growing while the president refuses to step down. He is also refusing calls for a new vote. He says he's willing to "Share power"
but he won't do that under pressure from the streets, and also people on the streets say they don't believe him.
Fellow political strongman Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Lukashenko by phone on Sunday. Putin is offering assistance to Lukashenko.
The question is how will that manifest itself? Let's get more from Fred Pleitgen who is out with the crowds in Minsk with more.
There is a strike among some key workers, journalists, miners other sectors of the economy they say they want a new vote. Are they going to get what
they're asking for?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think every day, Hala, they're getting closer to getting what they wanted. You're
absolutely right, that Alexander Lukashenko at this point in time has said that he doesn't want new elections.
In fact, he said that he would have to be shot in order for there to be new elections at an event that he was at. But certainly you do feel that his
power seems to be fading with every day that we are here in Minsk.
It was yesterday that you saw that massive turnout at a rally, by far probably the largest in this country's history, with about 100,000 people
turning out. And what's happened today which is absolutely correct is that there is a general strike that has started.
And if you look at the building behind me, that's state TV which until a couple days ago was the propaganda arm essentially of Alexander Lukashenko.
The journalists there, the camera operators there, the technicians there have now said no more, they're not going to do that anymore.
They want to cover the protests that are happening. They want to cover the detention and some of the transgressions that have been going on by the
security forces as well, and they said they're not going to start working again until that happens.
And, of course, the industrial sector strike is also extremely important. A lot of the exports of this country depend on some of the raw materials. A
lot of the industrial goods that are exported are extremely important to keep Alexander Lukashenko afloat.
At the same time, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya who ran against him in the election whom almost everybody here says won the election has now come out
again and said that she could be a political leader here in this country. Let's listen to what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SVETLANA TIKHANOVSKAYA, BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER: I am ready to take on the responsibility and become a national leader during this period in order
for the country to calm down and enter a normal rhythm for us to free all of the political prisoners, and in the shortest term, to prepare a
legislative framework and conditions for the organization of the new presidential election real, honest and an inspiring election which will be
undoubtedly accepted by the international community.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: So Svetlana Tikhanovskaya coming out and saying that she would be willing to take on the role as a political leader here in this country. But
again as you noted Alexander Lukashenko at this point in time still saying he's not willing to step down saying he would be willing to share power.
But certainly if you listen to the crowds here today certain large crowd yesterday the crowds that we've seeing here today they believe that it's
past that point. They want him to step down and they want what they say is a fair election under international standards otherwise they say obviously
they're going to keep going out and these strikes are also going to continue, Hala.
[11:05:00]
GORANI: And in the first few days of demonstrations, we saw unmarked vans taking people in, security forces accused of beating, even torturing
protesters. Is that still happening because there are lots of people out on the streets? It seems like the fear; the wall of fear has come down.
PLEITGEN: I think it's really important to point that out, Hala is that some of the things we've been seeing over the past couple of days would
simply have been impossible only about a week ago. In fact, a little over a week ago before the last election, if three people even banded together and
came out on the street together and started clapping, they would be arrested within about a minute or used to be stopped from doing so.
Then you had these crowds expanding. You did have that giant crackdown of so many being arrested, thousands being arrested, many being abused while
they were in detention as well. And the way that the opposition has fought back was with courage and with nonviolence by continuing to come out hold
up flowers at the beginning.
It was just people standing by the street. Then those crowds continued to swell and they just simply, essentially took over the streets here of the
Capital. And right now there are still cases that we're hearing of people being arrested.
But it certainly seems as though the security forces have gotten a lot more careful than they have before because, simply, the violence that we saw
from the security forces is something that caused such an outrage among the people that it didn't cause them to back down but come out in even larger
numbers after that, Hala.
GORANI: All right, Fred Pleitgen live in Minsk. There is a wave of new developments on COVID-19 I need to tell you about. Over the weekend the
World Health Organization reported a global record of new cases in 24 hours.
This pandemic is - we are still in the middle of it. Peru has taken over Mexico as the second Latin in America. Meanwhile New Zealand is postponing
its general election following a fresh outbreak. Its neighbor Australia is now reporting its deadliest day since the pandemic began.
South Korea reported its highest number of daily new infections since March. Japan is continuing to top a thousand cases a day while reporting
its worst drop in GDP in record. A possible glimmer of hope on the vaccine front, though. Chinese state media report Beijing has granted its first
COVID-19 vaccine patent to a biotech firm CanSino.
Saudi Arabia is going to conduct phase III trials on 5,000 volunteers, and several countries in Latin America are reaching, though, troubling new
COVID-19 milestones. Bolivia has become the latest country there to top 100,000 cases. The uptick comes after mass protests against the Bolivian
government's decision to delay presidential elections twice this year.
As for Peru, it is reporting more than 10,000 new infections over the past week. It is bringing its total to more than 535,000. That's overtaking
Mexico. Lots of numbers I'm throwing at you, but just the overall headline, as you can see, is that the case numbers are going up in many countries in
the world, because Peru now has the second highest number of confirmed cases in the region after Brazil.
Let's go to Stefano Pozzebon who is covering the pandemic in Latin America. He is in Bogota, Columbia today for us. Stefano, let's talk about the
reasons behind these spikes. It seems in so many Latin American countries what is going so wrong in countries like Bolivia and Peru?
STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: What is going wrong, Hala, is a similar situation across the Andean region from Bolivia to Peru, up north to
Columbia. These are countries where the virus struck and struck early, by the end of March.
Most of these countries had already declared preventive measures, lockdown, social distancing, and that did not suppress the virus completely. Five
months later, the need to avoid the economic pain, the need for people to go out to work.
Let's remember, the vast majority of the work force in the region here is still informal its people who need to go out every day, otherwise they
don't have any social support. They don't have any support network that can come up in times of difficulty, in times when work and jobs are not there.
And so the need to go out is now allowing the virus to spread further than ever. And it's the same situation in the slums, in the boroughs here in
Bogota; down in Lehman, and of course, as you said Hala the most difficult, complicated situation is perhaps in Bolivia.
[11:10:00]
POZZEBON: The only struck country in South America where on top of the health emergency there is a political crisis, because the government has
taken the decision to postpone the elections for the second time this year.
It's an interim government that is ruling Bolivia, precisely with the mandates to call for new presidential elections and the opposition is
having none of it. And on top of the health crisis, the broken road, they're on to the streets in hundreds and protesting with very clear voice
because they want to vote in September even though the pandemic is going nowhere, Hala?
GORANI: All right, Stefano Pozzebon in Bogota. So from Latin America let's take you to Europe because there are spikes in cases in Europe. They're
prompting new restrictions. Italy is closing down all discos and dance activities across the country. Disco, Wow, that's a very old-fashioned way
- I guess nightclubs.
European health officials are trying to prevent a second wave of the deadly virus. Italy's Health Minister has ordered mandatory swab tests for people
arriving in the country from Croatia, Greece, Malta and Spain.
And on the streets of Paris, police are now enforcing the use of masks. France has also seen worrying spikes, new COVID cases in recent weeks.
Melissa Bell is in Paris with more. So what is behind these spikes in numbers?
And France, I was supposed to travel to France net week and of course the UK has re-imposed two week quarantine, so that's kind of on hold. But what
is behind these spikes in numbers because France kind seemed to have it somewhat under control a few weeks ago?
MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: That's right, this is really a country that so far had managed to put in place a quarantine that was very
effective, a lockdown, rather, and then ease the country out of it. What we are looking at now really, Hala, all of those weeks on, with the health
system no longer creaking at the scenes, as the number of people in ICUs and the number of deaths remains fairly stable and low.
It is the number of new cases that's because the economy has opened up, it's because young people particularly are going out again. Again you
mentioned a moment ago discotheques. If I reassure I spent half my day calling on discotheques night clubs because in Spain and in Italy Hala and
that tells you something about the demographic is being hit in this latest resurgence in the number of new cases.
So yes, new measures here in France as well. They have extended to the shorter - over the weekend the parts of Paris in which you have to wear a
mask whenever you go even outside. So you're seeing authorities constantly trying to catch up to those figures to make sure they can bring them back
under control, Hala?
GORANI: All right. Discotheques are closed. I think I haven't been to a discotheque in so long, that I forgot what you're supposed to call them.
But how are French authorities reacting to the fact that France has been placed on this quarantine list, like the UK, for instance? I mean, this is
something that's hurting their tourism industry.
BELL: Oh, absolutely, and I think it's no coincidence also that you've seen these big rises Hala, in France, in Spain, because remember that within
Europe people can pretty much still go on holiday to those beaches that they're used to. There has been a lot of people moving around the European
space, there's been people going off holiday.
Things had pretty much in France gotten back to where they were. So, yes, that does feel like a step backwards. Of course, this sort of tit-for-tat
of restrictions begin in place and quarantine being imposed, with all the questions that come with those Hala about how those quarantines are going
to be enforced.
And looking further ahead here from the European constant and it's reaction see slight rises over the course of last few days. Extra measures, how are
they enforced long term? Who on whose shoulders does that policing fall? I think what is interesting in Europe is that you say how well it contained
the epidemic?
And how it's now trying to adjust almost to a post-lockdown world, a post- Coronavirus world where you try and keep these in check without having to go back into lockdown but managing somehow to keep those figures under
control for the time being. They haven't found the answer to that.
GORANI: Melissa Bell, thanks very much. In the United States, COVID has killed more than a thousand people a day for the past 21 days, according to
Johns Hopkins data and instead of ramping up testing, the country slowing it down. Why?
Let's bring in CNN's Dianne Gallagher live from Atlanta, Georgia where kids are starting their second week of school. We've seen in Georgia some cases
where schools had to close back down because of spikes in COVID numbers among the student body and teachers as well.
DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Hala, and one district specifically here in the State of Georgia, they've seen the number of
people quarantined in their school district triple over just a two-week period, and the number of those infected double.
[11:15:00]
GALLAGHER: And so it really is something that they're trying to get a hand on here. Look, the United States reported just over 40,000 positive cases
on Sunday alone. That sounds like a lot, but that number is actually down from what it has been averaging.
There is concern that it might be because we're seeing a reduction in the number of tests. Growing concern that the U.S. is testing less for
Coronavirus even as over one thousand Americans die daily from the disease the average number of Coronavirus tests per day dropping by more than
68,000 compared to the last two weeks of July. That's according to the COVID tracking project.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. WILLIAM SCHAFFNER, PROFESSOR DIVISION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES, VANDERBELT UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: It may be testing fatigue or a
sense that why should I get tested if the results don't come back for a week because they're not useful? This virus is still spreading widely in
the communities. It's not under control yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALLAGHER: As testing has slowed, positive rates increased over the past week in 36 states as of Friday according to Johns Hopkins University's
Coronavirus Research Center. In California, nearly 8,000 new cases reported on Sunday alone the 7-day positivity rate nearly 7 percent.
In Illinois, the State's Governor announcing new restrictions will take effect tomorrow in an area across the border from St. Louis. The metro east
regions showing an eight-day average positivity rate above 8 percent. Chicago's Mayor warning her city is seeing a steady increase in cases
fueled by people 18 to 29.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have just got a break through young people that they are not immune to this virus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALLAGHER: Meanwhile as schools and universities continue working on their reopening plans, several reporting outbreaks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. DEBORAH BIRX, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS TASK FORCE MEMBER: If we want to have everything working and football in schools, we need to get the
community spread of this virus down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALLAGHER: In Arizona, one school district is cancelling in-person and online classes due to a large number of staff absences. The JO Combs
Unified School District in Santana Valley, Arizona says it does not know when instruction will resume.
In Georgia Cherokee County shutting down a third school due to a cluster of cases, more than a third of students at Creek View High School in
quarantine. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill reporting a fourth cluster of cases, this one based in a residence hall.
At Oklahoma State University, an off-campus sorority house locked down after reporting 23 cases. This large gathering at an off-campus housing
area near the University of North Georgia going viral, sparking concern, because no face masks are visible.
Masks are not mandatory in Georgia. School outbreaks not concerning White House Senior Adviser and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner who has young
children?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JARED KUSHNER, WHITE HOUSE SENIOR ADVISER: We absolutely will be sending our kids back to school, and I have no fear in doing so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALLAGHER: And Hala, look, if kids are going back to school, we need to ramp up testing in the United States and be able to get those tests back
quicker. That's been a lingering problem across the country. You do see things like this.
This is a mobile testing site that was set up near the airport around Atlanta. It's been kind of operating like a well-oiled machine and they
claim you can get results back within 48 to 72 hours. But there is even more potentially positive news on the horizon.
The FDA has granted essentially this emergency use of these saliva tests that are quick, cheap, and they're the things that the NBA has been using
inside of its bubble. The NBA did help fund research on that.
There is hope that with those quick return tests that are more affordable, if they can get that out in the communities, we could ramp testing back up
to get a better idea of just how significant the infection rate in the United States really is?
GORANI: Right, and so many places need more testing. Thanks very much, Dianne Gallagher, live in Atlanta. Coming up, the Democratic National
Convention will be like no other national convention in the history of the United States, it will be virtual. We'll take a look at what's in store for
the presidential nominations, coming up next? Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:20:00]
GORANI: It will be an unprecedented, unique, strange, whatever you want to call it, Democratic National Convention in the United States. It starts
today, and the reason it will be so strange is because it will be almost entirely virtual.
Party conventions are usually huge in-person events with balloons and where the presidential candidates and VP candidates accept the nomination
officially and flags and states' representation also respecting and showing support for the candidates.
But COVID-19 has forced the four-day event online. Next Monday the Republican Convention begins in Charlotte, North Carolina, and with just 78
days until the election, one new poll is showing that President Donald Trump is gaining on Joe Biden.
Biden now leads by just four percentage points. That's within the margin of error, 50 to 46 percent nationally. So this is just one of many recent
polls with CNN's latest poll of polls showing a wider gap.
Now, the Democratic National Convention starts with some well-known headliners including well-known Republican John Kasich, Former Presidential
Contender Bernie Sanders and Michelle Obama. The former First Lady has spoken at the last three conventions, including this memorable speech in
2016.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: When someone is cruel or acts like a bully, you don't stoop to their level. No, our motto
is when they go low, we go high.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: So you remember those four years ago. What a difference four years make, right? CNN Political Commentator and Former Obama White House
Communications Director Jennifer Psaki joins me now from Washington. What do you make of this latest CNN poll that showing really a tightening of the
race nationally between Biden and Trump?
JENNIFER PSAKI, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, the Biden team always expected the race to narrow. In some ways it's a blessing at this moment
when Democrats are going to be focused on learning more about not just Joe Biden but Kamala Harris, and hearing from a lot of the speakers over the
next couple of days about this ticket.
So we need Democrats to understand that it's important to get to the polls, they vote early, and tightening of polls which they fully expected, may
prompt that urgency, so it's not the worst thing.
GORANI: But why are the polls tightening? The U.S. is in the middle of a pandemic that some could argue has been handled very poorly. Joe Biden just
named a running mate. He should be getting a boost, shouldn't he, at this stage?
PSAKI: Well, he may after this week, we'll see. The country remains divided, and there is still a lot people don't know about Joe Biden, which
is why this week is such an opportunity. And I think I would argue that those people think the pandemic, the handling of the pandemic hasn't gone
well.
But when there are times of uncertainty, sometimes people go back to what they know and oftentimes that's the incumbent president. It's hard to beat
an incumbent and no Democrat should be naive about this.
But I think this week is a big opportunity for Joe Biden because of course people know who he is and have heard of him, but don't know a lot about his
background, his bio, what he wants to do for the country? And if they do well this week, they'll really make strides in introducing that.
[11:25:00]
GORANI: It's going to be a challenge because it is virtual as we've been telling our viewers back. My colleague who produce this hours from
Michigan, he went back home, he was in Macon County, Michigan, and one of the interesting things he said in our editorial meeting, because I'm stuck
here in the UK, unfortunately, we're not covering any conventions in person.
Is that he really didn't see any Biden signs? And this is a bell weather county at Michigan. We're getting granular, but it's important because the
polls say one thing but then the anecdotal evidence sometimes tells a completely different story where practically every front yard had a Trump
sign and no Biden signs.
So I'm wondering, are we overestimating the support that Biden has in some of these swing states? Is it possible that we're making the same mistake
that we made four years ago?
PSAKI: Well, you know, one, I would say yard signs, while they're quite visible and visual are never the indication - a clear indication of where
things sit, but all that being said, I think we shouldn't underestimate how hard it's going to be in states like Michigan, even with what the polls
have said in recent months?
As you said, they're tightening. We should fully expect that, but it's still hard to defeat an incumbent even with everything that's happening.
So, you know, I hope we don't make the mistake. I know from the Biden team they're very focused on organizing locally, on encouraging friends and
neighbors to reach out to their friends and neighbors that are widely support the Biden ticket, to equip people with information about how to
make the best arguments?
About why he's a better choice for the country than Donald Trump, but anyone who went through 2016 will tell you that, you know, you can't
underestimate and we have to kind of run through the tape here to the finish line, because it's probably going to be close.
GORANI: Now let's talk a little bit about what's going on with the United States Postal Service, and the Postmaster General, who is a Trump
supporter, donated over a million dollars to Trump Pacs in 2016. Democrats and opponents of the president are saying what's going on now is, by
reducing the post office budget now is an effort to suppress the vote, the postal vote, in 2020. Do you believe that is happening?
PSAKI: It's not just with Democrats have said, I mean, Donald Trump has said that he's kind of kneecapping the post office to take a phrase from my
old Barack Obama because he doesn't want more people to vote. If you look at the specifics of what the Postmaster General has done, they have ended
overtime at a lot of places, they have closed post offices. They have shut down mail sorting places.
This has made it so that mail is becoming slower. People rely on the mail not just for sending in mail-in ballots but also for their medicine and
social security checks. We see and we know what's happening here?
It shouldn't be just Democrats saying this. I think Republicans and people of all parties and no party should be concerned about what they're seeing
here, because they're a there are widespread impacts beyond people being able to vote, which is why it's receiving so much attention?
As you know, Speaker Pelosi is bringing Democrats back this week to have a vote on this, because it's a crisis. They don't usually bring back members
in August, but it's so concerning they're doing that right now.
GORANI: All right, Jen Psaki, thanks very much for joining us. I really appreciate it.
PSAKI: My pleasure.
GORANI: And you can watch the CNN's Special Coverage of the Democratic National Convention starting at 8:00 pm eastern time. It's 1:00 am in
London and 8:00 am in Hong Kong. You're watching CNN.
Coming up, a new COVID-19 outbreak in New Zealand has caused a delay in that country's general election. We'll look at how long that delay is and
if it will help? Plus children in Scotland are back in the classroom after months of lockdown. What does that look like, sending kids back to school
these days? We'll have that story coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:30:00]
GORANI: Welcome back. A troubling development in Australia's battle with COVID, Victoria State is reporting its single deadliest day of the pandemic
with 25 deaths due to the virus on Sunday alone. That brings the death toll in Victoria to more than 330 as the state records more than 17,000
confirmed cases.
And in New Zealand, Coronavirus concerns are prompting a four-week delay in the country's general election. Will Ripley is following the latest on New
Zealand. He's live for us from Hong Kong with more. So how many cases are we talking about, and will a four-week delay address the concerns that the
Prime Minister has?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, if that delay results in the number getting back down to zero, then yes. New Zealand has fewer than 100 active
cases of COVID-19 in the entire country right now, and some of those are imported cases. The majority, though, are local transmission and that is
what New Zealand has been so concerned about.
This was a country that very early in the pandemic took what some describe as drastic, perhaps even overkill, in terms of the lockdown of the country
when the numbers were still relatively small, and a lot of other countries were not taking steps like that.
But the end result was after the short-term impact of the lockdown, New Zealand declared itself COVID-19 free, and there were no vocally
transmitted cases for 102 days, an extraordinary streak given what is happening in many other parts of the world.
The Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was praised by the public because New Zealand enjoyed relative normalcy when it comes to the quality of life.
Businesses were back open, schools were back open. People felt safe.
When the small cluster emerged, first in a household in Auckland, it's largest city and then cases were tied to a food its stored house kind of
temperature-controlled facility, but they're still investigating the cause. They still don't know how this cluster emerged, how the virus came back
into the country.
It was enough for the Prime Minister to lockdown Auckland, its largest city home to more than a million people once again, because she is putting
before the economy and even before politics public health. Here is more from the Prime Minister Ardern.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACINDA ARDERN, NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER: Ultimately the 17th of October in approximately nine weeks' time provide sufficient time for parties to
plan around the range of circumstances we could be campaigning under for the electoral commission to prepare and for voters to feel a short of a
safe accessible incredible election.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIPLEY: Ardern's party was expected to do very well in the national elections that were supposed to happen next month. Now it will happen about
four weeks later. So this is not about any sort of delaying the elections for political gain.
If anything, it could hurt the Prime Minister, and this is really going to be a crucial test, Hala, of her leadership. Can this second outbreak while
the numbers are small be contained? Can New Zealand get back to that coveted status of declaring itself virus free in terms of local
transmission?
And if that is successful, if these lockdown measures are successful, then obviously they are expected to still do potentially very well in the
election. But it is fascinating to compare this response with the response of so many other countries that, despite a surge in cases, are pushing
forward with the reopening of schools and their own election plans.
[11:35:00]
GORANI: All right. Will Ripley, thank you very much. Iraq's government is warning about a potential disaster in the making over the Coronavirus. The
nation reported more than 4,300 new cases Sunday. That's a new daily high.
The government says people are not following its health rules. The health ministry adds there could be "Disastrous consequences if that doesn't
change." Jomana Karadsheh joins me now live with more on what's going on in Iraq. And we hear stories of so many Middle Eastern countries with this
explosion in COVID numbers Syria as well and Iraq. I mean, do they have the health infrastructure in place to deal with these surging numbers?
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, Hala. This is the problem, when you look at countries like Yemen, like Syria, like Libya, like Iraq,
these are countries where the health system was already struggling, decimated by years of war.
And in the case of Iraq, years of sanctions, war and corruption, the health infrastructure is really struggling to cope. And this is why you're hearing
these warnings coming from health officials who are extremely frustrated with the current situation.
Health care workers in Iraq like other countries amongst the victims of COVID-19. Now, what we're seeing there and what we've seen since the start
of the pandemic a few months ago, the numbers are continuing to rise.
Almost daily the past couple of weeks, Iraq is breaking its own daily record with more and more cases. Although I have to say in the past hour or
so, we got the latest figures for today from the Iraqi Health Ministry, and they say that there are 3,200 or so cases that are reported today, a bit
less than yesterday, but still more than 90 deaths. That's an increase from what we have seen over the past few days.
The biggest concern, Hala, when it comes to Iraq is the fact that the government at this point is really struggling to contain and to control the
spread. Initially they did have restrictions in place. They put lockdown in place, they limited the movement of people, shut down borders and closed
down airports, but that didn't last for long.
And we also heard from so many people there saying that there is lax enforcement. Then you hear that people are not really abiding by the rules.
So since April, they have really been loosening these restrictions.
Even yesterday when we saw these new record numbers, the government is reducing curfew hours. What we're seeing in Iraq is exactly what we're
seeing in other countries where the economic situation is really dictating and impacting how governments and the population is dealing and handling
the Coronavirus pandemic?
You know, Iraq's economy is seriously struggling. This is a country where more than 90 percent of the government's budget depends on oil revenues,
and as we know, this has obviously been really hit really hard this year. They're already struggling to pay government servants.
So imagine how they're going to be able to deal with the private sector, with other people? So staying at home is a very difficult thing to ask the
Iraqi population, especially when you have so many people there who rely on daily wages, day laborers.
Going out means feeding your family, and we've heard this from so many people there where for them they have to go out to the crowded markets, to
these densely populated areas to work and feed their families.
So it's a very, very tough situation, Hala, as we're seeing in other countries where you're faced with these tough choices and it's very
difficult to see how Iraq is going to be able to balance the economic struggle and dealing with the pandemic, but the warnings are very dire, as
you mentioned, from health officials saying that the outbreak, where it is headed, if things remain the way they are right now, it could be
catastrophic.
GORANI: All right, thank you, Jomana Karadsheh. The contentious debate over reopening schools is raging across the United Kingdom. There are fears of a
second wave and they're weighing heavily on everyone's mind. You send your kids to school, what if they catch the virus? What if they then infect
people and their family?
Well, children in Scotland are now returning to the classroom after five months of lockdown, but they're going to have to get used to a very
different way of doing things. Max Foster has our story.
MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: The first day at school is always emotional. But after months of lockdown, the reopening of St. Ninian's
Primary in Gourock Scotland is a new experience for everyone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LESLEY MCCABE, HEAD TEACHER, ST. NINIAN'S PRIMARY SCHOOL: This is the first time that we've had boys and girls in the school for five months.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Inside a lesson on how to navigate the school's one-way system, just one of the many COVID-safety measures children and staff are now
getting to grips with.
[11:40:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: So students arranged in bubbles, pretty much confined to classrooms as well, at least compared to before, right? This is one of yours. The
seats are facing one direction. They have to stick to their own stationary packs and they're eating in here as well at lunchtime?
MCCABE: Absolutely. Our priority is to keep the children safe. The teachers will be teaching from the front of the classroom. The children will not be
collaborating in groups anymore. They'll be working in peers with their - to partners.
FOSTER: I can't see them with masks. But what's the rule on that?
MCCABE: There is no need for anyone to be wearing masks, but children, I don't be supporting a child, but their learning an individual that they are
going to be working beyond 15 minutes, and they should be wearing a mask.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: It's not clear what happens if a child or teacher tests positive for the virus. The school says it will take government advice on whether to
send that person home, the whole bubble, or indeed, the whole school. The father of five Raymond Carroll isn't concerned. He says his boys are
desperate for some routine. What will your kids get out coming back to school?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAYMOND CARROLL, FATHER AT ST. NINIAN'S PRIMARY SCHOOL: Structure, that's everything they do are in the structure there. Over the past few months
it's been very difficult to maintain that structure.
FOSTER: Home schooling, how was that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not very good.
FOSTER: See, quite teens come back, it's not always children say they're desperate to go to school. A lot of people are now, aren't they?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that before I didn't like school.
FOSTER: You guys excited?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
FOSTER: Why?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because we're going back to school.
FOSTER: So you're looking forward to school. Did you ever think you would say that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I never thought I would say that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Teachers here say they're also excited about being back, and they feel safe. Their teaching unions say that isn't the case in all schools.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCABE: Teachers and staff, they need to adopt this new way of life. And they're waiting for the challenges ahead, and they're excited by them, but
they'll always be very cautious.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Each district, each country has its own system for reopening schools. All eyes on Scotland, though, is one of the first to be tested in
this part of the world.
GORANI: Well, Max Foster joins me now live from London, and I want to ask you about another question here that's been raging in the United Kingdom.
And that is these exam results that have been determined by an algorithm that bases its calculations on a school's past performance and not
individual test results or teacher evaluation, which puts so many kids at a disadvantage if their school happened to have performed poorly, even if
they were remarkable students. But I understand the government is now u- turning on that.
FOSTER: A classic u-turn. They said over the weekend they wouldn't go back on the way that these exams had been graded. They said that over the
weekend. Now they are giving up, and they're going back to these teacher assessments.
So 40 percent of a-level results were downgraded as a result of this algorithm that the government's agency, Qualcomm had been using. There had
been a huge uproar, because just last week we had a similar situation in Scotland when they took a u-turn, and then today we had it in the northern
islands, followed by Wales and now we have it in England.
Again though a bizarre sort of result coming out of this is that students will be able to choose which results they want to take, which result they
want to adopt, either the one taken by the algorithm or the one based on a teacher assessments, so they gave whichever one is higher.
So, it's a completely bizarre situation and they could - mess, really. And along with your stress, Qualcomm excess has been put on students throughout
this whole process. They couldn't go to school for much of last term because of lockdown, they then couldn't go through with their exams, and
then you have a fiasco around the results.
And now we have a situation where universities somehow need to make sense of all these results coming in and decide which students go where, so the
chaos isn't ending here, Hala.
GORANI: Right. It is absolutely - these poor kids, I really feel for them. Thanks very much, Max Foster. Ahead, why one man left his job at Google to
help protect India's waterways?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:45:00]
GORANI: Call to earth is a call to action for the environment to share solutions to critical issues like global warming, deforestation or plastic
waste. It is a long-term priority for the network to work with you, our audience, to drive awareness and also try to find ways to change toward a
more sustainable future.
In this week's report, imagine a lake filled not with water but garbage. That's what Arun Krishnamurthy found in his home country of India, and this
is what the Rolex Young Laureate did next.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On the outskirts of India's sixth largest city, this Lake is on life support. Extremes clogged with waste and showers looking
more like a landfill that's growing. That's why these young volunteers are scrambling to revive it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll tell you this is a token ---
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's 2013 and to now be leading the pack is Arun Krishnamurthy. Now 33, he is the founder of the Environmentalist Foundation
of India, a non-profit wild life and habitat restoration group for lakes and ponds across the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARUN KRISHNAMURTHY, FOUNDER, ENVIRONMENTALIST FOUNDATION OF INDIA: We are walking around the lake where we are trying to clean the garbage. All sorts
of non-degradable trash, plastic, rubber, thermo coal, all that's being removed from the water body.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: India, with a population of 1.3 billion people is facing a range of water-related challenges. Around 70 percent of the
country's surface water, which includes rivers, lakes and ponds is polluted. That's according to the Asian Development Research Institute.
Growing urbanization and the sewage waste that comes with it is only part of the problem. There is climate change, too.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISHNAMURTHY: There is excess rainfall in very short time causing inundation and flooding, and long periods of no rainfall which leads to
water scarcity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: India's government says water conservation is a priority, though many experts say not enough is being done. Krishnamurthy
left a job at Google, so he could be part of the solution. Selfishness, he says, got him into conservation. Because as a teenager, he witnessed the
pond near his childhood home fill up with trash.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISHNAMURTHY: Your childhood memories are something so positive and nice. When it snatched away from you, you really want to work toward rebuilding
it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His organization has worked on 112 waterways across India over the last 13 years, including this lake outside Chennai, which
took 70 days to restore from this to this. EFI says it deepened the lake, removing weeds and solid waste.
It takes time and money. The organization recently secured enough funds to continue working on that lake you saw earlier in 2013. This is what it
looks like today. These water bodies are only sick, he says. There is a cure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISHNAMURTHY: Yes, it is possible for common citizens to come together, to work together and get something done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But it takes a village. Krishnamurthy's organization has rallied more than 62,000 people to volunteer over the past year and a
half. For EFI, public support is crucial, especially in the local communities they work in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISHNAMURTHY: I cannot just walk into any neighborhood and start adopting and cleaning up - farm. Unless and until the community there has a buying,
otherwise it is my responsibility to clean it up and tomorrow it will go back to where it was before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:50:00]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The group uses dance, drama, music and social media as part of its outreach. Krishnamurthy calls it environment teammate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISHNAMURTHY: We've invested into our cameras, we've invested into our speaking skills, we've invested into everything that we need to tell the
story of lakes and ponds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A story that affects a nation as India continues to grow.
GORANI: All right. And we'll continue showcasing inspirational stories like this as part of this new initiative. Let us know what you're doing to
answer the call with the #call to earth. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Well, it was one of the scariest crashes we've seen in motor sport. Let's get more on that. I'm joined by Don Riddell. Don?
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: Hala, thanks very much. You know if you watched the Austrian MotoGP race on Sunday with your heart and your
mouth, well, imagine what it was like to ride in it. The scenes were absolutely extraordinary, and it is remarkable that nobody was seriously
hurt.
They could easily have been dead. And nine times World Champion Valentino Rossi says that he's lucky to be alive. The chaos unfolded at almost 190
miles an hour when Franco Morbidelli and Johann Zarco crashed, that bike has been hurt over the bend, narrowly missing the other riders. Rossi was
the most fortunate. Two bikes came right at him and he was incredibly fortunate to avoid both.
Zarco was blamed for crossing the accident, Morbidelli said he was called like a murderer. For some perspective on how it looked to Valentino Rossi,
look at this. Two heavy pieces of machinery flying right past him. There was no time to react.
Remarkably he regained his composure and finished fifth in the race. But Rossi was furious afterward. He told Sky Italia, "I was so scared, I am
shaken, resuming the race was tough. I took the biggest risk of my career. I saw a shadow", he said. I thought it was the helicopter from above
sometimes it happens during the race that the helicopter passes over and casts a shadow.
Instead two bullets arrived. The saint of motorcyclists today did a really great job. It was a very dangerous thing. But to find out what he was like
to witness all of that first time.
Let's bring in the KTM rider, Brad Bender who earlier this month became the first South African to win a race in MotoGP. Brad, thanks for joining us on
the line, you've seen and done it all in the last couple of weeks. What was your view of that accident?
BRAD BINDER, MOTOGP RIDER, SPIELBERG, AUSTRIA: Yes, it's been getting a bit over next couple of weeks, obviously last week really good getting my first
victory, and this week was a really, really difficult race. You know, absolutely crazy, crazy scenes and there a lot of crashes.
And, yes, very unfortunate to see the two guys Zarco and Morbidelli go down in front of me. And like you said, with the bike narrowly missing Valentino
and Maverick, it was really, really a good thing that they just - that the box missed them, and really glad to see that everyone walked away okay.
RIDDELL: What do you think would have happened if one of those bikes had hit another rider?
[11:55:00]
BINDER: Honestly, I prefer not even to think about it, because the bikes are probably still going more than 200ks power, and a bike weighing at 185
kilograms flying at close to 200ks power, if that hit somebody, I think we all know how that might end.
So, I think the luckiest guy in the world right now is Valentino Rossi, and that's one of the things of racing. It's something we try not to think
about, but that danger is always there.
RIDDELL: Yes. I mean, you have to be fearless to do this sport. You and your brother both race motorbikes. How much has this incident made you and
your family re-evaluate what you do for a living?
BINDER: To be honest, it's something we all know. It's a danger that everybody knows that we really just try to keep in the back of our minds
and not think about it. Unfortunately though and you're right to do this job is to approach things in that way.
If you're worried about the risks and the things that could happen, I don't think you could ever do this job for a living. That's unfortunately the
really, really tough part of what we do.
RIDDELL: Yes. Hey, congratulations on your recent success in the Czech Republic. Let's talk about that. You became the first South African and
also the first KTM rider to win a MotoGP race. What's the reaction been like to your victory?
BINDER: It's been absolutely fantastic. I know to myself and also KTM, I don't think we quite expected close win especially in only my third Grand
Prix. So it is fantastic to be able to get my first Grand Prix win. It was honestly a dream come true.
That's something that you work towards getting right, your entire career as a motorcycle racer. And yes, it was awesome for me, awesome for my team and
I hope to have many more in the future.
RIDDELL: Great for your country, too. I know South Africans really love their sport. Brad Binder, congratulations on that win and thanks for
telling us about yesterday, you really have experienced the highs and lows of your sport in a very short period of time. Thanks again. Now Hala,
that's always - probably we have time for just now back to you.
GORANI: All right, that was really scary. Thanks very much, Don. And thanks to all of you for watching. I'm Hala Gorani. We'll have more news coming up
after a very short break. Stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
