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Quest Means Business

President Macron Announces Curfew for Paris, Other French Cities; J&J CFO Says Trial to Restart When Independent Panel Says it Can; Economic Lockdowns Only a Temporary Solution According to World Health Organization; Trump and Biden To Hold Competing Town Halls Thursday Night; Portuguese P.M. Declares State Of Calamity Over COVID-19; Cineworld Temporarily Shuts 600+ Theaters In U.S., U.K.; New Reports Show Virus Immunity Can Last For Months. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired October 14, 2020 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:00:43]

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS: The markets have got one hour left to trade on Monday, sorry, I beg your pardon, as we move

into the week, I should say and as you can tell from the markets, they are miserable.

We understand what happened around 11 o'clock that turned the market completely upside down, and now we're down over half a percentage point, a

loss of 142 on the Dow.

The way the day is looking so far. New curfews in France. There are new records in Italy. New restrictions across Europe, which has paralyzed

seemingly by its second wave of coronavirus.

Steve Mnuchin says Republicans and Democrats are still far apart on stimulus talks.

And cinema shares are sinking. The head of Cineworld -- it has stopped operations, you'll hear the CEO on this program tonight.

We are live from New York. It is Wednesday. It's October the 14th. I'm Richard Quest, and I mean business.

CNN Breaking News tonight. The President of France has just announced as part of the coronavirus prevention measures from the second wave that Paris

will undergo a curfew starting this week.

The City of Light as it is known will go dark at 9:00 p.m. on Saturday, along with several other major French cities, as the new wave of COVID

infections is sweeping the French capital. Melissa Bell is our Paris correspondent. She joins me from Bordeaux in France tonight.

Melissa, this new curfew, give me the range, the hours and how serious this is.

MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: Listen to me, Richard, if you're in Paris from Saturday, or several other of the hardest hit French cities from

9:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m., everything is going to be closed and you're going to be expected to be at home. That's what the French President

announced.

But almost more important than that, and I think it's an indication of how bad things are and how worried they are and he made this perfectly clear on

television earlier, really explaining the extent to which the French healthcare system simply could not cope with this second wave if things

were allowed to continue as they have.

Announcing also that from Saturday, Richard, France will enter a state of sanitary emergency and what that means is that legally, the government can

introduce all kinds of fresh restrictions to try and bring the numbers back under control if these measures announced tonight are not enough.

QUEST: But Melissa, the number of new cases and the seven-day rolling average, we will talk about other countries in a moment as well, but in

France, it is worse than at the beginning of the pandemic. This is a classic second wave. So what happened? Were they too lax on the reopening?

BELL: I think a number of things. I think here in Europe, you can't put aside the fact that this was a border free zone that until two days ago,

Richard, hadn't figured out how to harmonize a sort of system of classification and even to communicate amongst themselves about how they

were going to put in place travel bans, even amongst themselves.

So there's been a fair amount of disarray. Look, I think after the first lockdown, people traveled across that vast expanse that is the European

Union. They pick things up. They brought them back to the urban centers, and every single country now is trying to work out how best they could

avoid another lockdown, and get the numbers that are even now spiraling out of control in several European states, back under control.

And for now, no one has really found that balance.

QUEST: And is -- if I compare it to what's happening in the U.K. with Boris Johnson who had initially everybody thought have done a good job, or

at least not a bad job, in the early parts of the pandemic, perhaps out of sympathy for the man who caught it.

But now rounding on him on the government strategy, is it the same in France, where Macron who seemed to lead quite strongly initially, what are

people now saying?

BELL: I think if anything, this is probably giving him something of a boost. I think the French government has been fairly open about what it was

doing. It has listened to the science. It's been as clear as it could be.

One of the conundrums really is how this second wave could have happened in a country that had dealt so well with the first wave. I think it doesn't

bode well really for other countries.

[15:05:15]

BELL: Emmanuel Macron in a way has benefited from this crisis. He is more well-liked probably than he was because in a time of crisis, all of the

issues that have troubled France so much these last few years, suddenly seemed less urgent.

But of course, the important thing now in the second wave, and I think this is a problem for a number of European countries is that they're dealing

with a far more political issue. The first wave was fairly simple, you shut it down. Now, they're having to close a little bit the economy while trying

to protect an economic recovery that even now, even before the second wave, was looking seriously difficult.

QUEST: Melissa Bell in France, in Bordeaux, thank you. We'll talk more about it.

If we look at the rest of Europe that we were talking about, wherever we look on both sides of the Atlantic, COVID cases are rising and rising

sharply, and that's causing the great concern and of course, the greater interest in the possibility of a vaccine.

Businesses are now preparing for long, difficult months ahead. The worst predictions of an autumn surge coming true.

In Europe, economies are shutting down. France's Macron, as we just heard, announcing a curfew. In Portugal, we have a tightening of restrictions

declaring a state of calamity and businesses are closing in the U.K.

In the U.S., it is similar, 36 states reporting rising cases. New hotspots in the Midwest, and there's not a single state in the green.

The U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson says, very reluctant to avoid a nationwide lockdown, but he is doing all he can to avoid exactly that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Let's try to avoid the misery of another national lockdown in which he would want to impose as I say, in a

headlong way. Let's work together. Let's work together as he was prepared to do, to keep kids in school who he will now yank out, yank out of school

in a peremptory way.

Keep our economy going and keep jobs and livelihoods supported in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Isa Soares is with us in London. We heard Melissa Bell there talking about the new measures in France, the curfew. If we look at the

U.K., which has done its new medium, high and very high alert, what else is Europe doing?

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Richard, what is clear and I think Macron touched on that today and he acknowledged it that France in particular is

facing a second wave and I think it's clear from what we have seen in Europe, Richard, that the continent -- the European continent is facing

another round of COVID infections and leaders right across the continent Richard are really trying fighting as hard as they can to try and contain

the virus.

And what is alarming, Richard, in this instance is that the numbers, the daily cases are even worse than they were the first time round, and so what

we've seen right around Europe is varying degrees of trying to restrict people's movements, trying to stop people from gathering together while not

officially calling anything a lockdown.

So in the city here, if I take the city of the U.K. here, Liverpool, pardon me, a city that I know you know very well, the government has introduced

this three-tier system. For the first time today, we have seen the country -- the city really facing pressure then, people not able to go out at

night. Bars and nightlife closed.

You know the city very well. You know, it is actually a city, a young student city. So people really struggling with that, I think not because

they don't understand the severity of the virus, but I think they feel that perhaps the measures came a bit too little too late.

We've also heard from Wales, the government here they basically said that people within from other parts of the United Kingdom where you go, where

you have high risk they cannot travel into the country into Wales, and then you've seen Richard also Northern Ireland, closing schools for several

weeks, closing bars trying to limit the number of people eating together as the surge in cases.

Now I have to tell you, Richard, that we are expecting -- tell me.

QUEST: Isa, sorry, I just wanted to get to this point. Is it like, I mean, everybody is inching towards greater lockdown measures. Is it likely as the

Labour oppositions there, but just not just in the U.K. that we will be looking at full scale lockdowns in Europe or is the feeling as the Prime

Minister says that that's not going to happen.

[15:10:05]

SOARES: From those I've been speaking to, Richard, the question now is -- and I'm speaking solely on the question of the U.K., is how long Boris

Johnson can hold out for? And we heard Treasury here today. They are basically saying, look, we'll try every option on the table before we think

about a lockdown.

And we heard from the Prime Minister today, he said, obviously, we'll talk about regional approach, but he won't rule anything out.

But in many ways, it's almost inevitable, Richard, especially when you listen to the scientific advice, and I think this is something that's

troubling many people and I think many people not just here in the U.K., but right across the continent.

But in the U.K., both SAGE and the chief medical officer here, Chris Whitty, both saying if you look at the minutes from SAGE that really a

circuit breaker should have been in place three weeks ago to try and reduce the number of cases that the country has seen. It's a similar situation

with a variety of -- speaking to -- in Paris, similar situation in Germany, where the German Chancellor has been speaking to those leaders within 16

states within Germany to try and reach a solution.

And I can tell you that they have been meeting for hours, Richard, and that just goes to show you, they are trying to find a consensus that applies

across the country is exceptionally hard. We're expecting word from around the next 15 minutes or so, Richard, to give you a sense.

But expect more measures to come out of Germany, Europe's biggest economy, cases rising dramatically, numbers never seen in the likes at the peak of

the pandemic.

Going back to your question on the U.K. on the Labour leader Keir Starmer, he, as you know has been calling for a circuit breaker. Many people here

believe that is inevitable. He is just delaying -- is avoiding the inevitable.

But he has said time and time again at Prime Minister's Questions and you heard this probably today that he will try -- he will try his best to, and

he believes that these local approaches will be able to contain the virus.

People in Liverpool that we've been speaking to are not so confident about the government's measures and the government's policies. And critically

here, Richard, you will remember this, Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced increasing backlash at the height of the pandemic, you'll remember, because

he acted too little too late.

No doubt he will want to avoid similar accusations this time around -- Richard.

QUEST: Isa Soares in London. Isa, thank you.

Now, the big question, of course, is the vaccine and the vaccine makers and the difficulties that they are having at the moment.

The hope had been that it would -- well, more hope than reality that it would be smooth sailing, but now we are seeing exactly the difficult

situation.

There are 10 -- let's look at the -- remind ourselves of the state of the race, if that's how we want to call it. There are 10 currently in Phase 3.

That's the large number of -- where you have lots and lots and lots of participants.

AstraZeneca paused and has resumed its trial in the U.K. and elsewhere, but not the U.S., still waiting on U.S. approval to resume.

Johnson & Johnson has now pressed the pause button, too, and the trial for Eli Lilly's antibody treatment is also paused. The Johnson and Johnson, the

J&J pause took place after one of those participants got seriously ill. We don't know whether the participant had been given the vaccine or the

placebo.

But I spoke to the Chief Financial Officer of Johnson & Johnson, who made it clear how serious they were taking the situation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE WOLK, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, JOHNSON & JOHNSON: It's not uncommon, as I understand from the scientific community to experience unexpected

adverse events, and when we have those, we have protocols in place to make sure that they are thoroughly investigated by an independent Drug Safety

Monitoring Board.

That's critically important that we get them the information about this one individual. We don't know even at this point, whether that individual is in

the placebo arm or the vaccinated arm, and we just have to do a little bit more diligence through the independent external panel before we can make

any conclusive decisions going forward.

QUEST: I've had some experience with the AstraZeneca case, of course, and the Oxford case in the U.K. In that case, they were able to restart the

test relatively quickly, or at least the trial in the U.K., but the U.S. hasn't yet. The F.D.A. has been far slower to approve the restarting in the

United States.

So with that in mind, would you only restart your test when the U.S. regulator, the F.D.A. says it's okay? Or are you all bound by others?

WOLK: You know, Richard, I think we're going to see what the assessment is from the Drug Safety Monitoring Board and then make our decision

accordingly. I think to say we're going to start here or there at this point in time would be very, very premature.

Our goal, though, is 125 sites up and running in five different countries. That's what we'd like to see because that will get us to the 60,000

criteria that we endeavor to study for this vaccine candidate.

[15:15:25]

QUEST: The question that everybody asks, and you give the best answer you can, and even allowing for this blip in the trials. What's your timescale?

WOLK: We're still looking at first quarter of next year, Richard. You know, if all goes well with the independent panel here, we could be back up

and running in a couple of days. I don't want to give a projection on that timeline. Of course, we're going to let the science dictate here.

But I would hope the public would be reassured as there's a lot of rhetoric out there, that we, at Johnson & Johnson and I think I speak for the

industry here, we are following the highest standards with respect to scientific, medical and ethical protocols that are available to us. We're

not going to waver from that, and that's what's important in this case.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: J&J's Chief Financial Officer.

After the break, Nancy Pelosi and Steve Mnuchin say that they've had productive talks, but they're still far apart on a new stimulus package in

the United States. Meanwhile, the I.M.F. has raised global growth by a smidgen, the Chief Economist of the I.M.F., Gita is with me after the

break.

This is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: As the summer gives way to autumn and on to winter, governments across the world are facing a difficult choice. It is one that they had

hoped to avoid, the balancing act again between lives and livelihoods.

Speaking on Monday, the U.K.'s Chief Medical Officer warned of the painful decisions that lay ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS WHITTY, U.K. CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: We should not have any illusions. The idea we can do this without causing harm is an illusion, and

every country in the world is struggling with this and you know, I'm confident we will get through it, but it is a balancing act between two

harms: a harm for society and the economy on the one hand, and harm for health on the other hand.

And you know if we damage the economy, we damage long term health and if we damage health, we damage the economy and the confidence in the economy. So

getting these right is critical.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:20:10]

QUEST: Unfortunately, the W.H.O. says lockdowns only offer a temporary solution. Speaking on CNN earlier, the Chief Scientist urge governments to

step up contact tracing, which the W.H.O. believes is the true answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SOUMYA SWAMINATHAN, CHIEF SCIENTIST, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: It shouldn't be health versus the economy. You know, we have to maintain

health, we have to keep COVID under check, and we still need to let people earn a living and go about their normal lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Dr. John Ashton is with me, the former President of the U.K. Public Health Association. He is the author of "Blinded by Corona." He joins me

from a part of the world I know well, the Yorkshire Dales.

Doctor, just there we heard that basically, we know that there are hard choices that have to be made between this and we've been told a million

times that it's not a zero sum game, if we get the medical side wrong, we'll get the economic side wrong, inevitably.

But I ask you, is it possible to get it right? No country seems to be getting it right.

DR. JOHN ASHTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE U.K. PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION: What about New Zealand? And what about countries in the Far East who

suffered from it first and seem to be well on top? What about Singapore? What about Bahrain? What's about the Isle of Man in the British Isles? What

about Ceredigion, a county in Wales? What's about Groningen in the north of the Netherlands? They've done very well.

What about Cuba? There's plenty of places that have done very well as you know, and, and they've done well, by mobilizing the community not trying to

do things in a top down way. They've developed their contact tracing, testing from the outset, mobilized volunteers, medical students, nursing

students, and so on. And they've got trust between the government and the people, so that the people will actually follow what they're being asked to

do.'

That's been a big problem in the U.K. where trust has now broken down really and the young people are just having a party, you know.

QUEST: But you raise various countries and you make strong points. But many of those countries are small, or they have sui generis aspects that

allow that. But if you look at the large, advanced economies: Spain, Germany, France, Italy, the U.K., the United States, which has its own sui

generis issues, Canada, you know, where I'm going with this, I'm trying to see what they all need to do, if they're going to put the lid on this

second wave?

ASHTON: Well, what many of these countries that you mentioned have in common is that they've neglected the public health system, and they've

become too infatuated with medical solutions, you know, with the search for the vaccine, and all of that. And, you know, we know from history from

pandemics going back to the Middle Ages, not least the pandemic of influenza in 1918-1919 that the basics of prevention are about how we

behave environmentally, how we behave, hygiene, and so on.

I mean, one of the sad parallels at the moment is between the failure of Woodrow Wilson when he was President of the United States to take seriously

the threat from the influenza that was brewing in Haskell County in Texas, and in the Army Camps where the soldiers were mobilizing to come to Europe,

because he was preoccupied with getting stuck into fight the Germans, and it wasn't on his radar.

We've seen the same here in the U.K. with Prime Minister Johnson's obsession with Brexit and neglect to get sorting out the public health side

in February where we had a lost month. And I'm afraid that you know, the United States is very parallel to what's been going on in the U.K. and I

describe all of this in my book "Blinded by Corona."

QUEST: Okay, briefly, are more lockdowns inevitable? Do you believe that eventually, all these countries they'll diddle around with it and they will

fiddle here, they will fiddle there, but eventually, some form of national lockdown will take place?

ASHTON: Not everywhere. I think at the moment. I mean, it may well happen in the United States, which side of the election, remains to be seen. I

think it's coming very quickly in the U.K. because the government has lost control and it is chaotic here in the U.K. at the moment.

[15:25:10]

ASHTON: The number of cases now is escalating faster than it did in February and in March and April, when we had over a thousand deaths a day.

And we're looking at the possibility of that now within the next two or three weeks.

You know, it is out of control. And you have to recognize that the economy and public health are not in conflict with each other. The economy depends

on getting this sorted out.

QUEST: Thank you, sir. I appreciate it. We have a poor connection tonight, but I was able to hear what you were saying. I appreciate it. Thank you

very much.

On the economic front, the I.M.F. now says that there is a slight uptick in the economic numbers, but slight it is. And the fund is still warning a

very serious economic damage being done in the advanced economies, and specifically in the developing world.

A short while ago, I spoke to the I.M.F.'s chief economist to ask about the financial lifelines that will be necessary.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GITA GOPINATH, CHIEF ECONOMIST, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND: You've got an initial what looks like a V, and then it's no longer looks like a V, which

is that it's a much more prolonged recovery.

But secondly, for the first time, we have our medium term projections, which tell you that this is going to be a permanent hit into the medium

term. I mean, countries are not coming back up even by 2025, to their pre- pandemic projected path.

The world economy is going to be four percent smaller than what we had projected pre-pandemic even in 2025, so this is a long, slow ascent and

still remain highly uncertain.

QUEST: And is the fund satisfied, by and large, with the -- with government's response? And so, I mean, yes, there's been huge fiscal

activity here in the United States, where we are, of course, the call is for more fiscal stimulus.

GOPINATH: I mean, on the plus side, the response has been unprecedented relative to previous crisis. So I think we have to make that point, which

is the fact that fiscal policy, central bank policy, pretty much everywhere in the world, responded in big magnitudes, big sizes in unprecedented ways.

$12 trillion. Now, of course, most of that has happened in the advanced economies, much less in developing countries.

But on the other hand, this crisis is huge. I mean, the real shock to economies has been something like we haven't seen in decades, and the

pandemic is still with us. So this crisis is far from over.

So yes, so countries like the U.S. they will have the fiscal space. It should continue with providing support and stimulus to their economies,

they are able to do that. And it would be premature to withdraw support at this time.

QUEST: The damage is great. Economies are in trouble. As you look at the world at the moment, what is your biggest fear for what happens next?

GOPINATH: My biggest fear is the fact that things could actually even get worse, which is that we still don't have an end. We're not we -- you know,

we're hoping for an end to this pandemic at some point, but we don't have that solution yet.

And I'm less worried about the signs and more about the economics, which is while there are treatments and vaccines and testing that's being developed,

you know, there is not enough cooperation to ensure there is sufficient production and distribution to all parts of the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: The Chief Economist of the I.M.F.

Still to come on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. There's businesses that closed then reopened, only to now be facing another closure. Why many of them, if they

have to close again, it will be permanent this time. That's in the news headlines.

It is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS midweek. Good to have you with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:30:00]

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Still to come on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, we will be hearing about Cineworld, which is closing its cinemas

once again. The only issue, of course, is whether this will be a permanent closure. How the company will manage to refinance itself. And the curious

case of the dwindling antibodies. Dr. Sanjay Gupta will be here to talk about (INAUDIBLE) how the antibodies I got after having COVID seem to have

gone. We'll talk about that after we've had the news headlines, of course, because they always come first. After all, this is CNN. And in this

network, the news comes first.

Starting this Saturday, Paris and several other French cities, will be under a nighttime curfew. President Emmanuel Macron announced the measures

to try to slow the spread of the virus. He says violators will be hit by a 135 euro fine for the first transgression. Repeat offenders will fined up

to 1500 euros. Instead of facing off in a second debate, President Trump and Joe Biden will hold competing town halls in different cities on

Thursday night. The President scheduled his at the very same time as Biden's health officials who reviewed President Trump's Coronavirus essay,

they have a high degree of confidence he is not infectious.

Thousands of people flooded the streets of Bangkok in Thailand on Wednesday for a new round of anti-government protests. The demonstrators are calling

for a new constitution, as well as reforms to the monarchy. U.S. Senators are again questioning the Judge Amy Coney Barrett in her confirmation

hearing for the U.S. Supreme Court. Both Democrats and Republicans are asking about the legal doctrine of severability, and how it pertains to

have use on Obamacare.

Tonight's leading story, of course, is that France is going into a nighttime curfew, as many other cities put in curfews or restrictions that

once again will lead to businesses being shut. For some or many, it will only be the latest in a string of issues that finally puts them out of

business. Well, that's already happened.

This morning, we simply decided to send the team out, the QUEST MEANS BUSINESS team out with their phones to take photographs of shops in the

blocks near where they live that have gone out of business. There you are. This is all the pictures of the peacocks and the retail spaces and the

tailoring and alterations that people have gone out. Retail space available is a common sight in all three. And especially tough times for restaurants,

many will never reopen all over major cities because there's simply nowhere to go and no one (INAUDIBLE)

[15:35:16]

Pedro Franca Pinto is with us, the founder and CEO of Craveiral Farmhouse, a hotel and farm to table restaurant in Portugal. And we talk to you as a

"VOICE OF THE CRISIS," now we speak to you, as "HOW'S BUSINESS?" as Portugal is one of those countries hitting the second wave. So, how will

you manage that?

PEDRO FRANCA PINTO, FOUNDER & CEO, CRAVEIRAL FARMHOUSE: (INAUDIBLE) Well, now currently, we are not like selling at sites, because with the current

status of the situation, people are not booking in advance. So, we are managing on a day to day basis. And of course, with a lot of uncertainty.

But as we are in the countryside of Portugal, we are lucky, because people tend to want to go to those places. So, we are not feeling yet a lot of

constraints, constraintments (PH) related with the new measurements that are taking place.

QUEST: So, in terms of being able to stay in business, and which I realize is a very difficult thing to even think about, bearing in mind that the

winter ahead, do you think you can make it?

PINTO: I think we will make it. The summer was -- every consideration the scenario that we have in April, when we last thought the scenario was

better than we expected. So, now, we can have the treasury to face the next four months with some confidence. And so, I'm an optimistic person. And as

I said in the previous time, when we have a lifetime project, it's not a crisis in a short period of time that will put us down.

QUEST: Good to see you, Pedro, as the -- as we move through the year, we'll follow closely, of course. We'll continue as we have with all of those.

Thank you, sir, for joining us, I appreciate it.

PINTO: Thank you so much, Richard.

QUEST: And indeed, all of those companies that we follow during the crisis. As the "VOICE OF THE CRISIS," we're now checking in, of course, to see how

they're doing and how's business as a second wave hits. We wonder, of course, how many of them will survive. The second wave is hitting the

cinema industry. Arguably, it never really recovered from the first. Cineworld has announced it is closing its cinemas again in the U.K. and the

U.S. The CEO will be with us. Oh, I do -- I do beg your pardon. The --

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:40:51]

QUEST: It was always going to be difficult for cinemas to reopen after the first wave, but just how difficult has been proved today. Cinema shares

were down extremely sharply after it was announced by Cineworld that they were closing. Once again, AMC shares down 15 percent. The company says it

could run out of money by the end of the year. Regal is the parent of Cineworld, it's down seven percent. It's announced it's closed 600 cinemas

in the U.S. and the U.K. And Cinemark up two percent, which has got enough cash to last until next year. Mooky Greidinger is the CEO of Cineworld, the

largest in the U.K., wrote to Boris Johnson urging more help. Mooky joins me now from London via Skype. The decision to close the cinemas once again.

And I wonder, can you -- how long can you hang on, even allowing for new fundraising without bringing in revenue?

MOOKY GREIDINGER, CEO, CINEWORLD: Look, it is very difficult to answer. You know, we are like a grocery shop now that don't have meat, don't have

dairies, don't have vegetables, don't have food. You know, without new movies, it is better for us to be closed and wait than to operate because

the bleeding is much less when we are closed down. It was a very difficult decision to take. But I think it was the right decision for the future of

the company. And I guess we can hold for a relatively long time.

But on the other hand, you know, it's difficult for our team. It is difficult for our suppliers. And we really weigh, you know, it's funny to

sit in London and to say that in a way we're waiting for New York, because the decision of New York to allow other indoor entertainment and food and

other activities and not to allow cinema is really what is blocking the studio's from releasing their big movies into the cinemas. And without

movies. There are no cinemas.

QUEST: And what I'm fascinated about is this idea that Black Widow, Tenet, Wonder Woman 1984, the delay of the James Bond movie, even -- you're saying

even though some studios are back in production, it is the lack of the blockbusters that forces your hand.

GREIDINGER: Look, New York has a special place in the release of the movies worldwide. And the big movie to be released without New York like Tenet.

And I have to really salute Warner Brothers for the support they gave us as an industry, didn't work so well in the U.S. And the reason now of the

other studios being reluctant to release is only the fact that they are missing New York. New York is a very significant place, not only being a

very big market, but also it has Wall Street around, the investors are there. New York has a very special standing in the cinema industry. And we

must have New York in order to get a schedule of movies that we can -- we cannot open for one movie and close. At least we did one.

This time, we need a good schedule of movie ahead of us. We are really offering a cinema safe solution. We have the cinema safe protocol. We've

been operating now in the U.S. for almost two months. In the U.K., almost three months with no -- thank God -- with no any COVID case. The cinema has

proven itself safe. We know that our protocols are good, but we must have the movies to call back our audience.

QUEST: I think it was your movie -- I can't be certain, but I think it was your movie house that we showed as we went into a break and which is here

in New York. I might be wrong but I think it's one of yours, and it was very interesting to see the posters and the trailers, advertising movies

that were coming in June. But I think it begs the question -- which of course, have long since gone.

[15:45:01]

But it begs the question, can you even, if you shut down and cut costs and go back to sort of the barest minimum, do you think -- you still got to pay

rents and certain staff numbers and have a budget for new movies. Do you think you can carry on?

GREIDINGER: Yes. Cineworld can carry on. You know, it's not the same situation for all the companies. There are some that have different

situations for good and for bad, but Cineworld can carry on. I don't think you really want to change with me jobs at this moment. But we are fighting,

and we need to have understanding from our landlord, we need to have understanding from our suppliers, we need to be very patient, and to cut

cost to the minimum that we can, because we want to survive.

QUEST: Good to see you, sir, I appreciate it. Thank you.

GREIDINGER: Thank you very much. Thanks.

QUEST: We'll talk more as it moves on. After the break, really very simple, as you know, I had COVID back early in the -- early in the pandemic, back

in April. I had antibodies which I thought had protected me. Guess what, my antibodies have gone. After the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Those of you who regularly watch, of course, know that I had COVID back in April. And then since then, well, I've always had antibodies, at

least I thought I did. That is when I had my last COVID test before going on an assignment, and therefore had to be tested. My antibodies had

dwindled to the point where they were no longer able to be picked up by the test. Which means, once again, can you get COVID twice?

Here's the history of my antibody tests. Firstly, the first one was in May. It was after I tested positive, and the antibodies were positive. Then in

July, I had a second antibody test, that was also positive. In September, the third antibody test took place. This time, I was negative. Time for the

doctor. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is with me. Now, Dr. Gupta, you had told me on several occasions and my own doctors had said that we know antibodies

dwindle in efficacy over time, but I was surprised, Sanjay, that they're gone already.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Yes, I mean, it is interesting. And, you know, obviously, we are all learning a bit about this

particular novel coronavirus together. So, you know, some of what we, you know, people are citing in terms of the length that the antibodies may say

-- stay is based on, you know, previous evidence with coronaviruses and other types of viruses and things like that.

[15:50:17]

What the critical question, I think, Richard, you're asking, and I think most people would want to know, is this new test that you have that show

this particular type of antibody is no longer at a detectable range, does that also mean that your immunity has waned correspondingly? And we don't

know that. We don't know the answer to that. It could be that there's all sorts of different antibodies, the one that's being tested, did wane, but

there might be other antibodies that were not tested for specifically, which still might provide benefits. We're learning here, Richard.

QUEST: Right. Now, there are three major cases, of course, of reinfection that everybody's talking about. There's the one in Hong Kong. There is the

one in Nevada, the most recent one in Nevada, where it was proven to be a different strain. And the woman in Amsterdam who got it and died and

succumbed. So, until now, Sanjay, we'd always thought, if you could easily capture it again, we would see quite a large number of people catching it

again, what's the latest thinking?

GUPTA: That's right. And I think that's a really fundamental point, Richard, you know, because people will have all the measurables of

antibodies. At the end of the day, the critical issue is the one that you're pointing out, are there significant cases of reinfection? And there

really aren't, as of yet. I mean, we're still eight months into this, but I think we would have started to see some significant ones, certainly from

people who are infected early on. The thinking is that even if you do have some waning of some of the antibodies.

For example, I looked at your test results. The nucleocapsid antibodies, now that's an antibody to a specific part of the virus, but you could have

antibodies still to the spiked protein, which allows this virus to get into cells. Point is, your body may now be sort of primed, if you will, to be

able to fight this infection quickly if it's exposed to the virus again. Even though you can't measure certain things, your body may be in a sort of

hyper vigilant state, if you will, now. So, a much quicker reaction, much less illness, or you know, maybe no illness at all, if you're to be exposed

to the virus. So, that's the hope.

And that would sort of fit the pattern, Richard, of other coronaviruses. With SARS, remember 2003, the belief now, 17 years later, is that with

SARS, you got about two years' worth of immunity after you were infected. There's good reason to believe that overall, that length of immunity may be

what we end up seeing here for the average person.

QUEST: And, Sanjay, away from myself, which is more generally on this question, because I'm -- is it -- as Europe faces a second wave, and the

U.S. faces a second wave, potentially, and things seem to be getting worse, it begs the question, can we actually manage the restrictions necessary? Is

it asking too much of people? I know, there's cases of New Zealand and Cuba and these other places where they've managed it. But for big, complex

economies like the U.S., U.K. and Germany, is it simply possible to beat it?

GUPTA: I really do think so, Richard. I mean, I -- and I don't think I'm being euphemistic in saying that. I mean, we have a pretty good idea now of

how this virus spreads. Let me share a couple things with you. We know about 10 percent of the people who are infected, are responsible for 80

percent of the spread. 10 percent of the people infected responsible for 80 percent of the spread, which means the vast majority of people who are

infected with this aren't spreading it.

Why? It's because those 10 percent of people typically are in very, very predictable locations: inside, closely clustered, poor ventilation. Think

of the virus that's coming off of them like wisps of smoke, OK, as opposed to the respiratory droplets, smoke, kind of goes across an area and people

around them in that closely-clustered environment can become infected. There's just a couple of those types of situations that we could do well to

avoid. It's tough to wear a mask. If you're at a bar, for example, a restaurant because you're eating or drinking.

But going back to work, going to the theater, I was just listening to your previous interview. If you can wear masks inside, improve ventilation,

still be good about hand hygiene. Try and keep distance. I think it'll go a long way, Richard. I mean, you look at these big hospital systems that took

care of tens of thousands of patients, sickest patients all had COVID. Very few health care providers got the infection. Why? They're inside with these

patients, but they were wearing masks. So, the answer is, yes, I know. It's a simple answer. Maybe not the one people want to hear. But there can be a

return to some sense of normalcy with these basic public health measures.

QUEST: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thank you. Doctor, send the bill to the usual place. And --

(CROSSTALK)

GUPTA: Yes, I was going to say, Richard, you look well, by the way, you know, I didn't get to inquire about your health, but it's good to see you,

my friend.

QUEST: Thank you. Thank you, Sanjay. Sanjay Gupta joining us. Quick look at the markets before we take a break. You can see how we're doing. We are

down heavily. It's all about waves on stimulus and what's happening in the economy. But the losses are being contained. We'll have a "PROFITABLE

MOMENT" after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: No "PROFITABLE MOMENT" tonight. That's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for tonight. Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, I hope it's profitable.

Here's Jake Tapper and "THE LEAD."

END