Return to Transcripts main page
CNN 10
Coronavirus Pandemic Affecting Where People Want to Live; The Debate on How to Educate Has Become One of The Key Talking Points During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Aired August 05, 2020 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRIS JAMES, CNN 10 HOST: Bright lights, big cities, the flow of people, the excitement of being where the action is or maybe not. What`s up,
everyone? I`m Chris James filling in for Carl Azuz who`s on a much needed vacation, but rest assured he will be back next week, so let`s get to it.
So I live in Brooklyn, which makes sense for me and my life. I love living in New York City, and when I used to go into the office I was pretty close
by, but with the coronavirus pandemic we`ve seen a major shift to people working from home. It`s had a major impact on the economy, the education
system, and even sports, but now it`s also starting to affect where people want to live. Are people still flocking to cities despite social distancing
restrictions or are they starting to realize they might not have to spend as much money on rent and could instead move out to the suburbs and build
themselves a nice home office?
As you might be able to tell, I`m still working on getting mine set up, so the question remains. Stick with the city or pack up and move? CNN`s Phil
Black breaks it down for us from London.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In a time not that long ago vast numbers of people migrated into Central London every working day. Now
they`re mostly gone. Their towering offices loom empty without purpose. Streets famous for crowds, traffic, noise, energy are quiet and a bit sad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I miss it. It doesn`t feel right. The atmosphere`s not here. The vibe isn`t here.
BLACK: COVID-19, working from home, endless uncertainty have all teamed up to silence one of the world`s most vibrant cities. When office workers stay
away, those who rely on them suffer. This once heaving street market is now just a quiet street. The store owner, Richie Wicks (ph), thinks it`s going
to get worse as the pandemic`s economic pain bites harder.
RICHIE WICKS (PH): There`ll be tumbleweed running through here. It`ll be like a ghost town.
BLACK: The property industry reports people aren`t just avoiding Central London. COVID-19 has triggered huge interest in leaving that skyline behind
and moving away for all the things London can`t easily provide - space, gardens, affordability.
AGATA OLSZEWSKA, MOVING OUT OF LONDON: We thought we were going to stay probably another two years, but I think the pandemic kind of accelerated
our decision to move now.
BLACK: After months of working from home, Michael and Agata have decided to quit London because, well, why not? How London has responded to COVID-19
could reshape the city`s social and economic fabric, but not for the first time and not as remarkably as the change inflicted by that other notorious
source of multiple pandemics - the plague. London`s last big outbreak in the 1600s killed an estimated 100,000 people, almost a quarter of the
city`s population.
The great plague, great fires, Nazi bombs, extreme crime and poverty, London`s long history is a timeline of extraordinary violence, disease, and
suffering. That long sweep of history tells us when Londoners can afford to flee danger and hardship they often do. But the city`s current wealth and
status also proves they usually come back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These things happen, and it has to adjust to reassert its economic power every time before it has done it, and I don`t think this
is the one occasion when the whole world - because it wouldn`t just be London, would it - changes to a less urban, a less urbanized form of
existence.
BLACK: London in the time of COVID-19 is a much-diminished city. Its story so far suggests it will recover, but many lives and livelihoods will be
dramatically altered before it does. Phil Black, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JAMES: All right, time for some 10-second trivia. When was the last time Major League Baseball`s World Series wasn`t played? 1908, 1967, 2004, or
1994? 1994. It was cancelled due to a player strike, only the second time since 1903 it hadn`t been played. Right now baseball fans are hoping they
won`t have another season without a World Series. Major League Baseball decided not to do an MBA-style bubble set up for their teams. And now a
total of 21 games have already been postponed due to positive COVID-19 tests. First the Marlins had a big outbreak, then the Phillies had some
positive cases, and on Monday it was announced that seven St. Louis Cardinal players and six staffers tested positive for COVID-19 in the past
week, and as a result the team`s four-game series against the Tigers in Detroit had to be postponed. According to ESPN, MLB Commissioner, Rob
Manfred, warned the shortened season could be shut down entirely if the league and players don`t improve their management of the virus. Here`s
hoping it won`t come to that.
The first day of school is normally a fun occasion. You know, you wear your best new outfit, show off those fresh kicks you got over the summer, a
morning bus ride full of laughs with friends you haven`t seen in months, but this year it all looked a bit different. There is so much uncertainty
about in-person schooling, and instead of showing off new shoes you might be comparing masks. The debate on how to educate has become one of the key
talking points during the COVID-19 pandemic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Nariada Hemes (ph) isn`t sure of sending her son back to school is a good idea, but 11-year-old Christopher
(ph) says he`s ready to start sixth grade and to do it in person. So when the school bus arrived here in the small Georgia town of Jefferson, he
boarded with his books on his back and his mask on his face and prepared to start his middle school career in this most unusual of times.
(FOREIGN LANGUAGE). Are you sad?
NARIADA HEMES (PH): (FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
TUCHMAN: Christopher`s (ph) mother tells me, yes. I am sad and worried about my son going to school. As the bus pulls away, there is at least one
student not on it, Christopher`s (ph) sister, Charelli (ph). She was going to start eighth grade but at the last minute was too frightened to go. Just
up the road at the high school, students gathering and hugging like they would any year on the first day. Many of them wearing masks bust just as
many if not more not wearing any face coverings. At the elementary school parents dropping off their children, most of whom seem to have masks, but
not all. The fact is while masks are mandated on the district`s school busses for students and drivers there is no mandate for mask wearing in the
actual schools for students or teachers. The Jefferson City Board of Education has many guidelines in place to designed to keep the students
safer, and masks are handed out, but actually wearing them is not required, only strongly recommended. We talked to high seniors, Hope Terhune and
Rylee Meadows, before they returned to school.
HOPE TERHUNE, STUDENT: I`m ready to be back like in-person learning, but it is kind of scary like not knowing what it`s rally going to be like.
RYLEE MEADOWS, STUDENT: I think I would feel better about it if we had stronger mandations (ph) in our school system to keep us safe.
TERHUNE: Yes. Me, too.
TUCHMAN: So they started an online petition asking their board of education to mandate masks. In response to that petition, sophomore Brett
Kelley started his own with the support of his older high school sister and his father. His petition declaring mask wearing should be a choice.
BRETT KELLEY, STUDENT: I think it`s a freedom issue because it`s slowly taking our rights away.
TUCHMAN: And you`re right not to wear a mask?
STUDENT: Yes, sir.
TUCHMAN: The district`s superintendent did not want to talk on camera, but Donna McMullan told us in a written statement they are confident in their
plans, and regarding masks, "We are following the guidelines established by the CDC and Georgia Department of Public Health in recommending the use of
face coverings as one effective measure to mitigate the spread of COVID- 19."
Meanwhile, Yolanda Payne is not going to let her fourth-grade son go back to school right now. They are part of the roughly 5 percent of Jefferson
School families who have chosen to learn remotely. She says her father passed away from COVID two months ago and her son, Josh, has asthma.
YOLANDA PAYNE, MOTHER OF STUDENT: I can`t take the risk of sending him back to school and getting COVID.
TUCHMAN: A worrisome school year now beginning. Gary Tuchman, CNN, Jefferson Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JAMES: All right, let me ask you this. What would you think about going to a museum to see some cool artifacts from Ancient Greece? OK, now how about
going to that museum under water? You can now explore a 2,500-year-old shipwreck at the bottom of the sea floor. Greece opened up its first
underwater museum off the coast of Alonissos where you can put on some scuba gear and get exploring. And if going under water isn`t your thing,
you can also scope it out using virtual reality. Gosh, you know I`ve always wondered what it`s like living under the sea. Anyone else suddenly get the
SpongeBob theme stuck in your head? Just me?
All right, anyway I want to thank Carl so much for letting me fill in for him. I`m Chris James and I`ll be "seaing" (ph) you right back here
tomorrow. Told you. I`m still working on these puns. Carl, you really make this look easy.
END
