Virus Devastates Indigenous Community in Rural Brazil
ANDERSON: Well, the COVID-19 nightmare is accelerating in Latin America and there's a new milestone for the region. And I'm afraid it's a bleak one. It has now overtaken the U.S. and Canada in coronavirus deaths as of now. Latin America and the Caribbean have suffered almost 147,000 deaths due to the pandemic. Now CNN has analyzed the numbers from Johns Hopkins University. Brazil is the worst hit country in the region. It is trying to cope with more than quarter of a million new cases in just the past week alone. Many infections are now being reported in rural towns where indigenous communities have been quite frankly devastated. This is all happening as the Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro continues to downplay the threat. Shasta Darlington is live for us in Sao Paulo. Mr. Bolsonaro is himself fighting the disease and said he'll get tested again some time today. He says he, quote, "can't stand isolation" and wants to get back to work. His behavior towards this public health crisis is described as ostrich-like, as "a little flu," nothing to worry about. And says no need to wear a mask, despite getting the virus himself. What will it take for him to accept the dangers posed by this virus?</s>SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think that's a great question and I think we can answer pretty clearly at this point that being infected really hasn't changed his attitude. When he announced last week that he had tested positive for COVID-19, he also announced he was taking hydroxychloroquine at the recommendation of his medical team. In fact, it has been a source of conflict with his doctors here and health ministers. But he posted a video of himself while he took his third dose of the drug. He also told our affiliate, CNN Brazil, that he isn't suffering from major symptoms and, as you mentioned, can't stand the routine of staying at home and wants to get back to work, all of which suggests it will be business as usual for him once he no longer has the active infection. He has urged Brazilians to go back to work, insisting a kind of vertical isolation, isolating the elderly and those with risky conditions, would be the ideal approach. Yet the numbers are continuing to rise in Brazil with more than 72,000 deaths. And another grim milestone on the horizon. It looks like Brazil could reach a total of 2 million confirmed cases this week, Becky.</s>ANDERSON: Remarkable. Thank you, Shasta. My next guest is now one of the biggest critics of the Brazil president. It's amazing when you have two viruses to combat -- the coronavirus and the Bolsonaro virus. That's the view of Joao Dona, he's the governor of Sao Paulo, Brazil's wealthiest state. Wearing a mask, which your former ally, Mr. Bolsonaro, doesn't agree with. You clearly do. Wearing a mask is important, sir, correct?</s>GOV. JOAO DONA, SAO PAULO, BRAZIL: Becky, it's a pleasure to be with you. We have to combat as you said two viruses, the coronavirus and Bolsonaro virus importantly. The president of Brazil makes mistakes every time, every day. He gives the wrong example to the people, going to the streets without the mask, asking people to consume chloroquine and it's hard to keep people home when you have a president who turns our world weaker. It is very difficult.</s>ANDERSON: You called him a virus. Just how dangerous is his leadership at this point, sir?</s>DONA: Well, when you have a leader with a bad example, this example is very difficult to the -- to the governors of Brazil. We are doing the right thing, following the World Health Organization recommendations and Bolsonaro is doing the opposite. He's doing the opposite every day. That's incredible. When you have a leader in the wrong way as the president of Brazil. Unfortunately, I would like to have a leader in a leadership role.</s>DONA: Doing the right thing and asking the right way to the people in Brazil. I learn to respect medicine and health. Faced with a pandemic, that should determine the steps of the government officials. It's science, it's not politics, it's not the economy. It's not pressures. It's science. It's medicine.</s>ANDERSON: Your decision to impose tough curfews was slammed by president Bolsonaro. Did you get the support that you needed from the people of Sao Paulo?</s>DONA: Well, we are supporting these people, the poor people in Sao Paulo, giving food baskets to the people and supporting the people in their social programs here in Sao Paulo. We are concerning (sic) about this. And also we are opening -- we opened seven campaign hospitals and doubled the number of intensive care beds, especially to the poor people in Sao Paulo.</s>ANDERSON: The numbers in Brazil and coming out of Brazil are awful. Do you believe that the situation in your country is actually worse than these numbers suggest at this point?</s>DONA: Becky, I don't think so, especially in Sao Paulo. As you know, I'm the governor of Sao Paulo state. We at this moment are at a plateau. We -- it's stable in cases of infection, in Sao Paulo. Three weeks in this plateau in the under control situation and I think Brazil is also at this moment very close to this -- the same situation as Sao Paulo has at this moment. It is essential to maintain transparency with the death toll. It is very important to keep the quarantine as we are doing here in Sao Paulo and the obligation to use masks and now also to have the social distance -- the recommendation for social distance in the cities and also in the other areas in Brazil.</s>ANDERSON: You have said that you are confident that your city of Sao Paulo has -- and the state has reached a plateau. And you have also said that you hope that reflects a kind of wider story in Brazil. Just how concerned are you though, sir, you could be off here? I mean, there are clear concerns that this is a trajectory that may keep going. The numbers may get higher.</s>DONA: Well, Becky, we created here in Sao Paulo a plan called Sao Paulo plan, which has the circumstances to ensure that we can gradually open up trade and other sectors of the economy in Sao Paulo. But we also require going back if we have indications that can put people's lives at risk. I have to tell you, step by step, concerning in order to make this flexibility easier, maintaining the quarantine, we have the support of the health committee of the state of Sao Paulo and increase the intensive care beds. We also increased the testing. Testing, testing, testing, a lot of tests and also decrease -- and also have to do what we are doing here with the quarantine, asking people to use masks all the time when we are out of home and following the health organization recommendations here.</s>ANDERSON: With that we'll leave it there. We thank you very much indeed for joining us. Our guest who was once an ally of the Brazilian president, Bolsonaro, now one of his biggest critics. As world leaders get scrutinized for their response to the pandemic, they also have to reckon with another layer of the crisis. The United Nations predicting more than 130 million people worldwide may go hungry this year due to the economic recession that's been triggered by COVID-19. That figure is on top of the nearly 700 million people already facing food shortages. The U.N. says Africa is the hardest hit region with nearly a fifth of the population is undernourished; 8.3 percent of Asia is struggling and more than 7 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean facing hunger.</s>ANDERSON: Well, the U.K. wades into tensions between the U.S. and China with the ban on one of China's largest technology companies. We're going to break that down after this. That is not all, unlawful and troublemakers: the U.S. and China swap taunts over the South China Sea. The latest reaction from each side is up next.