U.N. Marks 75th Anniversary As We Pass 31,000 Cases
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We of course have to be prepared to take action.</s>BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: Europe's second wave turns into a tsunami. Is it becoming too late to avoid another round of COVID lock downs? Then.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I give ourselves an</s>A. ANDERSON: An A for 200,000 deaths for U.S. now approaching an horrific milestone. And the Supreme Court battle there adds a divisive new twist in what is an already messy American election. This hour, our once in a generation struggled meets and historic moments. I'm Becky Anderson and this hour, we are connecting a world that needs to remember that divided we fall. United we stand. In the next few minutes the American president known for his America first brand of unilateralism will deliver a speech marking 75 years of what is perhaps the world's greatest testament to multilateral diplomacy, United Nations. This as we are just a day away from the U.N.'s great big yearly bash. Its general assembly known as UNGA by the type of people who were who attend, but it won't look much like it normally does this year because of the pandemic. And to go forward, we need first to look back. I sent my team back into the archives to find this U.N. meeting back on June the first 1945. For the deciding vote on what would be the UN's DNA, its charter. All as the world still smolder from the Second World War. And we sit at such an historic juncture needing unity once again, just since the last time we broadcast this show. On Friday, at this time, there have been more than a million new cases of the virus around the world. We are now at 31 million reported cases. So, we all must come together on research treatments and the vaccine United Nations is meant to do just that. Unite Nations, consider that as we get through this show, because right now, more and more people are getting sick from the virus across Europe than ever the situation more and more dire by the day, it seems nowhere is that more acute than in France. It reported new daily highs over the weekend with more than 13,000 cases. Some days, it's getting so bad that some French hospitals are nearly out of intensive care beds. And the U.K. warning that it might not be so far behind. Just hours ago, the government's chief medical officer warning that as cases double every week, it might now be forced into another lockdown. And away from the cold hard numbers in these graphs. Let me show you these scenes from Spain.</s>ANDERSON: Protesters on public health system in Madrid, where almost a million people are now in lockdown. They are angry because they think it's unfairly targeting the poor.</s>ANDERSON: And of course, as you would expect in and spread out across Europe so we can connect you to everything that is happening. Let's get you first as Scott McLean, who is in London. Scott, Matt Hancock, who is the Health Minister speaking on the BBC earlier, calling for everyone to follow the rules or risk another national lockdown. The question is are people in the U.K. taking this seriously enough or are they suffering pandemic fatigue at this point?</s>SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think everyone's suffering a little bit of pandemic feed or fatigue to be -- to be honest with you here, Becky, that's probably not unique to the U.K. by any stretch. But what's interesting here is just as President Trump says that the U.S. is rounding the corner of the pandemic. Health advisors here were quite blunt that the U.K. has turned a corner in a bad way meaning things are getting much worse. They announced this morning that the pandemic was doubling every seven days or the number of cases were doubling every seven days. And if you follow that trajectory in just four weeks, the U.K. could have some 50,000 cases per day.</s>MCLEAN: That's more even than the United States has. The U.K. has just last week announced new measures, they could have some 50,000 cases per day that's more even than the United States has. The U.K. has just -- last week announced new measures to clamp down on social gatherings limiting them to just six. They have also in some places limited almost all the in person social interactions with people outside of your own household. But a week on it's not really clear whether those message or whether those measures are having much of an impact. Today, Britain's Chief Medical adviser said everyone has to do their part. Listen.</s>CHRIS WHITTY, U.K. CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISOR: If I as an individual increased my risk, I increase the risk to everyone around me and then everyone who's a contact to theirs. And sooner or later the chain will lead to people who are vulnerable or elderly or have a long-term problem from COVID. So, you cannot in an epidemic, just take your own risk. Unfortunately, you're taking risk on behalf of everybody else. It's important that we see this as something we have to do collectively.</s>ANDERSON: Some warning then from Chris witty. Meanwhile, Patrick Valance. And these are two characters that the Brits are now very familiar with. They've been seeing these two men since March. Patrick valance is U.K.'s Chief Scientific adviser. He says the U.K. is heading in the right direction for a COVID vaccine, Scott. Have a listen to this.</s>PATRICK VALANCE, U.K. CHIEF SCIENTIFIC ADVISER: The U.K. therefore has put itself in a good position in terms of vaccine supply, and the possibility that one of these will work. We don't yet know that they will work. But there is increasing evidence that it's pointed in the right direction. And it's possible with some vaccine could be available before the end of the year in small amounts for certain groups, much more likely that we'll see vaccines becoming available over the first half of next year. Again, not certain, but pointed in the right direction.</s>ANDERSON: Scott, we have reported extensively on those in the U.S. who are hesitant to take a vaccine, antivaxxers. Many call these people. What's the attitude towards vaccines from the British population?</s>MCLEAN: Yes, it is certainly a great question, Becky, the U.K. is in good hands when it comes to vaccines assuming that everyone actually wants to get one. Right now, there are some 40 different vaccines that are in clinical trials, many of them are in the late, late stages. And so, we could have one quite soon. But regardless of whether or not Brits are sort of keen to jump and actually take that vaccine, the bottom line is, there's not going to be one available until as you heard they're at the very earliest, sometime early next year. So, the bottom line that health officials here are making is that look, we have to buckle up, we have to do what we need to do right now to sort of tamp down this virus. And so, the bottom line is people need to follow the rules as they are before, as the health secretary said over the weekend, before the cavalry comes in mass testing, vaccines and obviously better health treatments as well.</s>ANDERSON: The cavalry being a general lockdown. Scott, thank you for that. Let me bring back those numbers that we were looking at earlier for you, viewers. With France, seeing its highest daily case numbers in months, I want to get you on the ground there in central Paris, where Melissa Bell is standing by. And we just heard of the potential for a second national lockdown in the U.K. Is that also on the cards in France?</s>MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: Now what we've seen here on the continent in Europe, Becky, is on the contrary authorities saying that really this is simply not something they're willing to consider, given the costs of it economically, these are not economies they say that could bear the brunt of a second general lockdown. And yet who knows, we may come to that. For the time being though, we've been heading in another direction here on the European continent, France, delegating down to local authorities, the powers necessary to try and bring their numbers under control. And what we've seen here in Europe is a rise in those big urban centers. As people, Becky, have gone back to work, they've gone back to school, they found themselves in city environments with all that affluence around them. The numbers here in Paris as an example have shot up but in other European cities as well. Hence what you're seeing now in Madrid. This is something pretty new, those kind of lock downs that we'd seen back in the spring in several European countries on a national basis decided instead on a city- wide basis with as you say, all those questions that go with it. We're talking about six districts in the south of Madrid, with 850,000 people who from today are confined much as we all were back in March. But this time, it's not the entire country. It's not even the richer suburbs of the city. So, a whole host of new questions that raised themselves. But I think this is something we might be seeing more and more over the coming weeks, because the figures are rising show so sharply, because they rise in clusters around big cities with such a strain on the city's health care systems.</s>BELL: Individual cities perhaps deciding we're having a poster up on them lockdown restrictions in order to avoid them being imposed at a national level.</s>ANDERSON: Things are clearly very tough on the continent. Thank you for that. So, we're looking at a picture which basically says Europe equals more cases, more restrictions. But the story very different in Sweden, which is keeping open now much as it did. During the first wave. My colleague Max Foster spoke to Swedes about attitudes towards a pandemic and indeed, towards a COVID vaccine Have a listen to what they told, Max.</s>MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No lockdown, and few masks if any at all. Sweden tends to avoid issuing mandates when voluntary guidelines are usually enough. Many here feel that approach has been vindicated by the latest pandemic numbers. After a spike in coronavirus deaths, mainly amongst the elderly. Mortality is now down to normal seasonal levels. infection rates are also falling as they surge elsewhere in Europe, where local lockdowns is still part of the strategy. Sweden increasingly a shining example for American conservatives who oppose masks and lockdown. All eyes now on how they handle the vaccine. We already know their plan. The Swedish British pharmaceuticals chance, AstraZeneca is one of the frontrunners in developing a coronavirus vaccine. If and when they succeed, adults will be advised by the health authorities here to take it or the approved alternative and starting with the most vulnerable. There's no real debate here about mandated vaccination.</s>ANDERS TEGNELL, CHIEF EPIDEMIOLOGIST: We worked with voluntary vaccination during the last pandemic and Sweden probably reached the highest rate of vaccination anywhere in the world.</s>FOSTER: Chief epidemiologist Anders Tegnell known as the architects of Sweden's COVID-19 pandemic response, children won't be advised to take the vaccine at all, at least at first, because they aren't considered spreaders of the virus.</s>TEGNELL: We have very little data that spread of disease at all. So, at least in the beginning to vaccinate children will be not the most relevant action to take. The most relevant action to take is to vaccinate the people that are really at risk, which are mainly the elderly, and people working with them in health care and social care.</s>FOSTER: But members of this family aren't sure they would ever take part in another vaccination program after the last one. Their 13-year-old who doesn't want to be named as the chronic sleep disorder narcolepsy, which his doctor says was triggered by the swine flu immunizations of 2009. A vaccine hastily rolled out in Europe at the time has been linked to an increasing cases leaving this family and others wary of vaccination.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After school we don't have energy to do stuff, saying just go home and play video games.</s>FOSTER: His father says he wouldn't take another vaccine unless there was a guarantee of compensation for side effects.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I think I will doubt to take.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Same. But I'm his stepmother. I live with him every other week. And I see what happened to him.</s>FOSTER: If a vaccine suddenly appears for the virus, so you'd like me to take it?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.</s>FOSTER: Why not?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm scared of it, though in the beginning. Yes. I don't -- I feel I'm strong enough without it.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I won't do it.</s>FOSTER: Why not?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because I think it's too early. They can try first on some other people.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think I'd take it.</s>FOSTER: Why is that?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If it's safe, then -- if it helps, then why wouldn't I?</s>FOSTER: Sweden's National Health Agency says all the parties involved in developing a new vaccine are doing everything possible to prevent dangerous side effects ever happening again. Swedes have a reputation for following official advice on medication without questioning it. But even here, you'll find plenty who won't be at the front of the line for a brand-new coronavirus vaccine. That raises the question of whether we'll ever be rid of this deadly and endlessly disruptive virus. Max Foster, CNN, Stockholm, Sweden.</s>ANDERSON: That's the story in Sweden. Quite different from the rest of Europe of course, which is seeing record highs in new cases. The United States now on the verge of 200,000 American lives lost to COVID-19 so far. Well, the bell at Washington's National Cathedral told 200 times on Sunday, once for every thousand lives lost in the pandemic.</s>ANDERSON: Democrats outside the White House outside the White House lit up a sign that read "Trump lied 200,000 plus have died." I just want to take a quick look at the big board for you at this point, the Dow is continuing what is a downward trend to start this week? There are those who say virus fears hurting this market stimulus uncertainty of course, let's not forget there was a key level of 27,000 there and that's likely to have triggered selling programs. So, when you see these numbers knock around at specific levels, you can probably blame the market as much on a -- on a -- on a technical issue as you can on any sort of overarching atmosphere. But certainly, the idea that this stimulus program is still outstanding that these fears over COVID continue to worry people not helping the markets today the Dow Jones Industrial Average down over 2-1/2 percent. Let's get you up to speed on some of the other stories that are on our radar right now. Lebanon report 779 new coronavirus cases in the past a day, that's the highest number since the pandemic began. The total case count has now their past 28,000 people, 286 have died. The surge comes as Lebanon recovers from the port explosion last month of course it killed almost 200 people. New Zealand has dropped COVID-19 social distancing restrictions for all areas of the country expect -- except its most populous city, Auckland. That city will remain on level two restrictions until at least October, the seventh meaning no gatherings of more than 100 people and mandatory mask wearing on public transportation. And Australia's Victoria stage recorded 11 new coronavirus cases suddenly. That is the lowest number of new infections in over three months. Victoria's largest city Melbourne could begin easing restrictions if cases remain low. Victoria recorded some 20,000 total cases and more than 760 deaths. Well, the death of a U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as Republicans backtracking on promises they made four years ago about choosing an election year replacement.</s>SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Let's let the next president, whoever it might be, make that nomination and you could use my words against me.</s>ANDERSON: Well, promises a lot. Lindsey Graham has a very different opinion in 2020. That is up next. And later this hour, thousands of wildfires raging unabated through pristine wetlands. In Brazil, if you ask its president, he says he is doing a stellar job on the environment.