[Unidentified Male:] Live from CNN Atlanta, this is
[Connect The World. Lynda Kinkade, Cnn Host:] Hello and welcome to our expanded edition of CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Good to have you with us. Desperate measures have been taken in Europe to stop a virus outbreak that shows no signs of stopping. At this hour, Northern Italy, most of it, is under lockdown and that's home to some 16 million people, about a quarter of the country's population. The so-called red zone is subject to strict measures like the cancellation of all public events as well as school closures. In Vatican City, Pope Francis delivered his Sunday prayers via video in hopes of preventing the spread of the virus. He did appear at his window to bless the few who showed up in St. Peter's Square. Here in the U.S., the number of coronavirus cases has hit 450. It's claimed 19 lives. CNN has learned the cruise ship that's been quarantined off the coast of California will indeed dock on Monday. We know that 21 people on the Grand Princess have now tested positive for the coronavirus. In Southeast China, 10 people have died after their hotel collapsed. It was being used to house people from high-risk areas. Dozens have been rescued but crews fear more people are buried in the rubble. No word yet on what caused that collapse. We have got reporters covering all angles of this story. Sarah Westwood is traveling with the U.S. president. David Culver will join us from Shanghai. First, I want to start with Ben Wedeman. Ben, seriously, drastic measures there. You're about an hour and a half's drive from Milan. We heard that much of the north of Italy is under lockdown. Give us a sense of what you have experienced so far and obviously, your reaction to the fact we are seeing a lot of changes now with the way people celebrate religious occasions.
[Ben Wedeman, Cnn Sr. International Correspondent:] Well, we heard early in the morning, Giuseppe Conte, the Italian prime minister, coming out with this new decree, which would impose draconian measures on millions of people in really the economic heartland of Italy. But it appears that they have yet to be implemented, at least in terms of the restrictions on the movement of people in the country. We've been driving for about, as you said, an hour and a half south of Milan. We did come across a checkpoint but that was for a previously existing red zone. What we're seeing is that, on a Sunday afternoon, there are people in this piazza, in this town, and it doesn't appear that the rhythm of life has yet changed dramatically. I think as these measures are put in place and we don't have a clear timetable as to when that will be things will start to change dramatically. But we did have an opportunity in Milan to visit a church to see how the changes brought about by the coronavirus are impacting the rhythm of life there.
[Brother Marcello, Chiesa Sacro Cuore Di Gesu:] Buongiorno. Buongiorno.
[Wedeman:] Brother Marcello greets the first arrivals at a Milan soup kitchen. Every day at 11:30 in the morning, volunteers hand out more than 1,000 meals to those in need. To avoid a crowd, they now pass through, get their bag lunch and leave. The rhythm of church life has changed for Marcello and the other brothers of the Capuchin order at the Chiesa Sacro Cuore di Gesu, the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. As the cloud of the virus that hovers over Italy grows ever darker, he sees a silver lining. "This is a bath in reality," says Brother Marcello. "It's a moment of great humility because we are reminded that we are human. We are not omnipotent. We are fragile we become sick. What is beautiful is that we see how much we need one another." The last mass here was February 22nd. How does he feel when he sees the church empty on Sunday?
[Brother Marcello:] [Speaking Italian].
[Wedeman:] "Not well," he repeats four times. "Sometimes it's said the priests, the clergy, the church are a power. At this moment it is clear to us, what is a priest without his flock?" Perhaps priorities are shifting back to basics. "This is an opportunity," says worshipper Eros Cavernan, "to reflect, to think, to be with your family and more than anything, to slow down our lives, which I think are going by too fast." Later, Brother Marcello reaches out to a fellow Capuchin, Alberto, in the red zone, where the outbreak is more intense and exit and entry are tightly controlled. Brother Alberto is in quarantine with a fever but has yet to be tested for the virus.
[Brother Marcello:] [Speaking Italian].
[Wedeman:] "First of all, I am sorry," says Marcello. Yet Alberto's spirits seem high. He jokes that, with all the couples staying home, there will be many new babies to baptize. In the afternoon, a rare gathering in the church for the funeral of a 67 year old man. He did not die, we are told, from the virus. The number of mourners is modest but large by today's new standards. So much is changing in this, Italy's time of trial. And that funeral was perhaps one of the last public ones in Milan now that the decree is in place. Marriages, funerals, baptisms are all banned. We know that schools and universities were already closed. Malls will be open only during weekdays. Bars and restaurants will only be allowed to be open from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm. And customers have to keep one meter apart. The list of all the things involved in this new decree is very, very long and, as they are implemented, it's going to be ever more difficult for people in this part of Italy.
[Kinkade:] Certainly sounds that way. Good to have you there for us, Ben. I hope you and your team stay safe. Thank you. Our Ben Wedeman there in Italy. I want to go to David Culver now. Obviously, David, we're speaking earlier about this hotel that collapsed in the southeast of China. And this is a hotel that wasn't housing or quarantining people with the coronavirus but people that had fled areas where there was an outbreak. We know at least 10 people are dead but still many trapped.
[David Culver, Cnn Correspondent:] That's right, Lynda. And as you point out, they did not have the coronavirus. In fact, they had tested negative at least by the first round of tests they underwent and were in this hotel that was an observation opportunity medically for them to be monitored and to do so, really, through the two weeks of quarantine, essentially. It's interesting, listening to Ben talk about all the lockdown procedures coming into place there in Italy. They have already, of course, been here in place for several weeks. As part of that are these precautionary moves to have people in hotels that have been government designated to be in place to make sure they don't develop the coronavirus. But this tragedy is heartbreaking, especially when you look at the images. These are coming out of a province in the southeastern part of China. In all, there were about 80 people inside of this structure. It was a seven-story structure that collapsed around 7:15 local time on Saturday evening. It had about 58 people, who were part of this quarantine procedure. And people of all ages, families, of course, were among them. They were there, not allowed to leave, under observation. When the collapse happened, many of them were trapped. We know initially only nine of them were able to get out on their own. Rescuers then were able to get out several more people. At you point out, 23 remain unaccounted for. And it was a massive rescue effort, more than 1,000 first responders, firefighters and medics on scene for more than 24 hours now, trying to assist in this rescue operation and trying to pull out as many people as possible.
[Culver:] And we do know that they're facing not only the dangers of working around some rubble and the instability that is that structure but also the reality that some people may have been exposed to the coronavirus. So these first responders themselves are trying to layer up and protect themselves from any potential exposure. It's a very challenging situation they're in the midst of right now and just heartbreaking, looking at the images. Social media here in China has been heavily focused on this over the past couple days.
[Kinkade:] Yes, it's such a tragedy. We did see some of the pictures of at least one small child and his parents rescued from the building. I want to ask you whether there's any indication as to why the building collapsed. It was relatively young [sic]. My understanding is was only built in 2013.
[Culver:] It dates back to 2013; it was converted to a hotel in 2018. There were recent renovations underway that started at the start of this year in January. And according to state media, there was apparently, according to some of the workers, some concern with a structure, a pillar, if you will, that was unstable at some point. And the workers actually phoned the owner of that facility to say, you know, there's some issue here. We need to look into that. And shortly thereafter, the collapse happened. And as you point out, the images that we're seeing now are the aftermath, including the young child being cradled in the arms of the first responders. As far as any charges, all of that is so early. But we do know state media has reported that the owner of that facility is being detained and questioned by authorities. And that's likely to continue amidst, you know, what could be a criminal investigation on top of what is a recovery operation.
[Kinkade:] Yes. All right, David Culver, good to have you on the story. Thanks so much. I want to go to Sarah Westwood now for the political reaction and the U.S. response here. We know that the U.S. president went to a conservative political conference and we now know that someone who attended that has tested positive for the coronavirus. It wasn't just the president. Also the vice president there.
[Sarah Westwood, Cnn White House Correspondent:] Right, there were many senior officials from the Trump administration who attended the Conservative Political Action Conference last week. President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence obviously included among them. But the White House is downplaying concerns about whether the president or the vice president or any other cabinet officials were exposed to the coronavirus while there. Now the American Conservative Union, the organization that puts on CPAC, has said the attendee who subsequently tested positive for the COVID-19 virus did not enter the main ballroom where the president and the vice president spoke and that they didn't have any interaction with the president and the vice president themselves. But still, this is coming amid growing concerns about President Trump and Pence continuing to be out on the road, continuing to be among crowds, when other organizations across the country are starting to cancel events that put people in close proximity to one another. I want to read you part of the statement from the White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, downplaying worries. "There's no indication either President Trump or Vice President Pence met with or were in close proximity to the attendee." Last night at his resort here in West Palm Beach, Mar-a-lago, the president appeared beside Brazilian President Bolsonaro and said he was not concerned about coronavirus getting close to the White House. Also last night, we learned the first coronavirus case has appeared in D.C. Take a listen.
[Trump:] Say it, what?
[Question:] Are you aware that the virus is getting closer to the White House?
[Trump:] No, I'm not concerned at all. No, no, we've done a good job. Thank you very much.
[Westwood:] Now the administration is touting its ability to test more and more people as they have expedited the process for developing these coronavirus tests. The FDA briefed reporters at the White House yesterday and said more than 5,800 tests have already been performed and that more than 1 million tests were distributed to hospitals, to health facilities across the country by Friday night.
[Kinkade:] And the other big story we have been covering in the U.S. is the cruise ship off the coast of California that has at least 21 people that have tested positive to the coronavirus. That ship is now going to dock tomorrow. But we understand from the vice president that there might be another cruise ship with coronavirus concerns.
[Westwood:] Without naming the boat, Vice President Pence said yesterday that the administration is keeping watch on another cruise ship that may have shared crew members with either the Diamond Princess or the Grand Princess cruise ships. Both of those obviously had coronavirus outbreaks onboard. So the potential for exposure for another cruise ship could present more issues for an industry hit very hard by the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus. Pence said in Ft. Lauderdale yesterday the administration is taking decisive action on this unnamed ship. Take a listen.
[Mike Pence, Vice President Of The United States:] We are tracking at this point a ship that may have shared crew with the Diamond Princess or the Grand Princess. We have taken a decisive action to hold until we do a full medical assessment of that crew on that ship. We'll just continue to lean into this effort.
[Westwood:] Now Vice President Pence sparked a little bit of a backlash this week when he announced that 21 passengers or crew members on the Grand Princess had tested positive for the coronavirus, evidently, before those people were notified directly about the fact that they had tested positive. So here we saw the vice president not giving away too much information about which ship they're monitoring. But it shows the challenges for the cruise ship industry and the travel industry at large as the coronavirus inspires people to stay home when they're seeing headlines like this.
[Kinkade:] Exactly and cancel cruise ships, cancel flights. Sarah Westwood for us in West Beach Palm [sic], Florida. Thanks so much. Well, I want to get you up to speed on some other news we are covering on our radar right now. Now Iran's interior minister is echoing the warning of many other countries because of the coronavirus; that is, don't travel. Now the country is taking measures to disinfect public areas. In all, 194 people have died from the virus there. The number of cases is now past 6,500. And a cruise ship in Egypt has 45 passengers that have been confirmed to have the coronavirus, 19 are foreigners. Officials say the quarantined ship is now docked in the southern city of Luxor and all the infected passengers are going to be isolated in a hospital. The newly discovered cases bring Egypt's nationwide total to 48. Bahrain's Formula 1 Grand Prix race is the latest big sporting event to be affected by the coronavirus. Organizers say no spectators will now be allowed to watch the race, which is scheduled to take place two weekends from now. At the present time, allowing thousands of international travelers and local fans to interact is not the right thing to do. China is reeling from the coronavirus outbreak and one store is offering a safe way for customers to go food shopping. But they must keep their distance. That story is coming up. Plus, migrants coming from Turkey have been trying to get into Greece for weeks. The new reports claim they're being met with abuse and brutality. We have all the details for you when we come back.