hi, welcome to our viewers joining us here in the united states and from all around the world. i'm robyn curnow. ♪ it was the usual pomp and ceremony at the white house on saturday evening, but in a marked departure from the norm, president trump's message to americans was especially divisive. and coronavirus cases in the u.s. continue to surge. florida recorded another daily record, but that didn't stop sun worshippers from taking to the beaches there and elsewhere. >> i never had any real problem in my life. everything seemed to fall into

place. >> she is an extraordinary lady whose idea of never having problems is surviving two pandemics and beating cancer twice. live from cnn center, this is "cnn newsroom," with robyn curnow. great to have you along. so parades, cookouts and parties. that's what america usually sees this weekend to celebrate the fourth of july, but this year, people faced the decision on whether to celebrate together and risk the coronavirus or stay at home. so the traditional fireworks displays filled the skies over the national mall in washington, just a few hours ago. and elsewhere. rising coronavirus cases, though, did not keep everyone off the beaches in florida. this beach, although it doesn't look like it here, was packed

further along. florida is one of the nation's hotspots, reporting the most cases in a single day so far on saturday. now, in fact, most u.s. cases you can see from this map are experiencing spikes. only one state is seeing a drop in cases. while some went to the beach, others took to the streets. there were protests in a number of cities, including near atlanta, georgia. some stood with president trump who blasted those who want monuments removed. >> we will never allow an angry mob to remove our statues. indoctrinate our children or trample on our freedoms. we will safeguard our values, traditions, customs and beliefs. we will teach our children to

cherish and adore their country so that they can build its future. >> so, with the pandemic raging out of control here in the u.s., the president said the real threat is what he calls the radical left, and that's not all. jeremy diamond has more. jeremy? >> reporter: well, on fourth of july, most american presidents typically aim for unifying remarks, but president trump this evening for the second night in a row focussing his independence day remarks on exploiting cultural divisions among americans, particularly at this time of deep division in america with two crises, both the coronavirus pandemic and these protests over a national reckoning on racism in america. president trump delivering these divisive remarks, in which he even compared his current political fights against leftists in america, radical leftists, as he called them, to the fight against nazis in world war ii. >> american heroes defeated the

nazis, dethroned the fascists, toppled the communists, saved american values, upheld american principles and chased down the terrorists to the very ends of the earth. we are now in the process of defeating the radical left, the marxists, the anarchists, the agitators, the looters, and people who, in many instances, have absolutely no clue what they are doing. >> reporter: now president trump on saturday also said that we will not allow anyone to divide our citizens by race or background. those remarks fairly remarkable coming from this president, one who started his campaign by decrying mexican immigrants as criminals and rapists, a president who called for a total ban on muslims entering the united states, a president who said that a judge who was of

hispanic origin could not be impartial in a case involving him. this president claiming on saturday that he will not allow others to exploit people by racial divisions. now president trump sought to retask himself as a protector of american history and heritage. that was the theme of his remarks on friday at mt. rushmore and on saturday at the white house. but he hasn't focussed on protecting statues of founding fathers but on protecting confederate namesakes and monuments. that has been the focus over the last week, and now he is trying to recast that battle. but certainly, these remarks on the fourth of july where america is facing these crises, divisive and certainly not unifying for this nation, jeremy diamond, the white house. >> so dividing the country, smearing opponents and building up himself. a prominent historian tells cnn

america has seen those tactics before. take a listen. >> donald trump is showing us how joe mccarthy would have acted if he had become president. mccarthy was obviously just a senator from wisconsin, but raised havoc with his anti-communist crusade. and here you have a president of the united states on july 4th, in the middle of a ceremony on the national mall, tv cameras around the world, using the opportunity to divide our nation, to call his opponents radicals and good for nothing anarchists and the like. this is appalling. this is the day to fortify the morale of all americans and to really tray really try to build the community that is the united states of america. and one may have thought at mt. rushmore he was doing it as a friday night speech. maybe a one offer from the campaign trail. but to come back and double down on it today, it deludes from the majesty we're seeing with the

aerial show and the wonderful aircraft that saved our democracy in korea and the berlin, you know, airlift in world war ii and the like, because trump's message is about himself, and it's about dividing the nation. he has zero sense of history. >> so statues of christopher columbus have often been targeted during antiracist protests in the u.s., and we now have video of protesters tearing one down in baltimore, maryland. about 300 people gathered in the downtown area before marching to the statue. they say the statue broke into pieces when it was toppled. and protesters dragged them to the harbor. the statue had stood in the little italy area for more than 30 years. the council president had asked that it be removed. meanwhile, florida is one of the biggest hotspots right now, reporting thousands of new cases of coronavirus on saturday, but

that's not stopping some people from celebrating the fourth of july holiday the way they always used to do by hitting the beach. here's boris sanchez with more on that. >> reporter: yet another record-setting day for the state of florida. more than 11,000 new coronavirus cases reported here in the last 24 hours. that means that in the first three days of july, the state has seen over 30,000 new covid cases. to give you some perspective, the state of florida saw abou 0 about 100,000 new cases in the month of june alone. the governor, ron desantis was leaving it to local officials to what restrictions they wanted to put in place. but here at clearwater beach, folks were coming all day to enjoy the waves, play sports and enjoy the sand and surf as well. there are signs out warning people to try to stay socially distanced, six feet apart from people who don't share the same

household. they're asking groups to not ko congregate. one woman says she's concerned about the risk of coronavirus but that she wanted to enjoy the holiday weekend on the beach. here's more what have she shared with us. >> i just think that we should all wear masks and protect ourselves as best as we can and keep, you know, the social distancing going on, and, you know, that's it. if we're going to get it, we're going to get it. i'm happy to be here. i really am. i know the numbers are going up. and i hope it drops, but it doesn't seem like it is, so why stop enjoying life? >> of course the big question is what these numbers will do two weeks from now. remember that after the memorial day weekend, when we saw so many large crowds ignoring social distancing guidelines, soon after that we saw a surge in coronavirus cases nationwide.

two weeks is that incubation period for the coronavirus. so all eyes will be on the numbers about 14 days from now. boris sanchez, cnn, clearwater beach, florida. joining me now is a professor of biology at the university of massachusetts and dartmouth and a cnn contributor. good to see you, aaron, thanks for joining us. we see this spike in cases across the u.s., can it all be accounted for by increased testing as some have suggested? >> absolutely not. increased testing is part of it. but if we increase the testing, we would expect the number of tests that come back positive to start to decrease as those tests ramp up. and that's not what we're seeing in many states. we're seeing the number of tests going up and the test positivity going up. and that's two really concerning measures of spread of the infection in the community. >> and we also understand, i mean, just break down the data

for us, there are not as many deaths perhaps, but there are many more younger people getting it, and that perhaps explains the disconnect tweenl the death rate in some areas. are you concerned that that will change? >> certainly, i am concerned. we know while younger people are getting infected that they do have better outcomes than people with age and co-morbidity. but at some stage, those young people with infections intersect with those people that are not so fortunate with their health or a little bit older, and so it only becomes a matter of time before those two populations join together and we start to see more deaths in the older populations. but we also need to point out that it's not a free pass for people that are under the age of 40 to get to this disease. we're seeing one in 25, one in 28 people under the age of 40 end up in hospital, and 5% of those people, if you're in florida, 5% of those people die.

so it's not a free pass for young people. >> we've heard the president say 99% of coronavirus cases are, you know, are harmless. can you explain that biologically, and unpack that statement? >> i don't think there is an explanation biologically or any other pay for th other way for that number he's pulled out? what is harmless, a lung transplant? we know the lung damage people can have. we are starting to understand the damage to the heart and kidneys, the neurological damage. these are the things we don't know yet. so this death rate is one thing, but this long-term problem that comes from infection, we really have no idea just how bad it's going to be. that number is just completely fictitious. >> you talk about the wide range of symptoms here. the spectrum of symptoms, the

way this virus can affect a body, why it's from your toes to your heart to your lungs. does that confuse you still? we still have a lot of questions about that as a biologist, as somebody who analyzes the way viruses attack bodies, human bodies. >> the way that this virus can just get through into so many different tissues, we're finding it in the intestine, they're finding it in the epithelial cells of the lung, in the brain, it seems to have no bounds in where it can go. and its tentacles get into the blood, and we're seeing clotting like, it's insane. so just from a biologist point of view, not from a medical scientist, it is both intriguing and frightening at the same time. >> we've heard that there was a slight mutation. does that also concern you? explain that to us. apparently a mutation that makes it potentially more infectious?

>> so there is a mutation that has arisen that seems to have taken over the number most of the positive cases that we're seeing in the united states and europe. and it's just one small change, but it's in the receptive binding domain of that spike protein, what it needs to get hold of the ace two recenter on o whether that translates into being more infective or more virulent, we don't know at this stage. there are a lot of things that could be driving this happening, but we're not certain that this is more concerning at this stage. >> okay. still more unanswered questions. so we've been seeing folks celebrating independence day, independence weekend here in the states. we know this weekend pubs are opening in the uk. you speak a lot about wearing

masks and how, if you go into a pub, wear a mask. but still, the face-to-face conversation you might have over a much-needed longful beer in a pub in london is potentially life changing. >> right. so we know masks work. the highest risk of transmission is those face-to-face interactions with people where you're talking with them for an extended period of time. it cobuld be a few minutes, ten minutes, 30 minutes. that is risky. but just breathing and talking puts out a lot of respiratory droplets that hang in the air for an extended period of time. if we can stop those droplets from ever leaving the front of your face, from your mouth, and capture them in a mask, we can stop them getting in the air which stops other people being infected. the number of infections we're

seeing at bars in the southern half of the united states now that they're open is just staggering. people are in there. they're having a good time. they're talking. they're getting close to etchac other. they're yelling because of the music, and it's leading to enhanced transmission of this virus. masks aren't regiasonable in a bar. there is no safe way to run a bar and stop transmission. if you've got something like this, be a brewery and be outside. that way you can create physical space. the virus doesn't build up in the air, and when you're moving in amongst a group of people you put a mask on to stop it. >> and professor, thanks so much for sharing your expertise. >> thank you, robyn. so iraq's battered health care system is struggling with a

spike in coronavirus cases and death. more than 2,000 cases were reported, bringing the total to more than 58,000. and the death toll rose by more than 100, standing around 2300. the pandemic is sweeping the whole country but certainly hitting the capital of baghdad especially hard. arwa damon explains. >> reporter: they went to verify the names of the dead. their sorrow is silent, much like the enemy that claimed those they love. they lost his parents and his sister to covid-19. one after the other. they underestimated the virus. they did not understand how to protect themselves from the spread. we are terrified now. we are 100% convinced, he says. the burials happen at night in iraq's largest cemetery, when the country's brutal summer height dips. final prayers are carried out by strangers. teams from the paramilitary

force initially formed to fight isis. we are getting around 70 to 80 bodies a day, he says. and it's expected to get much worse across the country, whose medical infrastructure was already decimated by decades of sanctions, war and corruption. medical workers report a prevalence of the virus among hospital staff, due to a lack of proper measures and ppe. >> i was with my family when the head manager of the hospital contacted me to inform me that the result of pcr is positive for covid-19. >> reporter: the doctor filmed the moment he told his children he was sick, promising them that he would be back, not knowing if it was a promise he would keep. >> for any person, be is a painful moment that you say good bye to your children and your

family and you do not know whether you will return back or not. >> reporter: luckily, he did and is now recovering. we were so worried about mommy and daddy because of corona, one of his daughters says upon his return, with the others chiming in. the doctor fears for the worst for his country. >> with coronavirus cases now jump, government default in widening protection measures, the people opening the markets and malls. >> reporter: this people shows people scuffling over oxygen tanks outside a hospital in the south of the country, trying to secure a supply for their sick loved ones. in the same city, health workers beg their ministry for help. iraq has known trouble on a mass

scale so well. a member of iraq's security forces apologizes for his inability to keep his emotions in check. it's his mother who died. arwa damon, cnn, istanbul.

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welcome back. i'm robyn curnow here at the cnn center here in atlanta. the australian medical association is calling for an ease in easing coronavirus restrictions there. australia's currently seeing new spikes in cases. there were 108 new cases on friday, which led to new stay-at-home orders for the area. the australian medical association says it's a reality check of how rapidly things can change, especially if people don't follow guidelines. meanwhile, pubs and other businesses in england are open once again, and for those who waited in line to get their first pints, super saturday couldn't come fast enough. pub doors in northern ireland were also thrown open, but those in scotland and wales will have to wait a little longer.

anna stewart is in london. >> reporter: super saturday in england saw pubs, restaurants, cinemas and hair salons able to reopen after three months of lockdown. socially distanced tables at pubs, and customer contact details are taken on arrival for contact tracing. the bar here has embraced some of the new measures, but not all businesses have decided to reopen yet. some are concerned the new measures could limit how many customers they can serve and may make them financially unviable. there are always concerns that the consumer appetite isn't yet there. >> i think having a beer outside, which we've been doing for weeks anyhow is fine. and it it's a quieter than it h

been. >> i wouldn't go into a pub or restaurant myself. but take away, i do. i don't want to be around lots of drunk people. >> excited for brunch at a few restaurants and things. it would be nice to get back to a little normality, but we need to be safe. >> reporter: the government note of caution. >> i do want people to feel that it's safe to go and enjoy themselves, to enjoy hospitality, but it's got to be done in a responsible way. >> reporter: virus outbreaks could lead to lockdown measures being reimposed. there were fears that there could be overcrowding and overindulging in alcohol on day one of the big reopening, that has not been the case. that has been dampened down by the very gray and blustery british weather. anna stewart, cnn, london. >> so those reopenings wouldn't be possible without health care workers on the front line, and

for the anniversary of the nhs, the uk is pulling out all the stops. london landmarks have lit up in blue, including here at 10 downing street, also a nationwide clap is scheduled. we show you more tributes in london. >> reporter: all over the country, graffiti art like this honoring the country's public health care system known at nhs has popped up. it's one of the most beloved institutions in the uk, made up of course of the doctors and nurses and front line health care workers who have been battling this pandemic for the last three months, but it's not just graffiti art like this, there's been billboards, posters, little crayon drawings in the windows of homes saying "we love the nhs". and on the 72nd anniversary of the organization, the country wants to commemorate the sacrifices they have made. key buildings will be lit up in blue. there's also a clap scheduled so everybody can applaud and

commemorate those health care workers. i spoke to the artist who actually painted this drawing, nathan bowen. he wanted health care workers to have something nice to look at as they made their way to the clinics and hospitals and care homes across this country. >> when people come across my art, it makes them smile. i want to inspire people. i want people to look at my art and go home and feel that, yeah, the artwork made my day, that made my travels in the street. my artwork's for people that when they're on their way to work, why should people look at dull, boring buildings, when they can look at artwork. >> i want to show you another piece of artwork dedicated to the nhs. this one says "stay strong", right there on the board. but there's another message. each and every one of these faces is either brown or black, people of color. i spoke to the artist who drew this mural, and he told me it was important to acknowledge the significant role that minorities have played during their

pandemic. a big portion of the health care worker population, especially here in london, are people of color, and we do know that those of color were disproportionately impacted by coronavirus. according to the government's own data. minorities were more likely to be exposed to the virus and more likely to become seriously ill from it. and the artist wanted everyone to remember and acknowledge that as they walked past this work of art. now dozens of health care workers have lost their lives during their pandemic. we don't yet know the final death toll, but this anniversary comes at a particularly difficult and poignant time in the nhs's history. and now this country needs its health care workers. coming up on cnn, the u.s. capital has music, flyovers and fireworks. but this independence day in america is anything but normal.

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welcome back to cnn. i'm robyn curnow. so the united states observed its 244th birthday on saturday. the nation's capital pulled out all the stops to celebrate the fourth of july, take a look. but, as we all know, this independence day is like none other. the coronavirus pandemic forced much of the country to cancel or cut back traditional public celebrations. we also know that the president,

donald trump and the first lady, still held a large gathering outside the white house, with few masks and little evidence, as you can see here, of social distancing. meanwhile, in florida, people hit the beaches that were open. the state is reporting an alarming increase in new coronavirus cases. more than 11 tro,000 in a singl day. and holiday celebrations were overshadowed in some places by demands for social justice and protests against racism. here in atlanta, people marched in support of reparations for slavery. and in baltimore, protesters tore down a statue of christopher columbus and threw it in the harbor. as you saw in washington, d.c., always ahead with a huge fireworks show, the crowds were smaller, thanks to the pandemic. alex marquardt is there. alex? >> reporter: the smoke is still sett settling here after what was a spectacular fireworks show, not at all a muted celebration during theis time of coronaviru

and social unrest. people gathering all along the national mall to watch a show that was billed as one of the largest ever. 35 minutes. it included some 10,000 fireworks shot off from two main locations. the first at this washington monument, the second, a mile-long stretch between jefferson memorial and the lincoln memorial. people out here did have plenty of room to social distance. there were far fewer people out here than normal. the crowds were indeed much thenar. the national park service, which helped coordinate the celebration were bracing for large crowds. they'd asked people spread out across what is federal land here. they had prepared some 300,000 masks to hand out. now it's important to note that this was a celebration called for by the trump administration, by the white house. the mayor of washington, d.c. had canceled the city celebrations, asking people to stay at home, to celebrate in or around their homes, but of course this celebration went forward.

people came from far and wide, from as close as virginia. i met families from florida, georgia, chicago and elsewhere, as well as overseas, from brazil, south africa, argentina, all of whom wanted to see america celebrate its birthday. >> not everyone in america sees independence day the same way. here's one take on american independence day. >> on july 4, 1776, 13 colonies claimed their independence from england. my ancestors never lived in england. in a 4th of july keynote address, frederick douglass wrote, the inheritance bequeathed by your fathers is shared by you. not by me. the sunlight that has brought light and healing to you has brought stripes and death to me. this fourth of july is yours,

not mine. i must mourn. you may rejoice. back then, black americans were seen as unfit for the fruits of freedom. nearly 250 years later the scales are still tipped to one side, making it hard for us to subscribe to something that dr. king would still call a dream. it's not until we balance the criminal justice system, root out systemic racism and provide equal freedom to all that we become a truly free country. and maybe then we'll have a day we can all celebrate. >> for more information go to cnn heroes.com. we're going to stay in california. the state's having a hard time with hospital beds filling up to record capacity. paul vercammen looks at how the virus has changed one big holiday tradition. >> reporter: part of the strategy to stop the spread of

coronavirus shut down beaches in southern california. this is huntington beach. normally, on a fourth of july weekend, people would be laying down their towels, and they would be right next to each other, enjoying a day at the beach and later on a huge fireworks display. the fireworks display canceled. they have a big fourth of july parade here, canceled. they had a smaller community parade where they weave through and by people's homes. the idea again is to have all these counties in lock step with each other and not having the beaches open. santa barbara, ventura, los angeles, and orange county shut down their beaches, san diego did not. but as a police spokeswoman said here in huntington beach, important that four of those five did shut down. >> we're not the only one that's open. we're not the only one that's closed. so the message is there. we're closing down. let's do it for just a few days, try to flatten this curve again and make sure we can stay safe. >> reporter: so good vibrations

up and down the california coast. >> big time. let's keep it chill. >> reporter: so almost an eerie sight, as huntington beach is shut down. and some people in southern california getting creative. i came upon a group of three sunbathers in manhattan beach, and what they did was they laid their towels down on a cement walkway. they said they just needed to get in their rays. california at times is a source for unique innovation. paul vercammen, back to you. >> so just ahead here on cnn, coronavirus may be skyrocketing across latin america, but one country in the region is flattening the curve. we'll see how uruguay has fared, plus edge inl flights to egypt are happening again.

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so health officials are painting a grim picture of the coronavirus in latin america. the last week of june, latin america in the caribbean averaged more than 2,000 covid deaths per day. saturday parked brazil's 50th day without a health minister. the last person to hold that office left in less than a month. meanwhile, the country has confirmed 1.5 million infections. officials in mexico are adding additional checkpoints to its border with arizona as that state reels from a surge in cases. they're stopping all non-essential travel. and beginning next week, venezuela will begin lockdown measures. the country has seen a record number of new infections and deaths in the past week. so while the coronavirus rages across latin america, uruguay is

standing out as a success story. it's seen fewer infections and a much smaller death toll than many of its south american neighbors. patrick altman takes a look at what the country is doing right. >> reporter: elementary school students return to classes in uruguay. it may lack liook like an every scene, but in latin america, it's near miraculous. schools were reopened in june in uruguay and attending classes remains voluntary. but with a few changes it is now safe. we had to take everything out, so they don't have a lot of contact, this teacher says. it doesn't look like the school we will before, but we have to adapt. with less than 1,000 confirmed cases and only 28 deaths reported, uruguay has adopted to the peril of the coronavirus better than most countries in the region if not the world. the country didn't wait for the

virus to hit to close schools and shut borders. people who live on the border with brazil where the coronavirus rages unchecked and has taken over 60,000 lives are regularly tested. health workers in mobile medical units visited people at home believed to be ill with the coronavirus, so they didn't need to venture out and potentially infect others. and unlike many other countries in latin america, health officials asked people to stay at home but didn't order them to. quarantine became an act of patriotism, rather than a punishment. >> i was at the beginning a little bit surprised at however the population response, responded properly, saying they complied with all the measures, and they stayed at home without any enforcement. >> reporter: uruguay has a comparatively strong public health system and less urban density than much of the rest of latin america. in addition to those advantages,

officials say the government acted quickly with a comprehensive plan that focussed on testing and contract tracing that has worked, at least so far. we have a tie 0-0 score, he says. we are pretty happy, but they can still score on us. uruguay uruguayen officials have warned there could be setbacks, but uruguay has shown it's possible to overcome this virus, patrick altman, cnn. egypt is hoping to put its tourism industry back on track. it's been severely affected by restrictions and the country started to let international travelers back in this week. several tourist sites have reopened. here's michael holmes. >> reporter: desperate to get its tourism sector back on

track, egypt has opened some sites and museums. the giza pyramids welcome williwelcomeing visitors. >> we have also resumed activities in south sinai, the red sea. and it is with great pleasure that i announce that two planes arrived in south sinai and the red sea, bringing two tourist groups from the ukraine. >> reporter: egypt is hoping that this will be the beginning of the recovery of its tourism industry, which has been badly hurt by the lockdown to control the coronavirus pandemic. a country with several historic sites, egypt attracts millions of visitors each year. the tourism sector accounts for roughly 5% of the country's gdp and employs about 3 million people. but even as it begins the slow process of trying to rebuild the industry, the coronavirus still casts a shadow here.

there are strict precautions. a sign at the entrance to the pyramid complex reminds visitors to wear masks. hand sanitizers are placed at strategic locations and staff take visitor temperatures before entering. egypt has the second-highest number of positive coronavirus cases in africa, nearly 73,000. but that did not deter some of the first tourists at the reopened sites. >> we are not afraid of the virus or we are not coping with the mechanisms. >> it has almost never happened that the pyramids are closed and no one enters, so this is our opportunity to be among the first people to visit the pyramids after they were reopened to the public. >> reporter: for now, egypt hoping that with these attractions back in business, more tourists will begin to show up. michael holmes, cnn. you're watching cnn.

a 102-year-old woman from new hampshire who beat coronavirus is really, really inspiring. you want to meet her. and wait until you hear the odds they gave her of surviving the flu in 1918. her story is next. 1 in 5 people you meet wear dentures. yeah. that many! but right now, is not the time to talk about it. so when you're ready, search 'my denture care'. poligrip and polident. fixed. fresh. and just between us.

so washington redskins coach ron rivera says he is working with the team's owner and new names for the team. rivera is the son of a u.s. army officer told "the washington post" the new name should be a tribute to the united states military and reflect the tradition of native american service in the armed forces. now amid all the tragedy the coronavirus is causing around the world, there are some uplifting stories as well. yes, we promise. so now we've got to hear from a 102-year-old woman who surely can be called a survivor. she beat the 1918 flu pandemic. she has beaten cancer twice and now has beaten the coronavirus. as gary tuchman found out this week, she has also managed to stay in pretty good spirits along the way. >> reporter: we headed to new hampshire to meet this

remarkable woman who just recovered from the coronavirus. do you feel lucky today? >> i always feel lucky. i never had any real problems in my life. everything seemed to fall into place. >> reporter: an incredible attitude considering all that has happened in the life of 102-year-old gerry schappals. julia schaap peppals is her dau. >> she had the spanish flu which was a huge pandemic during the first world war. >> reporter: that's right. gerry schappals's family says she survived the influenza virus and the coronavirus in the early 21st century. back in 1918, little gerry and her mother both were seriously ill. >> and the doctor told her father, they're both going to die. prepare yourself, but that's my medical opinion. >> reporter: but daughter and

mother survived. gerry went to college, got a bachelor's and master's, became a teacher and married. they had two children and there are now three grandchildren and six great grandchildren. after gerry retired, she had breast cancer and colon cancer, and she beat both. can i call you gerry? >> delighted. >> reporter: it's delightful to meet you. >> thank you. >> reporter: how are you feeling? >> wonderful. >> reporter: you're an amazing woman. >> why? >> reporter: i'm going to tell you why. you're modest. but you had coronavirus and 101 years ago, you had spanish flu. and you survived it twice. you're an amazing woman. >> i am. >> reporter: gerry is a resident of the senior living community in nashua for several years now. >> hey, mom! >> reporter: on this day, her daughter came to pay a visit. social distancing and masks still required. so how are you doing? >> keep your mask on. >> yes, we have to keep the mask

on, yes. do you recognize the top? you should. i stole it from you. don't think you're getting it back. >> reporter: the employees of her senior community were upset and saddened when gerry tested positive for the coronavirus. but hen they told her the diagnosis -- >> she had an incredible attitude. and she took every day and said i guess i'm sick. they told me i'm sick, but i'm not sick. >> reporter: but like the spanish flu and the two bouts of cancer, 102-year-old gerry schappals managed to fend off the coronavirus as well. thanks for letting us meet you. thank you. >> my pleasure. >> reporter: gary tuchman, cnn, nashua, new hampshire. >> she is fabulous, isn't she? >> she is fabulous, isn't she? well, thanks for joining

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