Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
GOP Keeps Liz Cheney in House Leadership Post, Refuses to Remove Greene from Committees; Dr. Fauci: U.S. Not Vaccinating Quickly Enough to Stay Ahead of Mutations but Getting Better; AstraZeneca Drastically Slows Virus Spread; U.N. Chief: Myanmar Military Coup is "Absolutely Unacceptable"; Some Lawmakers "Betrayed" by Lawmaker's Impeachment Vote; Husband and Father Dies of U.K. COVID-19 Variant; Surge of Infections Overwhelms Japan's Medical System. Aired 2-2:45a ET
Aired February 04, 2021 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.
Coming up, America's Republican Party is at a crossroads over one of their own, conspiracy theorist and congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The Democrats are vowing not to wait any longer for the party to take action.
Then, AstraZeneca's researchers now say they have a vaccine that may reduce transmission. And Dr. Fauci says that is good news. But super contagious variants are an increasing concern. We will discuss.
Plus, a look at overwhelmed hospitals across Japan as the country faces its worst surge in COVID-19 cases.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CHURCH: Good to have you with us.
We begin with the Republican Party here in the U.S., at a crossroads, deciding whether to stand up for its conservative roots or follow outlandish conspiracy. Theories it was a split decision late Wednesday as House Republicans kept one member in her leadership role despite her choice to impeach Donald Trump. But they refused to take action against another who has supported outlandish and offensive claims. CNN's Ryan Nobles is on Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It took 4 hours but the House Republican conference on Capitol Hill has ironed out at least some of their issues. They voted overwhelmingly to keep Liz Cheney as the third ranking member of the House leadership. Now this was an important vote and it tracks back to the impeachment
vote where Cheney joined nine other House Republicans in voting to impeach former president Trump. The former president still enjoys a lot of support from House Republicans.
And there were many angry that Cheney took that vote, they demanded for her to be removed from her post. That led to this meeting which got heated at, times where many members stood up and yelled and angrily complained about Cheney voting to impeach president Trump.
But when the ballots were cast and they were all cast secretly, Cheney ended up holding onto her post comfortably, a vote margin of 145 to 60, to one member of Congress that voted present. That wasn't the only problem the House Republicans are dealing with. Instead they're also dealing with Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and those past comments that she's made that have been very controversial. It's led to Democrats calling for her to be removed from the House Education Committee and the House Budget Committee.
Now Republicans attempted to try and bring some kind of compromise, take her off the Education Committee and maybe put her on a differing committee. But House minority leader Kevin McCarthy could not strike a deal with the House majority leader Steny Hoyer.
So Democrats are going to move forward. Republicans plan to do nothing to hold Greene accountable for her actions. That vote will take place on the House floor on Thursday.
It is likely that even though she will have Republican support, that there will be enough Democratic votes to remove Greene from those committees --Ryan Nobles, CNN, on Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy is anxious to move on from the controversy. He said she has apologized to the caucus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA), MINORITY LEADER: I denounce all those comments that were brought up. Everybody, and she came inside our conference and denounced them as well. She said she was wrong, she has reached out in other ways and forms and nothing that she said has been based upon since she's been a member of Congress.
(CROSSTALK)
MCCARTHY: The voters -- the voters -- no, the voters decided she could come and serve.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: McCarthy also says if lawmakers are held responsible for their comments before they were elected, Democrats would have a hard time placing their members on committees. Coming up, Republican backlash in Washington State as some voters call
on their representative to resign after he voted to impeach Donald Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are a lot of voters, especially on the Right that have developed a personal connection with president Trump, unlike they have with any other politician.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: More on that later in the show. Stay with us for that.
The latest now on the COVID vaccine front. Russia's Sputnik V vaccine is earning praise after initially being criticized for its early rollout. "The Lancet" medical journal says that Sputnik V is almost 92 percent effective at preventing COVID symptoms and 100 percent effective preventing severe illness.
That is from an interim analysis of phase III trial data. In the meantime, America's top experts on infectious disease says that the U.S. is not vaccinating people quickly enough to stay ahead of new variants. But it is getting better. Dr. Anthony Fauci says that the best way to prevent mutations is to keep the virus from replicating.
[02:05:00]
CHURCH: And that is done with vaccinations and by doubling down on public health measures.
The COVID death toll in the U.S. has now surpassed 450,000. And in an effort to boost access to vaccines, the federal government is partnering with states to open 100 mass vaccination sites nationwide. Nick Watt has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFFREY ZIENTS, WHITE HOUSE COVID-19 RESPONSE COORDINATOR: We are at war with this virus.
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): But is this country vaccinating fast enough to keep ahead of the spread of coronavirus variants?
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We're not, because the situation is we still have a demand that far exceeds the supply.
WATT (voice-over): Before a return to normalcy, Dr. Fauci says at least 70 percent of the U.S. population must be fully vaccinated. Right now, that number is under 2 percent.
These shots reduce your risk of illness. But do COVID-19 vaccines also reduce the risk you could still harbor the virus and spread it to others? Early data suggests the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine does just that, reduces the risk of transmission.
RICHARD HORTON, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, THE LANCET: Which is a stunning discovery if that's true.
WATT (voice-over): This vaccine not yet authorized in the U.S.
FAUCI: I haven't seen the data yet. That's not yet been peer reviewed. I mean, I certainly have every reason to believe the Brits.
WATT (voice-over): The CDC now projects another 85,000 Americans might die before the end of the month. The big fear, those more contagious variants.
DR. JAY VARMA, SENIOR ADVISER FOR PUBLIC HEALTH, NEW YORK CITY MAYOR'S OFFICE: Plan on the assumption that there are a lot more cases of these variants than we know about.
WATT (voice-over): Why? Because only these six states have genetically sequenced more than 1 percent of their cases and that's how you find variants.
DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: Based on contact tracing and recent -- of recent variant cases, not wearing masks and participating in in-person social gatherings have contributed to the variant spread.
WATT (voice-over): Vaccination and mitigation efforts should focus on the 20 to 49 age group, say researchers who found younger adults are the biggest spreaders of the virus. So planning a big indoor Super Bowl party this weekend, maybe don't.
FAUCI: As difficult as that is, at least this time around, just lay low and cool it.
WATT: A big brewing issue here in the U.S.
When will most kids get back into school?
The director of the CDC made one thing abundantly clear. She says, it is not a prerequisite. We do not need to vaccinate all teachers before kids can safely go back to school. She says there is increasing evidence to support that -- Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And to talk more about all of this, let's bring in Dr. Ravina Kullar in Los Angeles. She's an infectious disease expert and epidemiologist.
Thank you so much for being with us.
DR. RAVINA KULLAR, EPIDEMIOLOGIST AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERT: Thank you, Rosemary, great seeing you again.
CHURCH: You, too. Let's start with this apparent good news. Researchers say that the
Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine might also reduce transmission of the virus as well as protecting us against it.
What is your reaction, given that some experts say that more data is needed?
KULLAR: I think that this is very promising; it's preliminary as Dr. Fauci stated, that this study has not been peer reviewed yet but it is very promising.
I mean, that is theoretically what we should see with most vaccines. Currently with the Moderna vaccine and the Pfizer vaccine, they were shown to prevent symptomatic COVID-19 infection but we still don't know if they prevent transmission.
So it's very nice seeing some preliminary data that shows that Oxford AstraZeneca's vaccine actually prevents transmission. I mean that is the only way that we are going to get to actually curbing this virus, is by these vaccines showing prevention of transmission.
So in my eyes, this is a very positive sign that we are seeing with that vaccine. I hope that it gets peer reviewed and it does show that these results are actually true.
CHURCH: All right.
When would you expect to know for sure whether transmission can be reduced?
KULLAR: Yes. I think that we should see that in the next month or so. And I think we are already seeing some preliminary data from Israel. Israel is one of the top countries that has been able to vaccinate the most number of individuals.
And there we have seen that those individuals that were vaccinated -- it was a lower number of individuals in the area that ended up acquiring the virus.
[02:10:00]
KULLAR: So there is a prevention -- there was a decrease in transmissibility of the virus. So I'm hoping that that is what comes out of the Oxford AstraZeneca study and that is what comes out of other parts of the U.S. There are many individuals who have gotten vaccinated.
CHURCH: That is certainly encouraging. In a recent Monmouth University poll, about 24 percent of Americans will avoid taking the COVID vaccine if possible, driven mostly by partisanship and misinformation.
How do you counter this and encourage trust in the vaccines to ensure enough people get vaccinated to achieve herd immunity?
KULLAR: Yes. I think it is, first of all, going to have to be as health care workers being the individuals vaccinated first. What you seeing is a public that are vaccine hesitant as well as health workers that are.
So if health care workers serve as a good example to the public, showing that these vaccines are safe, there are rigorous trials that were done, it may have been done in a very short period of time but that is actually the power of science.
The scientists worked day and night, really wanting to get these vaccines approved and getting the trials done. And it's having trust in these factors and showing that these are actually safe vaccines that individuals should take.
CHURCH: Yes, I mean trust is critical here, isn't?
And a new study shows that 20- to 49-year-olds in the U.S. are responsible for about 76 percent of COVID transmissions.
What can we learn from this, particularly as Americans prepare to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday at potential superspreader events?
KULLAR: I think that that is very concerning, Rosemary. I think that, just in that younger adult patient population 20 to 49, they're the ones that have mass gatherings. They are the ones that are loosening infection prevention guidance in terms of not wearing masks, having mass gatherings.
That is concerning. We in January saw the highest number of death rates, 100,000 people died just in the month of January. And as stated, the CDC estimates that over the next 24 days, we will see 85,000 more deaths.
With the Super Bowl coming about, which is almost considered a national holiday here in the U.S., we really need to hunker down, do not have those mass gatherings, make sure you only stick around with those individuals who are in your COVID bubble, your immediate family and do not have those mass gatherings. This is not the year to do it.
CHURCH: Yes. Hopefully, people will heed your warning. Ravina Kullar, joining us live from Los Angeles, many thanks.
KULLAR: Thank you Rosemary.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Well, days after the military seized power, charges are filed against de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The Latest developments just. Ahead
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:15:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING) CHURCH: Days after Myanmar's military coup, police have charged de
facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi with violating import-export laws that is reportedly in connection with walkie-talkie radios found in her home. Suu Kyi, party leaders and members of parliament were all detained in Monday's raid.
Internet access is still disrupted. But there have been limited protests. Doctors are pledging to go on strike, despite the pandemic. Medical workers in Yangon wore red ribbons to protest the coup. Paula Hancocks is following developments from Seoul. She is joining us now live.
What's the latest on these charges against Aung San Suu Kyi?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What we're hearing at this point -- and this is reported by Reuters -- is she has been arrested for illegally importing communications equipment. Reuters is citing documents; CNN has not been able to independently verify this. But these documents do allege that there are 6 walkie-talkies that were found in Aung San Suu Kyi's residence during a search. They were allegedly illegally imported and used without permission. Human rights activists say these are trumped up charges, that Aung San Suu Kyi and those in her party who were detained should be released immediately.
What we know from her spokesperson earlier in the week is that he was saying that it is believed that she will be detained for 14 days and that she is being held in her residence. We do not know whether she has been moved since those arrest charges were filed by police, according to Reuters.
One thing we are watching as well, and communications are an issue at this point, is we are seeing what sort of protests are on the streets of Myanmar. We know that in the second biggest city of Mandalay, there have been protests this Thursday.
We saw chanting and banners say that we are protesting peacefully. We demand Aung San Suu Kyi be released. And also on Wednesday we saw some medical staff that were protesting the fact that she had been detained. Let's listen to what one of those medical staff are saying.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I don't want my children to grow up under military reign. I want to be a good mother, a responsible citizen and a good doctor as well. I've already explained to the public that I'm participating in a civil disobedience movement. They all support our movement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANCOCKS: Now it's worth mentioning that even though Aung San Suu Kyi did have a fairly remarkable international fall from grace, within Myanmar itself, she is still extremely popular. it will be very interesting over the coming days, which we are monitoring closely, whether or not there will be a lot of people coming out into the street to protest the military and their early morning coup on Monday morning.
So it's also an issue, though, looking at the social media sites, we know that the military has been trying to suspend the sites. The telecom company within Myanmar saying that they have been asked to take down Facebook and block access to some of these sites which they believe was against rights and human rights that they did have to go ahead with it on Wednesday they say.
But certainly it will be an issue getting information and for those within the country to be able to communicate with each other -- Rosemary.
CHURCH: Indeed, many thanks to Paula Hancocks for that live report.
Let's talk now with Jared Genser. He's an international human rights lawyer who previously served as pro bono counsel to the de facto leader in Myanmar between 2006-10, before she came to power. He recently wrote this op-ed for cnn.com and joins us from Washington, D.C.
Good have you. With us.
JARED GENSER, INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER: Thanks for having me.
CHURCH: Myanmar's military staged this coup Monday, arresting Aung San Suu Kyi and others, declaring a one-year state of emergency and claiming that they would hold new elections and hand over power to the winner.
What is really going on here?
Why is this happening?
GENSER: I think a lot of people had thought that she had made accommodations with the military that would provide incentives, giving them a free pass on genocide.
[02:20:00]
GENSER: Not saying or doing anything about the massive military conglomerates that have made a fortune for the military and funded weapons and corruption and a range of other accommodations.
Ultimately what people failed to calculate or consider was the fact that the current HEA of the Myanmar military had his own personal mission. He was facing mandatory retirement in July. He wanted to be president and was quickly shot down with that idea. The military supporting the political party (INAUDIBLE) but only got 7 percent of the vote of the seats in parliament. He saw no way forward, especially given he himself was facing potential genocide charges abroad.
So ultimately when she was unwilling to yield to the military and have this new electoral count (INAUDIBLE) fraud and spanning the beginning of the new parliamentary session, he then decided to make his move. CHURCH: And, of course, even though Myanmar has held democratic
elections in recent years, the reality is that the military has always been in control and that was made very clear when Suu Kyi fell from grace for her unconditional support of the military's brutal and deadly crackdown on the Rohingya population.
How expected was this takeover?
GENSER: I don't think it was inevitable but they always have that option. It was the military itself that wrote the 2008 constitution that was then jammed through with a so-called referendum that international servers (INAUDIBLE) free or fair.
And the constitution (INAUDIBLE) provisions in it, for example the military had 25 percent of the seats in parliament. You can't amend the constitution with more than 75 percent of the vote for example.
There's also this provision which they purported to invoke though they didn't do it properly in this particular case, where if an emergency is declared, the military actually assumes all of the powers of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the country, which is frankly outrageous.
But they actually miscalculated in writing this constitution because under the constitution, only the president can actually declare a state of emergency. So the president himself was arrested and forcibly deposed. So even by their own claims, it is still unconstitutional. They're not even following that constitution itself.
CHURCH: Right. Monday's coup came after Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won a landslide in November's election. Parliament were about to approve those results and install a new government.
So what should the international community be doing about a military coup that cast aside the results of a free and fair election?
GENSER: Well, I mean, I think, while it's great that you see a range of international actors, the United States, the G7, European Union, all calling this a coup, that is not remotely (INAUDIBLE). If you change what is going to happen in the country because (INAUDIBLE) firmly in charge of the military.
So one is sanctioning these military owned conglomerates that owns hundreds of companies in the country. That could cut off the funding the military is using off book to fund its weapons.
Another would be to advocate for a global arms embargo on the military and refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court.
These will be hard to achieve because of the Security Council, the United Nations includes China and Russia, which are not likely to support that. But I think the big variable that needs to be considered and perhaps this plays out in the coming days is what the people of the country actually do.
They historically stood up against military dictatorships and have a long history of unfortunately hanging. Them
CHURCH: And U.N. secretary general Antonio Guterres says that the Myanmar coup is absolutely unacceptable. But he also criticized Aung San Suu Kyi for being too close to the military.
Where does all this leave Suu Kyi and other officials?
GENSER: It is interesting for me personally. I was covering her story when she got out of house arrest. It's been very disconcerting and really terrible how she has been complicit in the genocide of the Rohingya people (INAUDIBLE) court.
I tell people this isn't about her anymore, not for the moment at least. This is about the people of Myanmar, more than 55 million, who turned out en masse to vote and voted overwhelmingly to put her back into power.
[02:25:00]
GENSER: So we do need to deal what has been happening with the Rohingya, a million refugees, thousands of displaced people in horrific conditions that need help and support. But we're not going to see a brighter future for the country if we can't restore democracy to it and if the military cannot be forced to go back to the barracks.
CHURCH: Of course we will continue to follow this story. Jared Genser, thank you so much.
GENSER: Thank you.
CHURCH: It has been 3 weeks since the House voted to impeach Donald Trump and some Republican voters say that they still feel angry and betrayed. We will explain why.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.
Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives will vote in the coming day on the resolution to remove controversial Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene from her committee assignments.
Greene, here on the right, has backed and repeated conspiracy theories, including claims that school shootings were staged and 9/11 was a hoax. Her party did not strip her from her committee jobs.
Meanwhile, Republicans voted overwhelmingly to keep Representative Liz Cheney as their party chair. Someone wanted her removed from the post after she voted last month to impeach Donald Trump.
And there are some Republican voters who now say that they feel betrayed after their representative from Washington State voted to impeach Trump. Kyung Lah has more on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back to the bottom line News Radio 610 on a Monday morning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a bottom line on News Radio 610, KONA.
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the heart of Washington's fourth congressional district --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to open up the phones.
LAH (voice-over): -- a conservative stronghold --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're very strongly behind President Trump.
LAH (voice-over): -- continues to react.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The votes from Representative Dan Newhouse in favor of impeachment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to vote him out because he's a Democrat in sheep's clothing.
LAH (voice-over): Still angry at their congressman, Dan Newhouse, one of 10 Republicans in the House who voted to impeach Donald Trump.
REP. DAN NEWHOUSE (R-WA): There was a domestic threat at the door of the capitol and he did nothing to stop it. That is why with a heavy heart and clear resolve, I will vote yes on these articles of impeachment.
LAH (voice-over): It's not echoes of that applause here in this agriculture swath of central Washington state.
Republican county leaders are calling on Newhouse to resign. He says he won't, in this district that the congressman and Trump both won easily.
ROBB FRANCIS, KONA RADIO HOST: Betrayed is probably the word we heard the most from our listeners.
[02:30:00]
FRANCIS: Thanks for the call. Appreciate it.
LAH: When you say majority, what does majority mean?
FRANCIS: Probably, I would say, 85 percent of our listeners. There are a lot of voters, especially on the right, that have developed a personal connection with President Trump unlike they have with any other politician.
This is radio 610 KONA, your name, where you're calling from.
LAH: They're already turning to 2022.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will be voting for Mr. Brad Klippert.
LAH (voice-over): Washington State Representative Brad Clifford has already declared he is running, demonstrating with anti-abortion activists.
BRAD KLIPPER (R-WA), STATE REPRESENTATIVE: I'm Brad, running for Congress in the fourth congressional seat, yes, ma'am, in 2022. I'm running for the values and principles that I believe in, the values and principles of growth and prosperity that took place during President Trump's presidency.
Love you, ladies. Thank you. Have a great day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You too.
LAH: How did you respond when the congressman voted to impeach the president?
CHARLES SCHWAB, WASHINGTON STATE REPUBLICAN: He lost my vote.
LAH: Why would he lose your support completely because of this one vote?
SCHWAB: Because he has joined that group that is trying to destroy our president.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He needs to be in touch with his people and I think he failed to do that.
LAH (voice-over): Newhouse, a farmer and businessman from Sunnyside, Washington, was popular before this vote.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought he was brave and did absolutely the right thing to do.
LAH (voice-over): But even this supporter acknowledges in a place that remains firmly pro-Trump, 2022 may not be kind.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's going to be tough over here for him again, yeah.
LAH: Of course, there's a lot of time between now and November 2022. Supporters for Representative Newhouse say that is a lot of months and many votes for him to change some minds, but critics doubt that their support and their sentiments for Donald Trump will waiver between now and then -- Kyung Lah, CNN, Sunnyside, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: There are hopeful developments in the fight against COVID-19. A new survey of 15 countries indicates confidence in vaccinations that appears to be rising. The findings from Imperial College in London show that 54 percent of people now say they will get a shot if one is offered to them. That's up from 41 percent back in November. In the meantime, experts are expressing optimism over new data on the
Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine. Oxford researchers suggest that it may limit the transmission of the virus in addition to reducing the severity of the disease.
Findings from AstraZeneca released Wednesday as a preprint and are still being peer reviewed. But the editor-in-chief of "The Lancet" medical journal, Richard Horton, is lauding the findings.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD HORTON, EDITOR, "THE LANCET": This is a study that's actually undergoing peer review with us right now and the authors have released a pre-print because they think it is such an important set of findings.
So I want to caveat what I say by saying this has not been fully peer reviewed just yet. But what it looks like is that this -- the Oxford vaccine can reduce transmission by as much as two-thirds, which is a stunning discovery if that's true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Good news about vaccines is coming too late for many. More than 450,000 Americans have died because of the coronavirus. Every one of those numbers represents a family who has suffered an unimaginable loss and we wanted to introduce you to one of them.
In Birmingham, Alabama, Alfonzia Jackson started noticing some mild symptoms of COVID around Christmas. The 35-year-old father of two was admitted to the hospital on January 22nd, where doctors eventually confirmed he had contracted the COVID-19 variant first detected in the U.K.
CNN reached out to his wife, Ashley, as Alfonzia was still fighting for his life after a series of complications. Sadly, he passed away. His widow spoke with CNN's Brianna Keilar.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ASHLEY JACKSON, WIDOW OF COVID-19 U.K. VARIANT PATIENT: He started having COVID symptoms, but all the tests were negative. Made me concerned because he started to decline.
When we got to the hospital on that Friday and we thought it was COVID, turned out it was heart failure. Then on to liver failure and eventually having to be on the respirator and have the machine placed in him to support his heart and lungs.
Pretty much every day was like a roller coaster. You know?
One day went great. The next day went really bad.
It wasn't actually until after he suffered heart failure and then sort of like a cascading effect to his kidneys that he received a positive COVID test. When did you learn --
JACKSON: Yes.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: When did you learn it was this U.K. variant?
[02:35:00]
JACKSON: They told me the following Wednesday, which was very scary, because I don't have, we don't have pretty much information about that.
My first thought was, How, when did he get that?
Where?
And also, how many others have that same variant that are unaware?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: As states continue to report daily COVID-19 deaths, they're also beginning to identify deaths believed to be linked to the variant first identified in the U.K. As well as Alabama, officials have recorded deaths in New Jersey and in California.
Hospitals across Japan are struggling as the number of infections is surging. Coming up, find out what happens when you're sick with COVID- 19 with nowhere to go for care.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CHURCH: We are getting a better idea of the pandemic's strain on Japan's health care system. More than 8,000 people in 10 prefectures are waiting for space in a COVID hospital or an isolation facility. It shows how serious the state of emergency is as the country struggles. CNN's Selina Wang reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Su became sick with COVID-19, she felt helpless. A single mother of 2, she said she had no option but to isolate herself in this tiny room. Her kids, ages 3 and 6, slept alone in this living room for nearly 2 weeks.
Su, who asked not to be identified by her real name, because the stigma COVID still carries in Japan, says that since she has asthma and chronic bronchitis, her symptoms could suddenly turn worse.
"I wondered if I would wake up tomorrow."
She had a persistent high fever and trouble breathing but she said that she was not able to get guidance from her public health center in the prefecture. They could not speak directly to her case but said though they tried to contact isolating patients daily, the holidays were incredibly busy.
Japan is dealing with its worst wave of COVID-19 since the pandemic began. Hospitals are overwhelmed. Seriously ill patients are being turned away. Japan has just extended state of emergency in 10 prefectures for another month.
Su says that she was unable to find anyone to take care of her children. Thankfully, she recovered, thankfully but not without emotional. Scars
"I felt like I was abandoning my children. I was feeling sick in terrible condition. But I felt more pain leaving my children alone."
More than 8,000 people across 10 prefectures who are positive for COVID are waiting for a hospital bed or space at an isolation center.
That means more people are dying at home from COVID.
[02:40:00]
WANG: Is it unthinkable that in Japan, a country with national health insurance, that so many people are waiting to get into a hospital?
DR. KENTARO IWATA, KOBE UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: 10,000 people of COVID- 19 had to stay home and they don't have access to a health care system, they can't be hospitalized and they can't even see doctors. And that is the harsh reality.
WANG (voice-over): Cases in Japan have more than doubled in the past two months to more than 390,000 cases.
Prime minister Yoshihide Suga even made a rare apology for the country's inability to provide the necessary care.
WANG: What exactly went wrong in Japan's response to the pandemic?
IWATA: We did not prepare the health care systems and this is the result of it.
WANG (voice-over): Dr. Hideo Maeda is the head of a public health center. Staff members have quadrupled since the pandemic start but it's still not enough. The calls are nonstop. In his word alone, every day, dozens of patients are waiting for hospital space.
DR. HIDEO MAEDA, KITA WARD HEALTH CENTER (through translator) Many staff members are working every day until midnight. On weekends and holidays, we are exhausted and overwhelmed and stressed.
WANG (voice-over): Yet, Japanese officials insist that the Tokyo Olympic Games will still be held this summer.
Su says that she still has some lingering systems from COVID but she is thankful to be hold her children again. When her isolation ended, the first thing they said to her was, "Ma, please hug me" -- Selina Wang, CNN, Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: A mass COVID-19 vaccination site opens at New York's Yankee Stadium with 15,000 appointments available in its first week. The mayor's office says the site was selected because the Bronx, where it is located, has a high percentage of people who test positive for the virus.
But Yankee Stadium is just one of many unique locations around the world being converted to mass vaccination sites. CNN's Robyn Curnow has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): All aboard this bus in France, the seniors taking their seats inside are not taking a trip but they are taking a big step. Protecting themselves from the coronavirus by getting vaccinated.
Many residents in this rural town do not have the means to travel to bigger cities to get inoculated. The initiative by the local government, this mobile vaccination site came to them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It is a very good initiative to have done this with the bus. Because honestly I wouldn't have gotten vaccinated right now. I would've waited because I would've had to go to the nearest big city.
CURNOW (voice-over): The Vacci Bus is just one innovative idea to make it easier for people to get the shots that are needed. To help slow the transmission of the coronavirus. Another incentive is to transform large places, that people are already going to in their communities into makeshift vaccination centers like cathedrals, cinemas, department stores.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is nice and open. Plenty of space for everybody. Good idea to use it if the film's not put on.
CURNOW (voice-over): Even some of the grandest places in the world are doing double duty like Sweden's Nobel Prize banquet hall. In previous years the scene of black tie galas packed with patrons, its purpose now is more humble but no less important.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have this amazing place that is empty right now but is also a citizen's house. I feel like we should use it.
CURNOW (voice-over): Using it is just what people are doing around the world. From this parking lot in Disneyland to Fenway Park, home of the Red Sox, to Lords Cricket Ground in the U.K. Where empty spaces that once filled us with joy, now fill us with hope -- Robyn Curnow, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Thanks so much for watching CNN NEWSROOM this hour it was great -- "WORLD SPORT" is next, I'll be back at the top of the hour.
