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Funeral Services Begin for Chief Palestinian Negotiator; New Study Shows COVID-19 Survivors Have Risk of Psychiatric Disorders; Biden Speaks to Allies; How Right-Wing Media is Encouraging Election Denialism; Biden Projects Calm as Trump Refuses to Accept Loss; World Biggest Online Shopping Event Underway In China; President Trump Still Refuse to Concede; Americans Skeptical of Coronavirus Vaccine; Europeans Having Second Thoughts of Vaccine Success; Four Hong Kong Officials Disqualified. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired November 11, 2020 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to you, our viewers joining us from around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber, live from CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
Ahead on CNN Newsroom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: So far, there is no evidence of any of the assertions made by the president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: President-elect Joe Biden says he is moving ahead, despite the Trump administration denying an election defeat.
Plus, Beijing flexes its political power, unseating pro-democracy lawmakers in Hong Kong and broadening powers for local authorities.
And countries prepare for a COVID-19 vaccine. This, as researchers say there may be even greater risks from the virus.
The COVID-19 pandemic is growing worse by the day here in the U.S. The country as quickly approaching 240,000 coronavirus deaths. And record number of people are now hospitalized.
President-elect Joe Biden has made it clear, the pandemic is a top priority for him, as he presses ahead with his transition to the White House. But President Donald Trump and his allies aren't making it easy for him. They continue to undermine the legitimacy of the election, delay the transition of power. Biden meantime is taking a calm and measured tone in the face of Republican resistance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do you expect to work with Republicans if they won't even acknowledge you as U.S. president-elect?
BIDEN: They will. They will.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Biden says the Trump administration's refusal to authorize the start of the official transition process hasn't prevented his team from moving forward, and when asked what he thought of the president's refusal to concede, well, he said this.
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BIDEN: Well, I just think it's an embarrassment, quite frankly. I know from my discussions with foreign leaders thus far that they are hopeful that the United States democratic institutions are viewed once again as being strong and endure. But I think at the end of the day, you know, it's all going to come to fruition on January 20th.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Now while Joe Biden calls the president's refusal to concede an embarrassment, a number of top Republicans are still backing Mr. Trump.
Here's CNN's Jim Acosta from the White House.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump and his GOP allies are stirring the 2020 election into something out of the Dystopian world of 1984, ignoring last week's results and pretending somehow, they won.
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MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration. We're ready. The world is watching what's taking place.
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ACOSTA: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo snapped at reporters who asked about the message being sent to the world, as the GOP refuses to accept reality.
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POMPEO: That's ridiculous. And you know it's ridiculous. And you asked it, because it's ridiculous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: President-elect Joe Biden tried to laugh it off.
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BIDEN: There is no evidence to any of these assertions made by the president, or Secretary of State Pompeo.
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ACOSTA: Vice President Mike Pence met behind closed doors with GOP senators, as the president sent a message of defiance from his social media bunker, tweeting, we will win. Though Mr. Trump has yet to face reporters, since last Thursday.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you being a sore loser?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: The president has dug in with the outright support of GOP senators.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senator, have you congratulated Vice President Biden, yet?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why not?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing to congratulate him about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Who are backing Mr. Trump's legal odyssey, in search of some kind of voter fraud case capable of upending the elections outcome. Even as the president's campaign has yet to prove anything is amiss.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president wasn't defeated by huge numbers. In fact, he may not have been defeated at all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says there is nothing wrong with that.
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SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MAJORITY LEADER: Until the Electoral College votes, anyone who's running for office can exhaust concerns about counting in any court of appropriate jurisdiction. It's not unusual. It should not be alarming.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ACOSTA: A key sideshow in the transition turmoil, Georgia's Republican senators have called on their state's secretary of state to resign after Biden's potential victory there. But here's the deal. Those two senators are still fighting for reelection, and alienating the president could upset his base of supporters.
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SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), SENATE MINORITY LEADER: Two Republican members of this chamber have called on their own secretary of state, a fellow Republican, to resign. For no other apparent reason than the fact that President Trump did not win their state.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Despite the GOP's antics, the rest of the world appears to be moving on, with leaders from U.S. allies, Britain, France, Germany, Canada, and Turkey, congratulating Biden. As some administration officials are refusing to go along with the president's farce.
Attorney General William Barr's call on prosecutors to investigate voter fraud. Prompted one senior Justice Department official to resign. Saying in a statement, having familiarized myself with a new policy and its ramifications, I must regretfully resign for my role as director of the election crimes branch.
The president's son, Don Jr., and his girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle have another hostile takeover on their minds as GOP sources tell CNN they may have their sights on leadership roles at the Republican National Committee, something Don Jr. denied, but it's a scenario that has some in the party cringing.
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KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE, TRUMPCAMPAIGN ADVISER: Ladies and gentlemen, leaders and fighters for freedom and liberty of the American dream, the best is yet to come.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Privately, Trump advisers are wincing at the idea of pursuing the president's legal challenges to last week's election results. As one adviser told me, quote, I'm not sure why the president wants a recount. It's like he wants to lose twice."
Jim Acosta, CNN, the White House.
BRUNHUBER: So, while the political fight rages on, so does the pandemic. New data now shows that more Americans are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 than ever before. On Tuesday, nearly 62,000 people with coronavirus were in hospital in the U.S. That's according to the COVID tracking project.
On average, more than 1,600 people with COVID are admitted to American hospitals each day. Now, despite those numbers, there are concerns that some may avoid getting a vaccine. Dr. Anthony Fauci says he hopes they change their minds.
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ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We have a lot of people in this country who may not want to get vaccinated right away. That's why we were talking that it might take well into the second and third quarter to finally get people to be convinced to get vaccinated. But for those who want to be vaccinated, and I believe the incentive to get vaccinated will be greatly enhanced by the degree of efficacy, when you hear something is 90 to 95 percent effective, it makes it much more likely that someone would want to get vaccinated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Now Dr. Fauci also says he believes a vaccine could be widely available by April. But with case numbers climbing steadily across the country, he said sticking to social distancing measures will be crucial.
CNN's Athena Jones has the latest.
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FAUCI: Help is coming, and it's coming soon.
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ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Dr. Anthony Fauci hailing the progress Pfizer has made on a coronavirus vaccine, but warning just because a vaccine is on the way that doesn't mean Americans can relax when it comes to masks and social distancing.
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FAUCI: We would likely be able to start dispensing vaccines in December and then progressively over the next few months. But in that interim, we could get into a lot of difficulty if we don't adhere to the public health measures.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: Those measures are more important than ever, with coronavirus infections rising in 44 states, and new daily cases topping 100,000 every day for the past week. Thirty-two states seeing their highest seven-day averages for new cases. Among them, Illinois, where infections have been climbing faster than any other state in the last week. The governor announcing new restrictions in some areas. And experts warn it could get a lot worse.
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LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: We really have to keep up our guard, because we are looking at another season, at least, or multiple seasons, but certainly this winter season, when we are right now on track to having maybe 2,000 deaths a day or 2,000 -- 200,000 new infections just this winter.
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JONES: That's 200,000 new infections a day, more cases mean more hospitalizations. Seventeen states reporting record hospitalizations, including Nebraska, where new restrictions including new rules on masks take effect Wednesday in Idaho.
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JOSHUA KEM, VICE PRESIDENT OF MEDICAL AFFAIRS, ST. LUKE'S HEALTH SYSTEM, EAST REGION: The numbers continue to be very high. We continue to have 50 plus patients with COVID in the hospital. And just for a reference point back in September, we were having maybe 10 or even less patients in the hospital with COVID.
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JONES: As more people are hospitalized with severe illness, the number of deaths also rises. In El Paso, Texas, hospitals have reached the brink. Officials adding four mobile morgues to the six already in place to handle the overflow. A county judge now likely to extend a two-week lockdown.
And to give you a sense of just how much and how quickly these case numbers are rising nearly everywhere, if you look at the five states with the lowest seven-day COVID test positivity rates, so places that we're doing well. On Friday, all five were under 2 percent positivity.
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Today, four out of the five surpassed that 2 percent positivity number. It's something that's raising a lot of concerns here in New York City where the positivity rate stands at 2.8 percent. If the seven-day rolling average hits 3 percent, schools will have to go to all remote learning, and the kinds of restrictions we saw here in the spring could return.
BRUNHUBER: In Europe, countries are already rolling out plans to procure and distribute a new Pfizer coronavirus vaccine. That's before it's even approved by regulators. The European Union would authorize a contract today for up to 300 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine. The U.K. government says it will procure 40 million doses. Some of those maybe available by the end of this year, but not all Europeans are convinced.
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ANNIE, PARIS RESIDENT (through translator): I think right now it's too premature. Personally, I won't be vaccinated. If I have to die, I'll die my way and not suffer by being tested with a vaccine.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: All right. Let's get a view now from Europe where our Salma Abdelaziz is live in London and Fred Pleitgen is standing by in Berlin. Fred, we'll start with you. When it comes to deploying the vaccine, one can imagine all the various member countries jockeying for position. What is the E.U.'s plan here?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the E.U. wants to deploy the vaccine, Kim, in a very fair way. It wants to make sure that all the countries of the European Union, also smaller countries, get a hold of the vaccine. That's actually one of the reasons why it was purchased, or why it's being purchased by the European Union and not by the single member states, otherwise obviously it would be easier for large countries like Germany and France to secure large doses of the vaccine.
More difficult for smaller countries. And also, countries that are not in the same financial situation like, for instance, big economic powerhouse like Germany, France, and also, for instance, Italy as well.
What's the Europeans have done, and I sort of followed that process of the negotiations, as they signed a memorandum of understanding with Pfizer and BioNTech, which is the German part of that cooperation for this vaccine. About a month and a half ago, originally, they were talking about 200 million doses that they want to purchase.
Now they say that today they are going to sign a contract for the purchase of up to 300 million doses once that vaccine is approved. Listen really quick to what Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission said about this.
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URSULA VON DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: In the past months, the European Commission has been working tirelessly to secure doses of potential vaccines. We authorize a contract for up to 300 million doses of the vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer. This is the most promising vaccines so far. And once this vaccine becomes available, our plan is to deploy it quickly everywhere in Europe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: Now of course, the process is for all that are bit different here in Europe than they are, for instance, where you are in the United States. Kim. Right now, the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine which is by the way is called BNT162, is in a process called rolling approval here in the European Union.
Which means that as Pfizer and BioNTech get data for that vaccine, which so far has showed efficacy of over 90 percent, they immediately give that to regulators so they can be part of that process and then give its approval as soon as possible.
In the U.S. of course we know that they are aiming to apply for an emergency use authorization with the FDA. And yesterday I was actually on a call with the head of the BioNTech lab, Ugur Sahin, and he maintains that they might do that as early as next week. Kim?
BRUNHUBER: Interesting. All right. Thanks for that. So now let's turn to Salma. You are in the U.K. there. Vaccine before Christmas, they say, but still many hurdles I understand?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN PRODUCER: Absolutely. And of course, the U.K. has to operate independently than the rest of the E.U. But just like everywhere else, everybody is hoping, wishing, waiting for this vaccine to be approved.
Yesterday, the Health Secretary Matt Hancock briefed members of parliament. He said there is no guarantee, but he has briefed NHS, the country's national health service to be ready to roll out the vaccine from December 1. Again, no guarantee it would ready then, but he wanted the health system to be ready for it.
They've already began to divvy up who would get it first, that would be those elderly residents and care homes, and care home workers, and secondly healthcare workers. The U.K., as you've said, has ordered 40 million doses. And of course, since each person has to get two doses that's about 20 million people who could be vaccinated.
But it's important to remember, again, this is not going to be widely available until next year. And the U.K. right now is struggling to contain a very deadly second wave. Just yesterday, we had a 24-hour over 530 deaths were reported, over 20,000 cases in that single day, that's the highest numbers since May 12, when we were at the height of the pandemic.
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The prime minister and the government say that they have a new plan, a new strategy to get a grip on the virus, and that is mass testing. They begin a pilot program in the north of the country, that's where most of our coronavirus infection rates are.
Just last week, to begin to test the entire city of Liverpool. They have already expanded these mass testing sites. We now have over 60 sites, but it is still too early to tell if this is going to help contain the virus. We are also under nationwide lockdown.
So a lot of effort going in to try to bring these infection rates down, but they haven't been able to yet. Kim, just to give you an idea, the U.K., if it remains at these levels could exceed the worst- case scenario of 80,000 deaths from coronavirus.
BRUNHUBER: Wow, all right. Thank you very much, Salma Abdelaziz in London, and Fred Pleitgen in Berlin.
Well, as we reported earlier, a record number of people are now hospitalized in the U.S. due to COVID 19. Earlier, I spoke to a Dr. Murtaza Akhter, an emergency physician about the crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Thanks for doing this. So, as we heard there, hospitalizations have reached an all-time high here in the U.S. You are there on the frontlines, in the E.R. What are you seeing?
MURTAZA AKHTER, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN, VALLEYWISE HEALTH MEDICAL CENTER: Yes, you know, I hate to use anecdotal evidence. I was hearing about the numbers going up in the country, and I was originally thinking well, maybe, you know, maybe it won't get so bad over here, but it is looking rough in the E.R.
And the problem is a lot of these patients sometimes we even didn't think they have COVID. But we test them before we admit them, and voila, they do have COVID. And so, the real concern there is just a couple of weeks ago, COVID tests for me were coming back negative if I was testing people. Now I'm getting a lot of people who have the cough, the shortness of breath, the elderly were coming in with just diarrhea, and a lot of COVID tests were coming back positive.
So much so that we're, you know, I'm wondering if I'm being exposed without knowing it. So, it is really even on the front lines, looking quite a bit worse.
BRUNHUBER: Wow. All right. Are there any commonalities there? Any threads that you can pull together in terms of how people are being infected? Is it just that people are gathering more endures these days? Are they not taking it seriously? Do you have any idea?
AKHTER: Yes, I wish that I knew because I thought people kind of figured out spreading it. I will say a lot of people that I see have family members who are sick. Obviously, somebody in the household gets sick, it would be very easy to spread it to somebody else in the household. But a part of me thinks that people have just gotten tired of, you know, quarantining, and isolating, et cetera. And they are just, how long could this possibly going to last?
And they are just getting lacks, unfortunately, that is probably what is happening. And remember, you know, even if there are different states in the country, the virus doesn't know any borders. So if a neighboring state gets bad, it will spread over to the state you are in as well. I think that's a lot of what we are seeing.
BRUNHUBER: Now, there is good news, a potential vaccine looks much more effective than we thought it might be. But then, you know, to pour cold water on that, it probably won't be widely available, according to Dr. Fauci, until the spring. So what are your thoughts on those preliminary results? The timeline, and some of the limitations?
AKHTER: Yes. I mean, I could talk at least about the Pfizer vaccine. I mean, that's really exciting if it is really 90 percent effective. Now, again, it's a bit early to tell, that's what they are saying. I don't have peer study showing that. But remember, we are being optimistic with even like 70 percent effective.
So, to get to 90 it's almost shocking. And so that would be really awesome if it really do have that level of effectiveness. Obviously, we need more data. But boy, when people talk about immunity, this is the way to get to it. Not by getting people sick, but by having a very effective vaccine. And of course, we'll take time to get people vaccinated, it's not just
the vaccine that save lives, but actually vaccinating people that saved lives. And so that probably will need to happen as well. But if it really is this effective, boy, that will be a huge game-changer.
BRUNHUBER: Now, unfortunately, it won't be here at least for most of us for a while. So, until then, we'll have to keep using other methods like masks. So now, the CDC is now coming out with new guidance saying, wearing a mask it doesn't just protect others. It protects you as well.
So, another reason to wear them, we saw Utah issuing a mask mandate, so some states are taking action. But, you know, from a federal standpoint, with the election, and its aftermath, dealing with the COVID, you know, pandemic, it seems to have gone from a low priority, to basically no priority at all. So, is it going to have to be upped the states to act if we want to get a handle on this?
AKHTER: Well, it goes back to what I was said earlier. Just because we have different states in the country, it doesn't mean the coronavirus cares. It will easily cross state borders because it knows no borders. And so, I think if every state did what it wanted, you have the issue we have in this country.
When you have a federation of states, the virus goes wild. So, I really do think every state needs to have a mandate, and whether that's from a federal decree, or from every governor working together, that could be determined.
[03:20:01]
I'm not a politician. But I do know this. The virus doesn't care. It will spread, it will find a host. And so, everybody really needs to do their part to wear masks when they're gathering. And ideally, just not been gathering at all if possible.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, that's exactly it. I mean, over the holidays, Thanksgiving here in the U.S. coming up, experts are worried about, you know, given the huge rise in cases. You know, I was talking to mayor of Sacramento, Darrell Steinberg, came right to the point with a tweet yesterday. So, I want to read it here.
He said, I cannot say clearly enough. For God's sake, stop gathering. We are doing pretty well with masks and social distancing. It's not enough. Does he have it right?
AKHTER: Yes. He nailed it. You know, whether it's for God's sake, or for our sake, the ones who are actually susceptible to getting the disease. Gatherings are a bad idea. There are some cases where, you know, maybe there is no choice. But by and large, gatherings don't need to happen.
It's one Thanksgiving, out of hundreds of years of them that would have them. If one Thanksgiving doesn't happen, you will survive. But if you get COVID, you may not. So just this one time, maybe this one year, especially if the vaccine really does pan out, just skipping one year of holidays. I know it sucks, but it's better than getting sick and it's better than infecting others. I think -- I think the mayor nailed it. And I wish everybody would view it that way.
BRUNHUBER: Well said, good advice, thank you so much, Dr. Murtaza Akhter, we appreciate it.
AKHTER: Thanks for having me.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Still to come, Hong Kong is trying to disqualify politicians after a new ruling from Beijing. We'll have the latest after the break. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Hong Kong's government has disqualified four members of its legislative council. The move came immediately after Beijing ruled the city could strip local politicians of their credentials if they were found to be supporters of Hong Kong independence.
CNN's Kristie Lu Stout is following the story from Hong Kong. A surprising move to some of us, perhaps not so for some in Hong Kong --
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
BRUNHUBER: -- but certainly disturbing.
LU STOUT: A very significant political move and day here in Hong Kong, as there are four opposition pro-democracy lawmakers have been immediately disqualified after trying to stop legislative body, the National People's Congress standing committee passed a resolution, allowing Hong Kong authorities, this is the government of chief executive Carrie Lam, to immediately disqualify lawmakers believed to be endangering national security.
Now the four opposition lawmakers who are already disqualified are Alvin Yeung, Kwok Ka-ki, Dennis Kwok, as well as Kenneth Leung. Now, Kwok Ka-ki took to Twitter within the last few hours to provide his response. And also, to issue a farewell of sorts. We'll bring up his tweet for you. He writes this.
[03:24:58]
It has been an honor to have served the people of Hong Kong in LegCo, that's the parliament here in Hong Kong. I like to thank my family for their unwavering support and my team for their hard work. History will hold those in power to account for as long as we hold our core values dear. A new hope will emerge.
Now within the last hour, Hong Kong's top leader, chief executive Carrie Lam just finished a very lengthy press conference, in which she defended this decision. And this is how she rationalized it. You know, she said that lawmakers who do not respect China's sovereignty, quote, "cannot generally enact the basic law. There's many Constitution here in Hong Kong. They can't genuinely perform their duties as legislators."
Now I also spoke to one of the remaining pro-democracy opposition lawmakers in Hong Kong, Claudia Mo, for her response to this. She said she wasn't surprised by this at all. Take a listen.
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CLAUDIA MO, HONG KONG LEGISLATOR: Well, the whole thing is not unexpected. Once again, it's part of the oppression tactic and this time, in particular they think they have practically announced, or founded the death nail for Hong Kong's democracy fight. Because from now on, anyone deemed to be politically incorrect, seem to be unpatriotic will not be allowed to even run in the election, let alone not taking any public office. So, that's the whole point. We're all slightly shaken that we remain undeterred.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: You know, earlier this week, Hong Kong's 19 pro-democracy lawmakers have said that they would resign en masse if Beijing moved to disqualify any of them. As of today, four have been disqualified immediately because of this resolution that was passed in Beijing. The 15 remaining, including Claudia Mo, she told me that they do plan to resign en masse later today once they can access the legislative chamber.
And when that happens, that will be it. That will be the end of one of the last remaining arenas for opposition here in the territory. Back to you, Kim.
BRUNHUBER: You know, a real chilling effect there in Hong Kong. Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong, thank you so much that. I appreciate it.
You are watching CNN Newsroom.
Funeral services should be getting underway for a chief Palestinian negotiator Saed Erakat. We'll take you live to the West Bank.
Plus, a new study finds COVID-19 survivors are at higher risk of developing anxiety, depression and other psychiatric disorders. I will speak with an author of the study, next.
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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back. I'm Kim Brunhuber and you're watching CNN Newsroom.
Funeral services are underway in Ramallah for Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. We should have live pictures shortly. Erekat died on Tuesday after contracting COVID-19 and suffering organ failure.
He was a major voice in Palestinian politics and a fixture of peace negotiations with Israel since the 1990s. Erekat was also an outspoken critic of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and U.S. President Donald Trump's involvement in Middle East politics.
Journalist Elliot Gotkine joins me with more from Ramallah in the west bank. The two state vision was his life project when he didn't leave to see realized. How is he being remembered today?
ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Kim, he is being given full honors there. In Ramallah, the casket containing Saeb Erekat is due any moment now. They're actually been holding a bit of a ceremony for Yasser Arafat, who is buried in the same compound there, the Muqata, and that's where his mausoleum is. And it's actually 16 years to the day since Yasser Arafat died. So, a very poignant day for Saeb Erekat to be buried.
He was, of course, a close confidant of Yasser Arafat and also the current Palestinian authority president Mahmoud Abbas. So, when the casket containing Saeb Erekat arrives at the Muqata, the entire Palestinian leadership will be there to pay their respects to him. He will receive full military honors, again, reinforcing the significance of the life that Saeb Erekat lived, and his role as the chief Palestinian negotiator for some four decades, since that role even became a thing, and as someone who was really seen as someone that other leaders could do business with.
He was frequently on international television networks, earning him the moniker, Mr. CNN. And he had made tributes to him given by Mahmoud Abbas, for example, describing him as the great fighter, son of Palestine and saying that his death is a great loss for Palestine and the Palestinian people.
And we've heard from some Israelis as well. Tzipi Livi, former Foreign Minister, said that she was saddened by his death and recalled that Erekat often said that reaching peace was his destiny. And in recently, even when he was unwell, when they spoke, she recalled that he said to her, I am not finished with what I was born to do.
We also had condolences from government minister Amir Peretz of the Left to Center Labor Party, and also the left wing Meretz party leader describing Erekat as a statesman and peacemaker.
But as you say, he was not a fan of Prime Minister Netanyahu. And I think the feeling was mutual. We have not heard a beep from the Israeli leader today. Kim?
BRUNHUBER: All right, thank you so much. Always for peace there being celebrated. Journalist Elliott Gotkine, I appreciate it.
Well, earlier in the show, we told you about countries around the world lining up to order Pfizer's new vaccine once it's approved. And when you look at the numbers, well, it's no wonder.
There are now more than 51 million confirmed COVID-19 infections worldwide. That's according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has the most cases, with more than 10 million around the world. More than 1.2 million people are confirmed to have died from the virus. And to make matters worse, one in five people who have had COVID-19
are being diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder, that's according to a new study published in the Lancet Psychiatry Journal.
Researchers studied the health records of more than 69 million people. Almost 62,000 of them had tested positive for COVID-19, and they found coronavirus survivors were at a higher risk for developing anxiety, insomnia, or depression within three months of infection.
Well, joining us now is Paul Harrison, professor of psychiatry at the University of Oxford. And he is one of the authors of that study. Thank you very much for taking the time to join us. Tell me more about that study, sort of about the data that you looked at and what you found?
PAUL HARRISON, PROFESSOR, PSYCHIATRY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD: Sure. So like many people, we, as a country, are being concerned that COVID was going to leave survivors of increased risk of mental health problems cited for the first time of occurrences.
And so, we took a part of this very large (inaudible) network trying to analytics, which had access to say, as you mentioned, 69 million patients, 62,000 of whom had had COVID-19.
We really ask a very simple question that is, in the three months after COVID, how many of them developed a psychiatric disorder either for the first time or indeed as a recurrence?
And so we ended up with the numbers you reported, with the majority of problems being to do with anxiety, but also to do with depression, insomnia, and some other less common conditions too.
BRUNHUBER: These people were not just, you know, people who had been admitted to hospital, right?
HARRISON: No. That's right. We found the risks were slightly higher in people who had been in and after acquire hospital admission or intensive care. But essentially, these findings were regardless of the apparent severity of the COVID.
[03:35:05]
So, we still saw associations even in people who began to appear to needed be admitted in a hospital or have any healthcare at all as a result of their diagnosis of COVID-19.
BRUNHUBER: That's interesting, you know, when I first read these results I thought, well, that makes intuitive sense. You know, people who are diagnosed with a serious, potentially fatal disease, might have more, you know, anxiety or even depression perhaps because of, you know, isolation and so on. But the fact that it's associated with higher rates of dementia as well. Do your findings suggest that the virus physically affects the brain?
HARRISON: That's the -- I think that's a key question. It is important to emphasize at a study that or just simply observing the diagnosis that are being made. I can't answer that question, but I think it is certainly possible.
And in the case of dementia, we'll be particularly cautioned interpreting the result because, alone, they do seem fatefully quite worrying. It's possible that some patients who are presenting because they had a diagnosis of COVID-19 may be seeing a health professional for the first time in a while.
And so, that appointment brought to attention the fact that they may have had cognitive problems or dementia which hadn't being diagnosed previously.
So, whether COVID is really producing dementia in a direct, if you like, brain mediated way I think requires further study. For certain (inaudible), it might, but I think our data, we would interpret very cautiously particularly with the regard with the dementia risk and its interpretation.
BRUNHUBER: You also found sort of the reverse of this that those with existing mental health issues also appeared to have an increased risk of contracting the virus. Do you have any idea why?
HARRISON: Actually, we were much more surprised by that finding. Although just in the last couple weeks, another large American studies has found much the same observation. So, I think, again, there are two potential -- two potential kinds of explanations because the findings itself appears to be quite robust. It's the interpretation that's the question.
The first possibility is that maybe there is something about the biology of mental illnesses or maybe their treatment that puts people at a greater risk of contracting the virus like the COVID-19. On the other hand, perhaps more likely, there may be something else that distinguishes people with mental health difficulties from those without.
It's not their simple physical health because we control it for that but things like lifestyle factors, socioeconomic circumstances, a range of other factors which might affect people's risk of COVID that we should also common on people with mental illnesses might underlie at least part of the information.
BRUNHUBER: Just before we go, we don't have much time, but just any advice for people out there given what you found.
HARRISON: Well, I think certainly when after COVID feels once developed significant anxiety and depressive symptoms I would encourage people to get whatever health care is appropriate to their circumstances on where they are living. Because we do have effective usually psychological treatment for anxiety and depression and insomnia. So they are not problems one should sort of feel when he is going to be stuck with. They can be dealt with.
I'd also just point out from this study which only goes up to three months. We don't know where the problems is going to go on getting worst, so indeed in many people may settle down. And these might be relatively self-limited conditions. I think as many of the situations, if the problem persists, seek help from a health professional.
BRUNHUBER: So many unanswered questions, but very interesting research there. Thank you very much Professor Paul Harrison. We appreciate it.
HARRISON: Thank you.
BRUNHUBER: Still to come, Joe Biden reaches out to allies around the world to let them know foreign policy will be very different under his watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, 2020 PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: First of all, I am letting them know that America is back. We are going to be back in the game.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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[03:40:00]
BRUNHUBER: President-Elect show Joe Biden has received more votes than any U.S. presidential candidate in history, more than 77 million and there are still some remaining ballots to count. Biden locked up the Electoral College vote on Saturday win Pennsylvania put him over the top with 279. Now CNN has not yet called a winner in four states where the margins are razor-thin.
Biden is also leading the popular vote nationwide by nearly 5 million votes over President Trump. Right now he has secured 50.7 percent of the popular vote. Meanwhile, President Trump and his allies in the right-wing media, well, still are not willing to accept the fact that he lost the election. CNN's Brian Stelter reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Many are trying to steal this election from President Trump.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: This is the 2020 form of birtherism, its election denialism. Delegitimizing a Democratic leader. And it's happening everywhere. From Fox News to Facebook, from talk radio to Twitter. On Tuesday, 8 of the 10 top performing link posts on U.S. Facebook page were from President Trump, his evangelist supporter Franklin Graham, and right-wing commentator Dan Bongino.
DAN BONGINO, NRATV CONTRIBUTOR: The election oddity is keep adding up.
STELTER: Unproven claims and innuendo about mass voter fraud are fueling right-wing talkers like Bongino.
BONGINO: There are way too many questions here.
STELTER: And he's telling his fans not to give up.
BONGINO: I'm not going anywhere, you're not going anywhere.
STELTER: Conspiracy theories about mass voter fraud are spreading widely on social media. This genie left the bottle days ago.
SEAN HANNITY, FOX HOST: Trump still has a path to victory.
STELTER: Trump's friends on Fox are telling millions of viewers that Democrats are cheaters. That big cities are voter fraud factories, and that Trumps lawsuits are serious.
LOU DOBBS, LOU DOBBS TONIGHT SHOW HOST: You have courts defying public courts within the state without any consequence. It's outrageous.
STELTER: And this content is racking up big audiences on Facebook and on Twitter. Some of it is hard to fact check, because it is sort short on details, heavy on innuendo. But these toxic claims are reaching Trump, misinforming Trump and his fan base, and garnering retweets from the president. Trump dead-enders are digging in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've not conceded anything.
STELTER: Stoking grievances, and swearing that Trump could still be a winner.
GREG GUTFELD, FOX THE FIVE SHOW HOST: All of the weirdness went in one direction, so I think I have proved that this election is fraudulent.
STELTER: Now that was Fox's Greg Gutfeld. He'll say he was just joking, but the fact that the matter is the five stages of grief are very evident in right wing media right now. There's a lot of denial, a lot of anger. There is some bargaining, a little bit of oppression. But so far, I am not seeing the final stage that would be acceptance. I'm not seeing acceptance in pro Trump, right-wing media, at least not yet. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Despite the Trump administration doing its best to sow doubts about the results of the election, a new Reuters IPSOS poll shows where America stands. When asked who they believe won the election, 79 percent said Joe Biden. That included more than half of Republicans. 3 percent said Donald Trump, 13 percent said it is too early to call, and 5 percent said that they do not know.
America's closest allies seem to be ignoring President Trump's refusal to concede the election. Many have already been on the phone to congratulate Joe Biden. The president elect to calls from the leaders of France, Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom. And this picture was released by Emmanuel Macron, the Biden team says the pandemic, climate and economic recovery came up in all of the calls. Let's get more on the reaction, we have CNN's Nick Robertson standing by in London. But first, we will start in Paris. Where CNN's Melissa Bell. What more can tell us about Biden's call with Macron?
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kim, we know that the phone call lasted about 10 minutes. You saw that photograph tweeted out by the French president.
[03:35:00]
This is a call that would matter a great deal to the French. Bear in mind of course, not only that Emmanuel Macron clearly has made himself the champion of the Paris climate accords over the last few years. Well, remember, tweeting out fairly early that video in English, calling for the world to make itself great again just after Donald Trump have announced his decision to pull out.
Clearly a huge sigh of relief on the part of the French when it comes to Biden's determination to reenter the accord. He's already tweeted that he would -- within 77 days of that tweet that we saw last week.
But also, and I think more broadly, Emmanuel Macron has really made himself the champion, in the face of the withdrawal of the United States from multilateral actions of the need to have a global approach to a number of these issues. Not just climate change and the current pandemic, but that the idea of a multilateral approach. The one that had proceeded Trump's unilateral approach to international relations was one that Emmanuel Macron has made himself a champion for, and that he'll be very glad to have another partner in.
And also in that call, of course beyond the question of the renewal of bilateral relations and multi-lateral relations. The specific questions of the need for joint actions on questions like Ukraine, Syria and Africa. Remember that the French have been leading the fight against jihadists, in the (inaudible). Emmanuel Macron's has been fighting a lonely battle trying to get other countries involved over the course of the last few years. And he will be very glad to have some hint of action from the United States on that front.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, a very different diplomatic environment there. So, Nick, with Biden heading to the White House, what does that mean for that so-called special relationship between the U.S. and the U.K.? You know, we know that some members of Johnson's government had openly endorsed President Trump's reelection?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They had. Look, the special relationship is very important in the U.K. It may make him feel special in Europe, it makes him feel special to the United States. It is something that Winston Churchill helped foster during the 2nd World War.
So, it's got deep historic overtones. But it is of course, for every different leadership in the White House and on Downing Street to negotiate that sort of political differences, and try to keep that strong. Look, from that conversation, yes I would say that Boris Johnson had with Joe Biden, it was clear. You know, the transatlantic alliance needs to be strong.
They see eye to eye on climate change. Britain is hosting a climate change summit here, next year, Cup 26. He invited -- Boris Johnson invited Joe Biden to that. But, there are some significant disagreements. And you know, number one, Boris Johnson was very close politically to President Trump. In fact Biden had commented on that saying that Boris Johnson was something of a Trump, physical and emotional clone.
So, you look at the phone call and the different read outs of that Boris Johnson office and Biden's office gave on it. And the glaring gap in the narrative there is around the most important issue for Boris Johnson. A trade deal with the United States. Now, Joe Biden has warned Boris Johnson, you will not get an easy trade deal with the United States, if during your Brexit process, you damage the Good Friday peace agreement in Northern Ireland.
Now, Boris Johnson side, recalling yesterday's phone call did not mention any of that. Joe Biden's side of the call did. And if you look at the call that Biden had with the Irish Prime Minister, Taoiseach Micheal Martin and that was central to their conversation. Joe Biden's Irish roots and the strength and the importance of that Good Friday agreement.
So, Boris Johnson is really on notice. That he is going to have to shift up a few gears to sort of, if he wants to continue to have a special relationship across all areas, specifically that trade deal with the White House. It is in the works, but this is going to be a different and an adjustment for Boris Johnson.
BRUNHUBER: All right, well, thank you both, Melissa Bell in Paris, and Nick Robertson for your analysis, we appreciate it.
Last week, it was a super typhoon. And now, another powerful storm is taking aim at the Philippines. We are tracking typhoon Vamco next, stay with us.
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[03:50:00]
BRUNHUBER: Well, CNN's Anderson Cooper spoke earlier to the legendary journalist Bob Woodward about the president's refusal to accept defeat. Now listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB WOODWARD, WASHINGTON POST: I think the Trump presidency has been strategy free from the beginning. The theory of the case for Trump is to do what he wants on the latest impulse. He is obviously wounded here. I was very struck by what Secretary of State Pompeo said today. I don't know whether it was a joke. I think that he is thought to be a serious man. But he said he is preparing, they are preparing that the State Department for the transition to the second Trump administration.
Now, I know for a fact that Pompeo really thinks one of the president's jobs is to bring the country together. And what is going on here with Trump and the Republicans, one of Pompeo's favorite expressions is, that in Washington, there is lots of stray voltage. It is like in the movies, you see the sparks arcing and you think oh my God, we are in for trouble. I think all of the shenanigans here and the brooding, and self-pity by Trump, and the legitimate fear Republicans have from him is really stray voltage.
ANDERSON COOPER, BREAKING NEWS SHOW HOST: It is remarkable though, just at how many Senators are going along with this. Republican Senators who do know better, and who know the reality of what happened of the results of the election. And know that there isn't widespread voter fraud. The president has alleged widespread voter fraud for years and there is none evidence of it. His own commission was disbanded, because without finding any evidence of it.
And, it is really surprising, I guess it should not be surprising, but it is alarming -- and I am not sure that, I mean, how President Trump has set this up really kind of masterfully. And again, I don't know if it is a strategy or just chaos theory, but he has the Republican Party still beholden to him. There is no reckoning of the Republican Party.
WOODWARD: Yes. But think of those 71 million votes and step back a little bit. That is not just 71 million people thinking, well, I will take Trump over Biden. That is a devoted group, as we know. And a very potent group, politically, as Trump has demonstrated just in this election, in losing the way he did. And it was close, to a certain extent. And but indeed, it is over.
I mean, think of yourselves as a Republican Senator, who wants to have a future in politics. You are not going to publicly cross the president. And is your correspondents have accurately reported, and I find from talking to some Republican Senators, they know, they get it, that this is going nowhere unless there is something really unexpected that happens. But they are in a survival mode.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: That was Bob Woodward, speaking to our Anderson Cooper.
The world's biggest online shopping event is underway in China, known as singles day, the shopping bonanza is an informal anti-valentine's day tradition.
[03:55:06]
And this year, despite the economic turmoil from the pandemic, China's economy is bouncing back, and sales are on pace to break last year's record of 38 billion dollars. CNN's Selina Wang is live in Tokyo. So, how big is this going to be this year?
SELINA WANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kim. Well, it is not actually on pace, it has already broken those record levels from last year. In just the first 30 minutes of sales, although these numbers also includes these new three-day presale window that Alibaba created to boost post pandemic sales. Sales for singles day topped 56 billion dollars.
Now every, year consumers in China will delay their shopping. People wait for this day for those big major discounts. And you can virtually by anything. Cosmetics, groceries, electronics, vacation trips and even houses. And investors in the world look closely at this event as a barometer, for Chinese consumer spending. And this year, it is of a special importance to see how strong this post pandemic recovery is. And we are seeing a rather sharp v-shaped rebound, Kim?
BRUNHUBER: All right. So, tell me a bit more about that, about what impact COVID has had on singles day, and consumption habits generally in China.
WANG: Well, it is not just in China, but globally, we are seeing this pandemic accelerate the shift towards spending online. And that trend is expected to stay even after the pandemic, for singles day, Alibaba, livestreaming is also becoming a key growth driver, that's also been accelerated by the pandemic.
For instance, Kim Kardashian last year, in concert with a Chinese influencer, livestreamed on one of Alibaba's e-commerce platforms, and her entire stock of her perfume sold out in minutes. Now, analysts in China are also expecting luxury goods to be extremely popular on singles day, since Chinese consumers haven't been able to travel abroad, when they typically spent heavily on luxury products.
But a big question here, Kim, is whether this massive growth we are seeing is sustainable. And the question is how much of this spending is consumers stocking up, but still staying cautious. Kim?
BRUNHUBER: All right, thank you so much, Selina Wang in Tokyo. And that wraps this hour of CNN Newsroom. I'm Kim Brunhuber and I will be back in just a moment with more news, stay with us.
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