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Fans Mourn on the Passing of Football Legend Maradona; Biden on Losing Loved Ones Ahead of Thanksgiving; U.S. CDC Projects to 321,000 Deaths by December 19; Health Experts Urge Americans to Take Proper Precautions; U.S. Needs Consistent Stance on Virus Protection; Month- Long Partial Lockdown in England Ends December 2; Turkey Announces New Daily Cases for First Time in Months; Story of Hope and Ambition. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired November 26, 2020 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. You are watching CNN Newsroom. And I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead, a call for unity and a play for division. America's president-elect marks Thanksgiving with a plea for solidarity while the current president continues to falsely claim he won the election.
Tributes pour in for Diego Maradona as the world says goodbye to one of the greatest footballers of all time.
And the U.S. barrels toward the holiday season with few pandemic protocols in place, while European countries introduce plans to keep their distance safe.
It's Thanksgiving in the United States today. And the messages from President-elect Joe Biden and President Donald Trump couldn't be more different. In a Thanksgiving address on Wednesday, Biden said Americans can still be thankful despite the worsening pandemic and other social ills. He urged the country to hang tough in anticipation of promising new vaccines.
President Trump on the other hand remained focused on his political misfortunes. He again falsely claimed he was robbed of a second term. He made no mention of the soaring number of COVID infections and deaths in the United States, but the president did pardon Michael Flynn, his former national security adviser. Flynn twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his Russian contacts.
Joe Biden takes office in just eight weeks. His first order of business is tackling the pandemic, and now his transition team is finally getting access to the government data they need.
We get the latest now from CNN's Arlette Saenz.
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ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER (voice over): Ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, President-elect Joe Biden offered a somber message for a country gripped by COVID-19.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I know the country has gone weary of the fight. We need to remember we are at war with the virus, not with one another.
SAENZ: He addressed presented a stark contrast to President Trump who has not acknowledged the rising coronavirus cases and continues to cast doubt about the election.
BIDEN: Let's be thankful for democracy itself. In America we have full and fair and free elections. Then we honor the results. The people of this nation, and the laws of the land won't stand for anything else.
SAENZ: After weeks of delay, Biden's transition team is receiving its first briefings from the Trump administration on the virus. Hoping to get information on Operation Warp Speed and plans for distributing a vaccine.
CELINE GOUNDER, MEMBER, BIDEN COVID-19 ADVISORY BOARD: This is sort of like UPS delivery, there is a lot of logistics involved, so there's a lot of just fine detail we need to drill down on.
SAENZ: Biden's incoming White House chief of staff is also in touch with the nation's top infectious disease expert.
ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I've been in contact with Ron Klain, nothing substantive in the sense of plans, but just catching base with me, telling me that we are going to be talking about this very soon now that the transition is in process.
SAENZ: Before the holiday, the president-elect started filling out his cabinet, turning to Obama era officials to lead his national security and foreign policy teams. But Biden insists he is charting his own course.
BIDEN: This is not a third Obama term because there's -- we face a totally different world than we faced in the Obama-Biden administration. The president, President Trump has changed the landscape.
SAENZ: With more cabinet decisions in the coming weeks, Biden says he is open to naming a Republican to his team, even if they voted for President Trump.
BIDEN: I want this country to be united. The purpose of our administration is once again to be united. We can't keep this virulent political dialog going. It has to end.
SAENZ: In his Thanksgiving message, Biden expressed solidarity with those who have lost loved ones to coronavirus, sharing his own experience with loss.
BIDEN: I remember the first Thanksgiving. The empty chair. The silence. It takes your breath away. I'll be thinking and praying for each and every one of you at this
Thanksgiving. A true Thanksgiving table, because we've been there.
SAENZ: And with the altered holiday season approaching, Biden urged Americans to come together to fight the virus.
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BIDEN: I know we can and we will beat this virus. America is not going to lose this war. We'll get our lives back. Life is going to return to normal. I promise. You
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SAENZ (on camera): And the president-elect shared his own family's plans for Thanksgiving. They are foregoing that typically large Biden family Thanksgiving gathering and instead, it will be Biden, his wife Jill, daughter Ashley and their son-in-law Howard sharing this Thanksgiving holiday a much smaller gathering. Something he has in common with many Americans across this country.
Arlette Saenz, CNN, Wilmington, Delaware.
CHURCH: Well that is not the message from the Trump White House this holiday. The annual presidential proclamation flies in the face of old medical advice about avoiding large groups during this pandemic.
It reads, I encourage all Americans to gather in homes and places of worship, to offer a prayer of thanks to God for our many blessings.
President Trump used the holiday to let his one-time national security adviser off the hook for lying to the FBI about his Russian contacts. And that's a federal crime.
As CNN's Jessica Dean explains the president's pardon of Michael Flynn was done with an unusual omission.
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: We're told that the DOJ was not consulted about Trump's plans for a pardon, though they were given a heads up. And a Justice Department official put it this way, saying they would have preferred the matter to be resolved in court since they thought they would be successful in getting the case dropped, but ultimately, they say this outcome from Michael Flynn was inappropriate use of the president's pardon power.
CHURCH: Jessica Schneider there. And the president had planned to travel to Pennsylvania on Wednesday with his attorney Rudy Giuliani to meet with state Republican lawmakers about the election.
Instead, Mr. Trump phoned into the event and again falsely claimed he won the election by a lot, his words there. Pennsylvania has already certified that Joe Biden won the election. On another story, tributes and tears are flowing all over the world
for football superstar Diego Maradona. He died of heart failure Wednesday less than one month after turning 60. A genius on the pitch and a God to his fans Maradona was revered for bringing Argentina World Cup glory in 1986.
And in Naples, Italy, where he helped lead his club to two national titles. Maradona was also well-known for his wild behavior, substance abuse and subsequent health problems.
In the coming hours, he will lie in state for public viewing at Argentina's presidential palace, which has been lit up all night in the national colors.
And CNN world sports Alex Thomas joins me now from London. Good to see you, Alex. So, Argentina and the world mourning the loss of football legend Diego Maradona with tributes pouring from all across the globe. How will he be remembered?
ALEX THOMAS, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: Yes, there were great athletes, Rosemary. And then there are superstars. Once in a generation performer. We saw the sad death of Muhammad Ali only four years ago. Maradona for me is right up in that category.
And interesting for me to say that as an Englishman, because part of his career revolves around games against England, famously in the 1986 World Cup, which is credited as winning almost singlehandedly for his country of Argentina, beating England in the quarter finals with two goals that could not be more different.
The famous hand of God goal where he pretended to hit the ball over the England goalkeeper but got his hand there and pushed it over. Because as he admitted it afterwards Peter Shilton, the England goalkeeper would have beat him to it if he hadn't cheated. He thought it was OK because he got the desired result. He referred to it as the hand of God.
And in the English newspapers this morning, many are saying Maradona is back in the hands of God, now. Some institute says as a nation we should let it live, but it rather reflects the two sides of the Maradona coin, the sins and the genius of him.
Because later in that same game against England in 1986, he scored was arguably regarded as the greatest World Cup goal of all time. Taking the ball from his own half beating about six or seven England players and starting the ball into net.
Much as we see, Lionel Messi his countrymen doing at the moment. And the debate will go on forever as who is the greatest of all time, but I think we'll see in the days ahead the affection that Maradona, Rosemary.
The latest news we have had overnight of Maradona is that it's now emerged that his nephew Johnny Esposito was the last to see him late Tuesday night around 11 o'clock local time in Buenos Aires.
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Half an hour later we're told that he went to check on him. Remember, he was recovering from a surgery to remove a clot from his brain earlier in November. And when he was checked on around 11.30, he was unresponsive. He was given CPR, but they failed to resuscitate him.
So, dying very late Tuesday night into the early hours of Wednesday morning. And then the news emerging late on Wednesday. And as you say, we've seen these tributes not just from within the world of football and amongst current and former players who admired him or played against him. Not just from National Football Association federation sports brands but from way beyond the world of football or even sport.
India's prime minister one of those to pay tribute in the hours that have just gone by. We know that Argentina itself will be a national morning for three days. National flags being flown up half-mast. His body is lying in state at the presidential palace and later, Argentina time, Thursday morning, people can start to go and see him and pay their respects.
This is someone who was born to relative poverty in Villa Fiorito in the outskirts of Buenos Aires. Really a working-class hero made good. And I think, Rosemary, that's why people forgive the sins that he performed away from the pitch. The alcohol abuse, the drug abuse, the health problems, gaining weight.
You know, when he went to Cuba for one of his rehabilitation exercise, he became great friends with Fidel Castro which divided opinion between, you know, those that believed in capitalism versus communism. So, a divisive thinker in many ways but it hasn't stopped the affection from him, even those opponents that he beat on the football field.
CHURCH: Yes. Alex Thomas, thank you for bringing us some of those tragic details on the last moments of Diego Maradona's life. We appreciate you bringing us the latest on that.
All right. I want to return now to our lead story. The presidential transition in the United States. And Thomas Gift is the director of the Center on U.S. Politics at University College London. He joins me now from Oxford, England. Good to have you with us.
THOMAS GIFT, POLITICAL SCIENCE LECTURER, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE London: Good morning, Rosemary. Happy Thanksgiving.
CHURCH: And to you as well. So, we'll get to the presidential pardon in just a moment, but I do want to start with the president-elect's compassionate Thanksgiving address to the nation where Joe Biden called on Americans to unite and recommit to fighting the pandemic saying we're at war with a virus, not with one another.
It offered a stark contrast to what we have seen and heard from outgoing President Trump. How significant was Biden's speech at this critical moment in the United States history?
GIFT: Well, it's such a stark contrast, Rosemary, as you know. Presidents have a bully pulpit, they persuade, they communicate, they affect behavior. And Biden really is calling for sacrifice and a deference to public health experts which, you know, given where we are with the virus right now, I think couldn't be more important.
At the same time, it is worth noting the contrast where Trump is calling for Americans to gather. It doesn't get more conflicting than that. Clearly, it's a very difficult time for many in the U.S. right now as we head into the holidays against the fight with the pandemic.
But critics will say it's hard to fathom how the White House could in good conscience explicitly endorse contravening public health guidelines this Thanksgiving. Biden much different message. I think it's a really important harbinger for what we can expect going forward in his administration.
CHURCH: Yes. And of course, in the meantime, President Trump granted a full pardon to his first and former national security adviser Michael Flynn who pled guilty to lying to the FBI. With other pardons are likely and do you expect Trump to preemptively pardon himself? It is possible, and perhaps his family?
GIFT: It is possible. At this point it's really difficult to know what Trump may do or may not do, but with this president, I certainly wouldn't rule anything out. You know, this isn't the first time with Michael Flynn that we have seen the president pardon a longtime associate or colleague. We saw that with Michael Stone.
And I think you're absolutely right, that this is probably just start by all accounts who should be bracing for more pardons between now and January. Friends, allies, anyone who has been implicated in wrongdoing in order to protect the president.
CHURCH: Does this pardon for Flynn indicate that President Trump realizes the jig is up and he is leaving office in January, without him having to say it out loud to concede?
GIFT: Well, I think you are absolutely right, Rosemary. It does give some indication that he is expecting to leave on January 20th. And as a result, he is basically taking this approach at the moment.
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I think it is entirely possible that Trump won't explicitly concede. He'll just continue to rail against fraud and irregularities despite a lack of corroborating evidence, even now with the GSA and the administration engaged in a transition process, the fact that Trump hasn't acknowledge that he lost still remains really problematic.
The fact that he is maybe doing it implicitly through pardons and other things. Maybe a hopeful sign that at least he recognizes that his administration is going to come to an end but still, the way that he is doing it presents severe problems for the U.S.
CHURCH: So, do you think democracy in this country survived the stress test despite the baseless election fraud accusations asserted by the outgoing president? GIFT: Well, clearly, America's democratic institutions have been
tested over the last four years, that they didn't break, I think, is a testament to the endurance of the U.S. political system.
However, I think it's also true that, you know, much of what ails American politics right now and contributes to low prestige of the government isn't just Trump. Trump is both a cause, as well a symptom, but some of these challenges run much deeper.
Deep cultural cleavages between red and blue America. Biden is promising to heal the country, but the divides are significant and they don't go away simply because we have a new president entering office. So, it's an uphill battle for sure.
CHURCH: Yes, very sobering. Thomas Gift, many thanks for your analysis. I appreciate it.
GIFT: Thanks, Rosemary.
CHURCH: Well, more countries in Europe are deciding not to lift coronavirus restrictions just yet, even if that means making some sacrifices at Christmas. Coming up, what they are doing to avoid a third wave.
Ethiopia's prime minister says the last chance at a peaceful surrender is over. Its military is now poised to make its final assault against breakaway forces in the northern region. The latest developments coming up.
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CHURCH: Ethiopia's prime minister says the country's military is ready to begin the final phase of its campaign against the breakaway militia in its northern Tigray region.
CNN's David McKenzie is following these breaking developments from Johannesburg. He joins us now. Good to see you, David. So, what might the consequences of this action be?
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there is complete communications block out with the Tigray region. So it's very difficult to ascertain exactly what the buildup of forces are. But this is a truly significant moment because the prime minister, Abiy Ahmed has launched or has given the order to launch an attack on a major Ethiopian city. A city of some half a million people in Tigray where he says the leaders of that region have committed treason.
Now while he calls it a law enforcement action, this is clearly an attack building that could contain traditional or at least conventional military forces of which the Ethiopian federal government has significance forces at their disposal -- disposal.
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Now in that statement, the prime minister is careful to suggest that they will not harm innocent civilians. Historic sites. Religious sites. It will be all dependent on how they operate this campaign and what the response is from the Tigrayan officials and forces who also have considerable forces at their disposal.
This could become very bloody very quickly. And it's very hard to ascertain, as I said, because of that communications blackout, just how it will go. At this stage, the prime minister is resisting all efforts from the international community, the E.U., the U.N., the incoming security team of the Biden administration calling for talks.
He is adamant it seems, to end this militarily, and the civilians are already taking a huge amount of strain and fleeing in their thousands could bear the brunt of this fight. Rosemary?
CHURCH: All right. CNN's David McKenzie joining us live from Johannesburg. Many thanks.
Well, the number of new coronavirus cases in Europe is dropping, but Europe remains the largest global contributor to new COVID-19 deaths and cases in the past week according to the World Health Organization.
Frederik Pleitgen joins us now from Berlin on what's going on in Germany. So, talk to us, Fred, about what's planned there.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Rosemary. Well, one of the things that Germany obviously is witnessing over the past couple of weeks, the past couple of months is that the coronavirus cases in this country have stopped rising at an exponential rate like they had been in the time before.
However, the lockdown measures that were put in place by the Angela Merkel government aren't working the way that Angela Merkel had wanted to. So, yesterday they were very, very long negotiations here in Berlin between Angela Merkel and state governors on the best ways to try and bring those numbers down.
Now one of the things that they did agree on is that a partial lockdown that's been in place and that was actually supposed to end in a couple of days, is going to get extended all the way, almost all the way through December, but possibly also much longer than that into January. Let's listen into some of what Angela Merkel had to say.
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ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): The restriction measures implemented on October 28th will stay in place until December 20th for the time being. However, both the government and the German states assume that due to the very high infection numbers, these restrictions will have to remain in place until the beginning of January.
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PLEITGEN (on camera): By the way, at this very moment, Angela Merkel once again in German parliament speaking there saying that there might be a little bit easing of restrictions around Christmas time so that people can at least celebrate Christmas with their families. However, all that of course depends on the number of infections at that point in time.
However, there are going to be also some more restrictive measures that are going to go on place very soon as well. Fewer people allowed to be in one place. They were talking about five people in a private setting allowed to be together. And from no more than two households.
And then also further restrictions, and this is very important also in the run op to Christmas, for instance, in larger stores, only about half as many people as there are right now. Also, there is more restrictive mask mandates in areas where normally a lot of people conglomerate, which of course in Germany is mostly the sort of shopping centers and city centers that you have in so many European cities.
So, Germans certainly are looking at some more restrictive measures, and Angela Merkel at this point in time saying, an easing of restrictions simply is not possible because the numbers, while they are not going up as fast as they were before, aren't going down either.
And one of the things that we saw this morning, and I was just looking at the coronavirus numbers in Germany, it's around 22,500 new infections. Pretty much exactly the same number, Rosemary, as Thursday last week. So, you can see it's really plateaued here in Germany --
CHURCH: Yes.
PLEITGEN: -- but really isn't going down either. Rosemary.
CHURCH: It's such a delicate balancing act, isn't it? Fred Pleitgen, bringing us the very latest from Berlin. And we'll get a live report from the United Kingdom as well a little later.
Well, Christmas parties in Spain could look very different this year. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez says the government is considering limiting festivities to six people to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Mr. Sanchez mentioned the idea at a news conference with the Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, while the restriction isn't finalized, Sanchez says doctors and scientists across the country supported.
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And Still to come, football great Diego Maradona's special relationship with Cuba and How his passing has shattered fans in Latin America and around the world.
And millions of Americans are traveling for Thanksgiving despite a surge in COVID cases and a record number of hospitalizations. Why one doctor says the holiday could be the mother of all super spreader events.
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CHURCH: Today, throngs of fans are expected to bid farewell to football legend Diego Maradona as he lies in state at Argentina's presidential palace. The football star died of heart failure on Wednesday and tributes from across the world have been pouring in.
CNN's Patrick Oppmann takes a look at his extraordinary life and his unique relationship with Cuba.
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Argentina will observe three days of official mourning to honor the country's greatest soccer legend, Diego Maradona. Argentine President Alberto Fernandez announced to the nation. You took us to the top of the world, Fernandez wrote on Twitter after the news broke of Maradona's death.
You made us feel incredibly happy. You are the greatest of all. Thank you for having existed.
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OPPMANN: Even though it had been over two decades since Maradona last played, he remained both revered and notorious.
DIEGO MARADONA, FOOTBAL LEGEND: Gracias.
OPPMANN: As famous for his chaotic personal life off the field as his brilliant play on it. A statement from the Vatican says fellow Argentine and football fanatic, Pope Francis, quote, "looks back with affection to the occasions of encounter in recent years and remembers him in his prayers as he has done in recent days since he learned of his health conditions."
According to Maradona's attorney, the football great died of a cardiac arrest. Maradona had struggled with health problems, alcoholism and drug addiction for years. Even traveling to Cuba for rehabilitation treatments. There he became close friends with Fidel Castro and later attended Castro's funeral.
In a tweet, Cuba's foreign minister noted that Maradona had passed away for years to the day since Castro's death and that Cubans would mourn the Argentine star they had come to think of as part of Cuba.
Crowds took to the streets in Naples, Italy to mourn Maradona who help the team win two Serie A titles in 1987 and 1990. The city's mayor suggested naming the local stadium after him.
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Brazilian football legend Pele wrote on Twitter that he lost a friend, and that one day they would play again in heaven. Maradona's passing was even recognized in England where football fans have agonized over their loss Argentina and infamous hand of god goal at the 1986 game World Cup. Manchester United Football Club tweeting, quote, football has lost one of its greatest icons. Rest in peace, Diego Maradona.
Despite the pandemic, Argentine fans crowded the streets of Buenos Aires to send off one of the best there ever was to play the game. Patrick Oppmann, CNN. (END VIDEOTAPE)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): And we will have more on that story a little later. Meantime, Turkey changes how it's reporting new COVID cases and it's revealing thousands of new infections. We are live in Istanbul when we return.
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JOE BIDEN, 2020 PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: I remember that first Thanksgiving. The empty chair. The silence. It takes your breath away.
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CHURCH (on camera): President-Elect Joe Biden remarking on his past family tragedies on how he understands what it is like to spend Thanksgiving after losing a loved one. He is calling on Americans to recommit this holiday season to basic coronavirus safety measures such as social distancing to save lives.
But a much different message from President Donald Trump. He is telling Americans to gather for the Thanksgiving Holiday, even though health officials have explicitly warned against that. Both messages come as Johns Hopkins reports more than 262,000 coronavirus related deaths in the U.S. And almost 13 million confirmed cases since the pandemic started.
Even more disturbing, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now projecting up to 321,000 COVID deaths by December 19th.
Here is CNN's Athena Jones.
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ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): With Thanksgiving just a day away experts fear another huge spike in coronavirus infections at a time when the numbers are already surging.
JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: It's the potentially the mother of all superspreader events.
JONES: Tuesday marked the deadliest day since early May. More than 2,100 lives lost to the virus. A doctor and St. Louis reporting this video to drive home the point.
KEN REMY, PEDIATRIC AND ADULT CRITICAL CARE PHYSICIAN: I hope the last moments of your life do not look like this. I promise you. This is what your mother or your father or your children, when they get COVID disease, will see at the end of their life.
JONES: Nearly 90,000 people set to spend the holiday in a hospital bed. As the U.S. sets a record for hospitalizations for the 15th straight day. And nearly 5 million people have boarded planes since the CDC warned last week against traveling. Experts warn Thanksgiving dinners could supercharged the virus's spread leading to skyrocketing cases and hospitalizations three weeks from now.
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ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE: The final message is to do it really what we would be seeing now for some time. To the extent possible, keep the gatherings, the indoor gatherings as small as you possibly can.
JONES: Some states already on the verge of buckling under the pressure.
GOV. JARED POLIS (D-CO): One out of 41 Colorado's are contagious right now. That is significantly up from the prior week. It is the most highest percentage of contagious Colorado as we ever had.
JONES: Colorado officials fear on its current trajectory, the state will more than double its death toll by the end of the year. California reported nearly 17,000 new cases Tuesday, its highest single day total ever. Hospitalizations have nearly doubled in the last two weeks in Los Angeles County, where officials reported the highest number of COVID related deaths in more than two months and warned it is likely to get worse.
MARK GHALY, CALIFORNIA HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: Statewide, I don't believe we have ever seen as many hospital admissions increase. Like we did just in the past 24 hours. And I hope but don't expect that it will be the highest we ever had.
JONES: A ban on outdoor dining goes into effect in the county tonight and the health department is urging residents to leave home only for essential meets. As doctors across the country urge people to start taking proper precautions like mask wearing or reap the consequences.
JOSEPH VARON, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, UMMC: If we don't do things right, America is going to see the darkest days in modern American medical history.
JONES (on camera): And Denver's mayor has become the latest state official to raise eyebrows for not practicing what he's preaching when it comes to taking precautions. Mayor Michael Hancock's office confirming he flew to Mississippi to join his family for Thanksgiving, not long after sending a tweet discouraging travel. Athena Jones, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH (on camera): CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner joins me now. Thank you Doctor for being with us and for all that you do at this difficult times.
REINER: Thank you so much.
CHURCH: So, U.S. COVID cases are now averaging 174,000 a day in the record hospitalizations 88,000 reported Tuesday and the daily death toll just passed 2,000 for a second day. The numbers are horrifying, yet so many Americans are ignoring CDC recommendation not to travel during this Thanksgiving holiday. You called this potentially the mother of all super-spreader events. What could mean in terms of lost lives in the weeks ahead and then of course there's Christmas still to come.
REINER: Right. So, if we think that were in the third peak in United States right now. So the first peak was in, in the beginning of May, the second peak was during the summer, this certainly now rising towards the third peak. We might start to drop soon if we would have started to drop soon if not for what is about to happen. So if you think about the Sturgis motorcycle event in the South Dakota this summer, we think that that played a significant role in seeding parts of the Midwest with the virus.
So now magnified that many, many times almost record numbers of airplanes in the air certainly as many planes as we've seen flying in many months people going from city to city, there's virus on all of the United States and we will see another peak as a result of this.
So, this is going to be lengthen the pandemic in the United States. What needed to happen was essentially a shelter in place and that centered really needed to come from the White House. Instead the CDC didn't recommend on not traveling until just a few days before Thanksgiving. That should had come a month before Thanksgiving before people make plans, but remember that was during the presidential election.
And there was a conflict of interest that the CDC face at that time. But after the election, the CDC finally recommended no travel in Thanksgiving but by then it was too late.
CHURCH: Yes, it is just -- it's a tragedy really and Doctor, I have to say, I come from a nation where we respect and follow public health advised knowing it's going to save lives. Why do Americans distrust health recommendations and what might that attitude mean when it comes to taking the COVID vaccine, once it's approved and available?
REINER: Well, I think the American public was really badly served by our leadership this year.
[03:40:00]
Elements of public health politicized shamelessly politicizing, something as simple as wearing a mask was politicized. You know what this country needed what was a consistent message for people on how to keep themselves safe and Americans by enlarge rule followed. Now there is a libertarian streak that runs through the United States and there is sometimes a thin line that separates selfishness from libertarianism, but overall I think Americans would heed a consistent message, but they never got it.
CHURCH: Yes.
REINER: But now we are hearing from the new administration, we are hearing a consistent message. And as for vaccines, we need to start now on educating the public about vaccine safety. I'm not worried that people are going to be fighting to get the first doses. I'm more concerned that people aren't going to run to get the first doses. So we need -- we need public education up and running now.
CHURCH: Yes, I mean, that seems to be what polls are telling us. And of course, as we await approval for the Pfizer vaccine and ultimately the Moderna and AstraZeneca options and others as they come up to the pipeline, what's a realistic timeline for frontline health workers getting vaccinated than the elderly and ultimately the rest of the population?
REINER: And so this is what's so frustrating to me. The good stuff is coming and is coming quickly but a lot of people are going to die before they get vaccinated. And it doesn't have to be that way. So I think healthcare workers in the United States are going to start to get vaccinated probably the end of the second week in December. So that's coming quick.
Very likely the FDA will approve the Pfizer vaccine on or about December 10th and Pfizer is poised to ship overnight to hospitals all around the country. So, I think the first injections of the vaccine, and remember it's a two shot injection, two shot vaccine will come probably about December 11. There will be several million doses available in December. We'll probably see 20 million doses of vaccine at least in January and then larger numbers after that.
Particularly if a third vaccine might be Esther Xenical vaccine or Johnson & Johnson is approved at that time as well. So, I think we will be vaccinating healthcare workers before Christmas and it is going to be to come at not a second too soon because by then our hospitals are going to be crushed with COVID patients. Today we had 90,000 Americans in the hospital with COVID and that's going to continue to rise dramatically over the next few weeks.
CHURCH: Dr. Jonathan Reiner, we appreciate you and we wish you a very happy Thanksgiving. Do take care.
REINER: Same to you, Rosemary.
CHURCH: In England, a month long partial lockdown ends on December second and it will be replaced by three tiered restrictions based on local infection rates on CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is in London to tell us more about this. So Salma, talk to us about this three tiered restrictions system and how it works.
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN PRODUCER: Rosemary, it seems like everyone is playing a bit of good news and bad news. Yesterday we found out about the special Christmas time dispensation.
Today is the tough news, the medicine, right? We find out where each city, town, region, person will fall under in these three level restrictions system. And it's a similar to the system that we had before the lockdown, but this time it's going to be even tougher, even stricter measures that each of those three levels. And the government has already warned you are most likely if you leave
in England going to fall under one of the top two levels, level two or level three. Let me just give you an idea under this country's strictest measures, hubs and restaurants which had done except for takeaways. And households would be virtually banned from mixing together unless they want to stand outside in the cold.
But here's the catch. Nonessential shops across all of these levels will open. So, let the Christmas shopping commenced essentially. And that is sort of the idea behind this. It's that the government wants to limit people's social interactions while allowing the economy to reopen at a time when people can make money and spend money.
But it has already had a great deal of controversy. It's important to remember we had yet to turn the corner here. The case levels have simply not leveled off. Yesterday the death toll was announced to be 696. Nearly 700 people killed in a 24-hour period.
That's the highest death toll this country has seen since the start of May. So you have doctors, scientists warning that this three tiered strategy is according to the British medical association full of risks. Rosemary?
CHURCH: Every country is struggling, trying to get this right as the holidays are upon us. Salma Abdelaziz, joining us live from London. Many thanks.
[03:45:00]
I want to turn to Turkey now where it has just announced new daily numbers of COVID-19 infections. For the first time since July, for the past four months, it's only reported the number of patients and left out many of those infected.
CNN Jomana Karadsheh joins us now live from Istanbul Turkey to explain. Good to see you Jomana. So, why did Turkey stop reporting all its COVID infections and why is it now changing course on that?
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's the question, Rosemary. What we do know is only recently did the government, the health ministry admit that they changed the way they released the public data. And they only did that after coming under criticism from a number of medical groups here. From opposition members. Who were basically saying that Turkey's numbers did not add up?
And at that point we heard from the health minister last month saying that OK, since July, without really telling anyone. The health ministry changed the way it releases those figures. They were only disclosing the number of what it called patients, people who test positive, show symptoms who require hospitalization, asymptomatic cases as a wider part of the government state base. That was not being made public.
And you know, by doing that, obviously Turkey, you cannot really compare it to the rest of the world. You couldn't compare the number of infections here to other countries and some accused the Turkish government of basically trying to conceal the real extent of the outbreak.
This is something they denied. They basically said that they were releasing the relevant figures, but after a lot of public pressure and criticism, yesterday, the health minister coming out and saying that as of Wednesday they are now going to be announcing all positive cases.
So on Wednesday, the country reported more than 28,000 cases and 168 -- these are all-time high during the pandemic. The single deadliest state, but if you look at the case numbers, Rosemary, obviously we have a huge jump from the previous days where there were about 6,000- 7000 so-called patients only being reported.
And at the same time, the health minister here sounding the alarm saying that the situation across the country is deteriorating, the number of cases is rising. You've got cities including Istanbul and (inaudible), that are facing third wave. I see you. Capacity is at an all-time high, more than 70 percent hospitalization is up.
So, he is really calling on the public to cooperate, to follow the restrictions saying that, yes, more capacity, still OK. Hospitals can cope right now. That does not make it OK. Health care workers are exhausted, he said, they have been dealing with this for months. They have not been able to take their annual leave. And he is saying that if people do not comply with the restrictions, the government is going to be forced to put in even stricter ones. Rosemary?
CHURCH (on camera): Yes. It is the health workers who are confronted with the reality of this virus. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh, joining us live from Istanbul, many thanks.
Well, right now millions around the world are mourning one of the greatest footballers ever to grace the pitch. One who has literally and frequently been called a God?
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CHURCH (voice over): Three days of national mourning are underway in Argentina for football legend Diego Maradona. Its president tweeting, he took us to the top of the world. And these images from just minutes ago shows some adoring fans waiting outside the presidential palace, lit up in the national colors.
That is where Maradona will lie in state in the coming hours. He died Wednesday at the age of 60 from heart failure according to his lawyer and a government source present during the autopsy. The football legend enjoyed a glittering career, but was also well-known for his notorious lifestyle and his struggles with addiction.
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CHURCH (on camera): Well, joining me now is Jon Smith. He was Diego Maradona's agent from 1987 to 1990. He is also the co-author of the book The deal, inside the world of super-agent. Jon Smith, my deepest condolences to you for the loss of your dear friend, Diego Maradona.
JON SMITH, AMARDONA'S AGENT 1987-1990: Thank you, Rosemary. How are you?
CHURCH: Thank you for talking with us. And you would of course have so many stories to tell. How do you think Maradona will be remembered and how will you remember him?
SMITH: Let me put it this way, on a personal level I have said this previously, he was actually two people. He was Maradona the showman, and he was the ultimate showroom -- ultimate show person.
[03:50:07]
He was like a showroom by himself, by the way. He was extraordinarily talented. And as an individual he was still the little boy Diego from the back streets of Buenos Aires and he never really lost that. And that is the person I will remember. A warm caring human being who is great fun. He was blessed with god given talent.
On the largest stage I think history will be kind to him, I think he -- because he had his demons and we talk about geniuses and flawed geniuses that I actually (inaudible), I have made a few. I don't know many geniuses that are not flawed.
And I think, at a fairly young age he'd achieve everything and sadly like so many people, he then disappeared into some dark corners to I guess explore other parts of life that he could not find on this planet.
But let's not forget that he shown a very bright light on the sporting stage and entertained and delighted millions and millions of people across the planet.
CHURCH: Yes. He most definitely did. And you know, some people call Maradona charming. Others a rascal. As you say, he was two men in one body, wasn't he? And you were his manager. What was he like to deal with?
SMITH: Well, I say manager. I mean I was an agent of his. The problem, if there was a problem with Diego is, because he was such a lovely guy. And he never really learned the ability of saying no. So, there were a lot of people. I was living in London. He was in Naples. And we obviously saw quite a lot of each other.
But he could never stop listening to people or inviting people into his circle. So, whenever I was with him there were always 20 or 30 other people. And probably 25 different opinions going into both of his ears. So, it was a very difficult position to try insert any sort of corporate influence. We did some good commercial deals.
And I think, I say we, he was a wonderful soccer player. (Inaudible), he was very close to him. And between us I think we gave him some good advice. And he was single-handedly turning around the whole region of that country, I mean in the southern part of Italy which in those days was very poor, very religious.
They had these huge posters, massive posters of Jesus hanging on most of the buildings. And those massive posters of Diego next to Jesus. So, it was that kind of level of stardom. And it's difficult to manage that.
CHURCH: just extraordinary, as you say, a flawed genius, he was extraordinary on the field. He certainly had his demons off the field, but he will be greatly missed. So many people remembering Diego Maradona. Jon Smith, thank you so much for talking with us and sharing your memories with everyone here.
And still to come we will have the inspiring story of the Paralympic swimmer who became a paraplegic after treatment for back pain went wrong. That's next.
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[03:55:00]
CHURCH (on camera): All this week we are introducing you to inspiring athletes who are defying the odds and plant a fight for glory at the Tokyo Paralympic games which start in August. Today's competitor is a two-time medalist from Minnesota who suffered an accident that changed her life forever.
Here's CNN Christina MacFarlane.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Paralympians far and wide wherever in the world you find yourself, one of the unique things is that they have taken a life that society has told them is broken and they have turned it into something extraordinary.
UNKNOWN: 3, 2, ready, go.
MACFARLANE: In Minnesota Mallory Weggemann is training for her third Paralympic games. A swimmer since the age of 7, Weggemann's talent in the water took her to the pinnacle of athletic success. Her journey to the podium started with a tragic accident. 12 years ago Weggemann became paralyzed after receiving an (inaudible) injection to treat her back pain. She was 18 years old.
MALLORY WEGGEMANN, PARALYMPIAN SWIMMER: Some days I can talk about it and I'm totally fine. Some days I still get choked up when I talk about it. It's just one of those moments where like, everything you know changes. January 21st 2008 was my sudden moment of impact, but the reality is our society is facing a sudden moment of impact, right now. Everywhere in the world we are living in it. And it makes that day for me so much more emotional, because my heart feels the depths of it.
MACFARLANE: With the encouragement of her family, Weggemann decided to find out more about the Paralympic movement.
WEGGEMANN: On April 8th 2008, just two and a half months after my injury, I got back in the water for the first time. And it was my bridge. It bridged my past and who I was to my present and where I was at in that moment and it led me towards something in my future. Something that could be hopeful. And that was a game changer. MACFARLANE: Christina MacFarlane, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH (on camera): An extraordinary woman there. And you can watch more of Mallory Weggemann's story and others this Saturday on the Superhero Program, that's at 6:00 in the morning Eastern Time, 7:00 in the evening in Hong Kong.
And thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. I will be back with more news in just a moment.
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