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FDA Panel Recommends a Second COVID Vaccine for Emergency Use in America; Seoul is in Dire Need for ICU Beds; Biden Team Announces New Cabinet Nominations; U.S. Warns Suspected Russian Hack Wider than Previously Believed; Europe Fights Skepticism Ahead of Vaccine Rollout; Europe Fights Skepticism Ahead of Vaccine Rollout; Twitter to Start Removing Vaccine Misinformation; Hong Kong Tightens Restrictions as Fourth Wave Hits; Another Congressional Stalemate. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired December 18, 2020 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:00]
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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Hello and welcome to all of you, our viewers from around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom."
Coming up, a major turning point in the pandemic. An FDA panel recommends a second COVID vaccine for emergency use in America. The vaccine could be in arms by next week.
And a massive cyberattack in the U.S., Russia is suspected, but percent has yet to say a word about it.
Plus, the dire need for ICU beds in Seoul. As COVID cases explode in the region, patients are waiting days. We will have a live report.
A second COVID-19 vaccine could be going into the arms of Americans as soon as next week after a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommended authorizing Moderna's vaccine. The FDA says it will work quickly to finalize the process.
And with the country breaking more records, including 114,000 people hospitalized and many ICUs at the breaking point, the new vaccine couldn't come soon enough.
CNN's Alexandra Field begins our coverage.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Moderna's vaccine could now be just days away from reaching Americans. An FDA advisory panel is recommending authorization of what would be the nation's second COVID vaccine. The panel heard accounts from scientists, doctors, and people who survived COVID.
DOUGLAS DIETERICH, DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE OF LIVER MEDICINE, MOUNT SINAI (voice-over): There is a lot of long-term effects of COVID. After I was home for a few months, I developed severe atrial arrhythmias. When they subsided, I developed severe hypertension, which I'm still battling.
FIELD (voice-over): It comes just a day after one of the darkest in our history, the pandemic at its all-time worst.
DANIEL TREVINO, SIBLINGS DIED FROM COVID-19: One minute, they are OK, you are talking to them, you know, face time. Then all of a sudden, you talk to face time and again and they talked to you and they're hooked up to, like, six different machines. You know, with tubes going down their bodies and, you know. And that's the last image you're going to have of your loved one.
CARLOS DEL RIO, DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE IN THE DIVISION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES, EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: We are just not seeing people doing the implementation necessary to (INAUDIBLE) of this virus right now.
FIELD (voice-over): A new CDC forecast adds tens of thousands more deaths to predictions for the next few weeks, as many as 391,000 by January 9th.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): These patients were near dying. They are alone.
FIELD (voice-over): Nevada and five other states hitting a record high for deaths reported in a single day.
The White House COVID Task Force says the full surge is merging with the post-Thanksgiving surge to create a winter surge with the most rapid increase in cases yet.
Tennessee is now among the state with the fastest spread of the virus.
GOV. BILL LEE (R-TN): One thing that this vaccine will not solve, one thing that it will not cure is selfishness or indifference to what's happening to our neighbors around us.
FIELD (voice-over): The rollout of Pfizer's vaccine, the first hit the market, continues across the country. A shipping error forced New Mexico to throw out 75 doses that shipped at the wrong temperature. But pharmacists also say they are finding some vials of the Pfizer vaccines have extra doses.
UNKNOWN: I think I'm ready for the vaccine.
FIELD (voice-over): A bit of a boost as certain states learn they are getting less for now than what they expected. Iowa says it's working with federal partners to figure out why they are receiving as much as 30 percent less than what they planned for.
(On camera): States will be learning on a weekly basis about how large the next week's shipments will be, which means that they will have to plan and perhaps adjust their plans in some cases.
We are also now learning that if the Moderna vaccine gets it emergency use authorization, it could start sending out its shipments almost right away. That means the federal government would plan to send out about 7.9 million doses of vaccine next week, 5.9 million from Moderna and another two million from Pfizer.
In New York, Alexandra Field, CNN.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
BRUNHUBER (on camera): Dr. Esther Choo is a CNN medical analyst and professor of Emergency Medicine at Oregon Health and Science University. She joins me now from Portland. Thanks so much for being with us. So, I just want to ask you about that second vaccine. What difference will that make to the fight here in the U.S.?
ESTHER CHOO, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: That is a huge boost. It is wonderful to see the review today. Hopefully, we will go ahead and get authorization tomorrow. First of all, a huge infusion of vaccine, almost six million doses, to what we anticipated from Pfizer.
In addition, because Moderna does not require that ultra-cold storage, it means that it is more transportable.
[02:05:01]
CHOO: It can go farther into rural areas, harder to reach communities. The storage is not as complex. We don't rely on specialized equipment that typically at large well-resourced health centers. So that Moderna vaccine will travel far in places that really need it.
BRUNHUBER: Do you have any concern about the reports that a few trial participants have developed Bell's palsy?
CHOO: I don't. And this is an important point. I mean, in both the Pfizer trial with over 40,000 participants and the Moderna trial of 30,000 participants, we saw four cases of Bell's palsy in each of those trials.
Now, Bell's palsy occurs at a baseline rate in the population of somewhere between 11 and 40 cases per hundred thousand. So, actually, the number of cases we saw in these trials is lower than the base rate. And so it is very hard to attribute it to the vaccine.
Of course, we will continue to follow this. The FDA will track study participants and will look for further reports as people get the vaccine. But we have to understand that when you distribute the vaccine across the population, the population continues to have these common diseases that just occur on their own in any, you know, one- month period.
And so we will hear these reports of disease happening right after vaccine administration. But many of them are going to have nothing to do with the vaccine and just the fact that disease happens in the population.
The good news about Bell's palsy is that it is almost always limited. There are treatments for it. Most people will simply get better their own.
BRUNHUBER: All right. That is very important to highlight. Thanks for that. So, I want to ask you about, you know, here in the U.S., by our counts, some 50 members of Congress, majority of them Republicans, have come down with COVID.
So the good news is already some key Republicans have announced that they are going to get the vaccine. Mike Pence will do it publicly later today. Mitch McConnell will get it in the coming days.
How important will that be in terms of encouraging people who might be skeptical to go out and get the vaccine?
CHOO: I think it is so important for anybody with a public platform to get the vaccine and to be public if they made the decision of getting the vaccine. I think that can be really influential.
I think we also need to recognize that for many people, politicians of either party, getting the vaccine is not going to be influential to them because that is not where the trust is right now.
So hopefully, people across industries and roles who are prominent, who decide to take the vaccine will be very upfront about their decision making and public about their, you know, when they get the vaccine.
I think it will take everybody pitching in and setting an example to try to get all of us in this together. Of course, we need about 75 percent of the population to take two doses of vaccine for it to be as effective as we like.
BRUNHUBER: All right. Last question -- the good news obviously is the vaccine. The bad news is far from out of the woods, even after COVID. We heard the director of the National Institute of Health say there is probably another one coming, meaning a pandemic. Of course, there is always another pandemic coming.
But how confident are you that our overall response to this pandemic will help us next time? You know, there were so many lessons learned from H1N1 that we seemed to have completely forgotten or deliberately dismantled?
CHOO: I mean, boy, Kim, if we don't learn a lot about all aspects of pandemic management from the way that COVID rolled out, there is no redemption here.
There were just so many mistakes made, so many difficulties with supply chain of all kinds, so much difficulty getting the population to all come together and do a collective action in a time of huge need, so many inequities that played out in this pandemic that we seem to be unable to address at all.
There will be volumes and volumes of lessons learned. Hopefully, we can pivot, put resources into it, all come together and make sure that the next time this happens, we aren't caught off guard as much as we were in this pandemic. BRUNHUBER: Yeah, let's hope. All right, thank you so much, Dr. Esther Choo in Portland, Oregon. We appreciate it.
CHOO: Thank you, Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Parts of Europe are also battling a winter surge of COVID- 19. The virus is hitting some countries such as Germany, even harder than it did during the first wave, in March and April. Here are some top headlines.
Many European leaders are scrambling to get tested after French President Emmanuel Macron came up positive Thursday. It is believed he was exposed at the E.U. summit last week. Some politicians who had contact with him have gone into isolation.
Italy has banned nonessential travel between regions over the holiday.
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BRUNHUBER: Media reports say some in government want the whole country locked down.
UNICEF has launched a campaign to feed children in the U.K. for the first time ever. Opposition leaders are blaming the conservative government, but the leader of the House of Commons says the charity is playing politics.
The city of Seoul, South Korea is running out of hospital beds as the number of COVID infections is on the rise. More than 220 patients have waited more than a day to get into hospitals.
The city is apologizing after a man in his sixties died at his home waiting to get into the hospital.
CNN's Paula Hancocks is live this hour in Seoul. Paula, running out of beds is the nightmare scenario for health care providers all around the world and it is happening where you are. What is the latest?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Kim. The very fact that one COVID patient actually died while waiting for a hospital bed has really brought this into focus in South Korea. It really shocked many people, that the situation was worse than they previously thought.
The Seoul City area and the greater Seoul area that is worst-hit at this point. This is where the vast majority of these outbreaks are taking place.
Earlier this week, there was just one ICU bed left dedicated for coronavirus patients in the whole of the city. That, we are being told by health officials today, now up to four ICU beds, but that is still remarkably low. They say that they are working to try and secure more beds. They are hoping to have 160 more ICU beds for COVID patients by early January.
Of course, it's not just the beds. It's the doctors and the other staff that you have to provide, as well. The officials say that they are working hard to increase the number of staff.
As you said, there was one particular man in his sixties who was tested positive on Saturday and was unable to find a hospital bed in the whole of Seoul City and then passed away in the early hours of Tuesday. It is the first time that that has happened in Seoul City itself.
Seoul City apologized for that, saying it shouldn't have happened and they are doing everything they can to make sure that it won't happen again.
But this really does accentuate the point that these coronavirus cases are rising significantly. Once again, today or at least yesterday, Thursday, there are over 1,000 new daily cases. That is what we have been seeing for several days now, a great concern for officials. Kim?
BRUNHUBER: Absolutely. Thank you so much. Paula Hancocks in Seoul.
While we are getting our first look at some of the 330 Nigerian students who were rescued in the military operation, the government says they are now heading back home. They were kidnapped from their school in the country's northwest six days ago.
Hours before their rescue, a chilling video, thought to be from the terror group Boko Haram, was released. It showed some of the voice, one asking the Nigerian government to shut down schools teaching western education.
Boko Haram apparently claimed responsibility for the kidnapping earlier this week in an audio message but it is not clear who was actually behind the kidnapping.
All right, coming up on "CNN Newsroom," the U.S. president-elect is breaking barriers with its cabinet picks. We will talk about why those decisions are so critical.
Plus, a suspected Russian cyberattack is much worse than previously thought. Why hasn't Donald Trump even mentioned it? That is just ahead on "CNN Newsroom." Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER (on camera): We are just 33 days out from the inauguration of the next U.S. president, Joe Biden. He is nominating cabinet members who he says will make the U.S. federal government look and operate very differently than it has in the past four years. But some choices are more complicated than others. Jeff Zeleny explains.
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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a cabinet that's battle-tested, qualified, experienced, creative, innovative, and forward-looking.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's also a cabinet with key vacancies that president-elect Joe Biden is still scrambling to fill, none bigger than attorney general.
The deliberations over who Biden will nominate have emerged as some of the most complicated of the transition.
CNN has learned that top contenders are Judge Merrick Garland and Alabama Senator Doug Jones.
(APPLAUSE)
ZELENY (voice-over): Garland, whose nomination to the Supreme Court by President Obama was blocked by Senate Republicans, he is seen by allies as politically independent and unassailable, at a time when rebuilding trust in the Justice Department will be critical.
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ZELENY (voice-over): Jones has a strong civil rights record from his prosecution of the Klan in Alabama and is a longtime loyal friend to Biden.
Those are the competing questions, a top Biden ally tells CNN. Someone perceived as above reproach or someone closer to Biden.
The attorney general's role is complicated by any fallout from the post Trump era and by the federal investigation of Hunter Biden's business dealings. The president-elect defended his son again this week.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Are you confident your son Hunter did nothing wrong?
BIDEN: I am confident.
ZELENY (voice-over): But even saying those two words could create a problem for a new president, who has pledged to stay out of Justice Department's decisions, all this as Biden appearing in his first campaign ad as president-elect.
BIDEN: Georgia, I know things are tough right now. But I want you to know help is on the way.
ZELENY (voice-over): Trying to help Democrats win two runoff races that will determine control of the Senate.
Meanwhile, CNN has learned Biden will nominate New Mexico Congresswoman Deb Haaland as interior secretary. If confirmed, she would be the first Native American cabinet secretary.
He has also selected Michael Regan, who runs the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, to lead the EPA.
But with the selection of the New Nexico congresswoman, that does take the democratic majority in the House down to three seats until they can have a special election some point next year.
We are told that Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave her blessing for the congresswoman to join the Biden ministration. If confirmed, she would be the first Native American ever to serve in a president's cabinet.
Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Wilmington, Delaware.
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BRUNHUBER: A top U.S. cybersecurity agency is warning a suspected Russian hack is much more widespread than previously thought. The growing list of targets includes the U.S. Energy Department, which oversees the nation's nuclear weapon stockpile. The agency says the hack poses a grave risk to networks across the public and private sectors.
Microsoft has identified more than 40 of its customers around the world who were affected. The company says it has isolated and removed the vulnerability in a system that facilitated the hacking.
And you would think the U.S. president would be outraged about the hacking, but Donald Trump hasn't said anything about it or any of the other challenges the U.S. is facing right now.
Kaitlan Collins has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Where is President Trump?
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: President Trump has been hard at work on COVID behind the scenes.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a question many in Washington are asking. Where is President Trump? With only five weeks left in office, he stayed behind closed doors again today and hasn't made a public appearance since Saturday, when he took no questions from the White House Press Corps.
In the middle of a devastating public health crisis where 3,000 Americans are dying per day, with a presidential transition underway, a national security officials still scrambling to understand the magnitude of a Russian cyberattack, Trump is nowhere to be found, and the few events he does hold are often closed to the press.
MIKE POMPEO, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: Hello, Georgia.
COLLINS (voice-over): While Vice President Mike Pence, who campaigned in Georgia today, is scheduled to get the coronavirus vaccine on camera tomorrow, the White House has not said when Trump will and neither has he.
Trump has also said little about the coronavirus relief negotiations happening on Capitol Hill as hundreds of thousands of Americans filed for unemployment again this week.
[02:20:01]
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): We have a responsibility to get this right. People's lives depend upon it.
COLLINS (voice-over): And as the scope of a hack by a Russian link group on the U.S. government and corporations becomes clearer, the president hasn't said a word or posted a single tweet.
The White House declined to say whether Trump has been briefed by his top intelligence officials who were all absent from his cabinet meeting yesterday.
SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): This is virtually a declaration of war by Russia on the United States. We should take that seriously.
COLLINS (voice-over): Trump's own former officials are calling for his attention. In an op-ed published in The New York Times, his first homeland security adviser, Tom Bossert, wrote that Trump is -- quote -- "on the verge of leaving behind a federal government compromised by the Russian government. President Trump must get past his grievances about the election and govern for the remainder of his term."
The president doesn't appear to be listening. Instead, his Twitter feed today was filled with disinformation about the election, threats to veto the defense spending bill, and denials of his involvement in the investigation into Hunter Biden.
(On camera): And of course, one of the biggest parts of the president's disinformation campaign about the election has been about Dominion Voting Systems. The president has made this claim that people voted for him and they changed the votes in the machines to Joe Biden. That is something that has also been pushed by the pro-Trump attorney, Sidney Powell.
This week, Dominion sent Sidney Powell a letter asking, actually demanding really, this step before taking a legal step here, a public apology of her statement and a retraction of the claims she has made about their company, including the one that said that the software was developed in Venezuela to benefit Hugo Chavez who, of course, died several years ago.
In their letter, they say they have no connection to Venezuela, certainly not one to Mr. Chavez, and they joked even they have about as much of a connection to them as they do to bigfoot and the loch ness monster.
Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House.
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BRUNHUBER (on camera): Georgetown University adjunct professor, Jill Doherty, joins me now from Washington, D.C. via Skype. She is also a former CNN Moscow bureau chief. Thanks so much for speaking with us. Several high-profile stories involving Russia to dig into.
So let's start with the cyber hacking in the U.S. Russia is heavily suspected of being behind this. It seems as if they've hacked into treasure troves of information. We still don't know how much or how valuable. And incredibly, it's still ongoing.
JILL DOUGHERTY, FELLOW, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Yes, and I think the disturbing part is it started -- it's believed at least back in March, around the time that COVID began, in fact. And right now, it is very unclear how extensive this is, what kind of information they were looking for, were they actually using that information, exfiltrating that information or just kind of sitting on it for future purposes?
It's unclear. And of course, there's a lot of information behind the scenes that many of us are not privy to. But it is a very, very disturbing bit of news.
BURNETT: Mm-hmm. Are you surprised though by the size and scope of this and how unprepared the U.S. seems to have been for this?
DOUGHERTY: You know, I am disturbed by that. I would say I'm not surprised that Russia continues to try to do whatever it can. And look at the timing. You had COVID happening, you had the American election happening. And I think that Russia takes advantage where it can and exploits opportunities.
And you can't think of a better opportunity than a period of some -- let's say political chaos and then also chaos because of the COVID problem. But I think the extent of it is the thing that worries me very much and the purpose of it. That is what we do not know.
And then, the other thing is, what is the United States doing about it? Because at this point, there is nothing coming from the White House and we will have to see what the next administration will do. They've been much stronger rhetorically.
But it raises a very serious issue, Kim, and that is how do you retaliate? You can tell the Russians not to do it. But remember, President Obama, years ago, told Vladimir Putin directly, don't do this, but they continued.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, a big mess left for president-elect Joe Biden. Flipping it though, how big of a win is this for Putin and the Kremlin?
DOUGHERTY: I don't know whether I would call it a win per se. It's a victory in the sense that they got in.
[02:25:02]
DOUGHERTY: You have to say they were very successful if indeed it is Russians. Most people do believe at this point it is.
But the fact that they got in and the fact that they were so sophisticated in the way they did it and the fact that it affected not only the United States government and all of those agencies, but private businesses, the Fortune 500, essentially all of them were using those same technical means and so they were vulnerable too, so it is affecting the U.S. economy, businesses, and the government.
BRUNHUBER: We will have to leave it there. Thank you so much, Jill Dougherty. Appreciate you joining us.
DOUGHERTY: OK.
BRUNHUBER: Coronavirus vaccines are coming to most of Europe in the next few weeks. Just ahead, we will see what health experts are doing to convince the skeptics to get their shots.
Plus, Hong Kong is tightening restrictions as a fourth wave of coronavirus hits. And now, the government is unveiling a new financial aid package. We will have a live report, next. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to you, our viewers from all around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. You're watching "CNN Newsroom."
U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize a second COVID-19 vaccine in the coming days. An FDA advisory panel signed off on the Moderna vaccine on Thursday. Studies show it is 95 percent effective, the same as the Pfizer vaccine, but it doesn't have to be stored at super cold temperatures.
That comes as more than 114,000 Americans are hospitalized with the virus, another daily record. The U.S. has recorded more than 17 million infections and 310,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
The first vaccinations are just over a week away in many parts of Europe but countries across the continent are fighting skepticism from those who aren't sure they want the shots.
CNN's Melissa Bell reports from Paris.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With infection rates in France and other European countries out of control, hope is just around the corner with the E.U. to start its vaccination campaign on December 27th. But it may not be that easy.
ARANCHA GONZALEZ LAYA, SPANISH FOREIGN MINISTER: I think vaccination is a question of trust, and this is why in Spain, we are spending a lot of time and energy in building trust with the citizens.
BELL (voice-over): Hence this TV campaign to convince the reluctant, with polls showing only 41 percent of Spaniards currently intending to get the vaccine.
[02:29:59]
BELL (voice-over): In Italy, the figure is only 52 percent. Authorities there going with a Primrose based commercial matched by primrose shaped pavilions to attract people to where the vaccines will be dispensed. Experts say that 70 percent of the population need either to have recovered from infection or to have been vaccinated for herd immunity to kick in.
Now as of early this month, only one in two people here in France said they were willing to get the vaccine and that's something that's pretty repeated across the European Union. In fact Europeans were amongst the most vaccine-skeptical owners before the pandemic and the pandemic doesn't appear to have changed.
DR. DAVID SCHAPIRO, VICE PRESIDENT, UFML: It's has crystallized, it has made worse all the tensions between people. People are afraid and when you're afraid, most of the time you get quite extremist.
BELL: Across Europe, skepticism not only of vaccines but of governments encourage these last few months by populist and far right parties. Also by mistakes made by several governments early on in the pandemic.
DOMENICO ARCURI, ITALIAN CORONAVIRUS COMMISSIONER: At the beginning of this year all of us didn't know nothing about the real. We in that moment didn't have any power, any know how, any capability to fight with it. After some months we are fully in power.
BELL: But even though the vaccines that will soon be available in Europe have been tested, found to be effective and found to be safe, skepticism goes deeper than you might think.
JEREMY WARD, SOCIOLOGIST, CNRS: That's something that we tend to forget us. It's not - doctors are actually not so different from the general public. Lots of them are hesitant.
BELL: It's Europe's moments tweeted the president of the European Commission on Thursday to announce the start of the EU's vaccination campaign. From December 27, the first Europeans will be able to get vaccinated. The question is how many people choose to do so. Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN HOST: Twitter says it will start removing false and misleading information about COVID-19 vaccines from its platform next week. The company will also add warning labels to tweets that contain incomplete or disputed information.
Hong Kong is seeing a spike in COVID-19 cases and will now offer free testing to domestic helpers. According to Johns Hopkins University Hong Kong has seen a total of 8000 cases, many recorded just this month and the government is now imposing tougher restrictions and as of just now announced a new financial aid package. Kristie Lu Stout is live in Hong Kong.
So yet more restrictions, yet more relief in this fourth wave. How will that affect the holiday season over there.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's going to feel pretty dark and there's a lot of fatigue and frustration during this holiday season here in Hong Kong. A little bit of good news. The Hong Kong government did unveil a fourth round of desperately needed relief, some $826 million for restaurants, bars, gyms, beauty salons and other businesses that have been hit so hard by the pandemic and also by the punishing restrictions have been put into place.
Look, that is good news but even with this government handle, many people here, many businesses here are struggling.
Another silent night in Hong Kong as COVID cases spike in a fourth wave of infections. The city is clumping down with a ban on in-person dining after 6:00 PM. The bars remain closed and local businesses are bracing for a dark holiday season.
ALLAN ZEMAN, CHAIRMAN, LAN KWAI FONG GROUP: Is there a holiday season this year? It feels like it's not here you know Christmas is a week away and there's not - that Christmas spirit is gone. Restaurants are closed after 6 PM. Bars have been closed for almost a third of the year. They can't survive. All these businesses basically they live week to week.
STOUT: There is a long list of restrictions. When restaurants are open only two people are allowed per table. Gyms and beauty salons are closed and entertainment venues like Disneyland are shuttered. The government has already given a $40 billion lifeline to companies in three previous rounds.
And now while facing a record deficit, is providing another round of at least worth $826 million but for small business owners like hair dresser Calvin Chau, that may not be enough to survive the winter.
CALVIN CHAU, OWNER, AMOUR SALON (through translator): We are just hoping for the pandemic to end or the vaccines to be deployed soon. We're just surviving, barely surviving.
STOUT: Compared to other financial capital, Hong Kong has been relatively unscathed by the virus but the restrictions have been relentless with each wave of infection. The schools are closed, the playgrounds are taped off. Even the beaches are off limits.
Public health experts say the measures are tough but necessary.
BEN COWLING, PROFESSOR IN PUBLIC HEALTH, HONG KONG UNIVERSITY: The government measures intended to reduce the chance of super spreading events are really good idea. Hopefully we'll have case numbers coming down to zero in the new year.
STOUT: Lindsey Adam, so good to see you. How are you feeling?
[02:35:00]
LINDSEY FORD, EXPECTANT MOTHER, HONG KONG RESIDENT: Very pregnant and very annoyed.
STOUT: Eight months pregnant Hong Kong resident Lindsay Ford doesn't understand another strict measure. Why her partner can't be by her side when she gives birth at a public hospital and is leading a campaign for other expecting mothers in the city. Hong Kong hasn't been the only place with this rule. The city's hospital authorities say it's part of their strategy to tighten infection control.
FORD: When we look back at how we've handled this crisis, I really don't think anyone's going to be saying well, thank goodness, we forced all those women to give birth alone. That was the one thing that really help stopped the spread of the virus. I think that the hospital authorities should look at the evidence from global health organizations, from their own staff and from the mothers of Hong Kong and really show some compassion in this case.
STOUT: During Hong Kong's COVID Christmas, businesses brace for survival and the family prepares to be divided when a child is born.
Around the world a number of us are struggling during this holiday season. Here in Hong Kong you just met Lindsay Ford. Lindsay Ford is waiting to hear whether or not the hospital authority will lift the ban on partners being present in the delivery rooms of public hospitals.
She cites a statement from the World Health Organization strongly recommending that partners be present during labor and childbirth, even during a pandemic and we got to think for the small business owners out there. Here in Hong Kong like Calvin Chau, the hairdresser you met in that piece just now.
He and others may be welcoming the latest relief package from the Hong Kong government, $826 million following an earlier $40 billion lifeline but many it feels like small consolation prize and just a reminder again, Hong Kong is major metropolis. 7.5 million people here. Has been relatively unscathed by the virus but these tough restrictions have been in place of the city of 7.5 million, 7900 cases of coronavirus this year and 125 deaths. Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Interesting report. Thank you so much Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And if you have kids asking questions about the pandemic, well be sure to watch our CNN special, The ABCs of COVID-19. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Erica Hill are going to break down the latest about the virus and the vaccines with stars of Sesame Street and that airs Saturday at 3:00 PM in London and 11:00 PM in Hong Kong, only here of course on CNN.
Coming up on CNN newsroom, U.S. lawmakers are running out of time to make a deal that could keep the government lights on so what's the hang up this time? We'll talk about it next. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: U. S. lawmakers are scrambling to secure a deal to keep the government running and offer financial aid to struggling Americans. Right now Congress is at a stalemate. If they don't come up with a solution by Friday night at midnight, there will be a shot down unless they extend the deadline again.
[02:40:40]
Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says it's highly likely lawmakers will remain to work through the weekend to make a deal. CNN's Eleni Giokos joins me now. So since we spoke yesterday, you know since then, they've inched towards the deal. What's the latest?
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean look, you're right. We're running out of time. There's going to be a government shutdown which what is encouraging is that you've got both sides, Republicans and Democrats saying that they're willing to work through the weekend and extend the deadline but if it does come to that, it'll be because there are quite a few issues that are still at play here.
I want you to take a look at your screen right now. We know that the overall bipartisan package is sitting at around $900 billion. These are the big priority spending so billions of dollars for vaccines and schools but the wording and the mechanics here really matter and that's where you're still seeing a lot of negotiation occurring so the $300 per week in enhanced jobless benefits.
The question is how long is that going to be put in place. $330 billion for small business loans. Again here, we're hearing this debate about whether it should be $325 billion and then the $600 stimulus check. That's a once over payment. Now that is being whittled down from the $1200 that we had discussed a few months ago.
And here now Republicans are saying that the people that are going to be applying for enhanced benefits, weekly benefits should not be entitled to get the once of $ 600 check which is again creating a bit of a debate as we're trying to hit this deadline. Then the other big point of contention of course is the federal reserve emergency lending program.
The Republicans want to put a limit on that and that is going to stifle the Biden administrations into next year so it's important to look at the wording and it's important to look at just what is at stake and at play. I want you to take a listen to what the former Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said because he talks about some of the most divisive problems that have been dividing lawmakers. Take a listen.
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JACK LEW, FORMER TREASURY SECRETARY: The idea that state local aid is not included that is very problematic and it means there's more work to do next year. But it's critically important for people who have no more unemployment, who have lost their supplemental unemployment benefits, who don't have money to put food on the table.
They need help and they need it now and the economic statistics are showing that it's going to be a hard few months.
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GIOKOS: Yes and look, initial jobless came out yesterday. 885,000 Americans filed for initial claims last week. It's a number that is highest we're seeing since September and has been incrementally increasing over the last five weeks. Importantly here Kim, we've got 20.6 million Americans filing for some kind of unemployment benefits. 12 million Americans are going to be falling out of that benefit scheme the day after Christmas.
Economists are warning if a relief bill is not put in place and not - in this week that we could actually see a double depreciation scenarios playing out and weaker economy going into 2021.
BRUNHUBER: Yes so much at stake here. Thanks for that. Eleni Giokos in Johannesburg. Appreciate it. Well I'm Kim Brunhuber and I'll be back with more news coming up but first, let's go to World Sports.
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[02:45:00]
DR. CHRIS MURRAY, DIR, INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH METRICS & EVALUATION, UNIV OF WASHINGTON: So we still see things getting worse and then we'll start to see the effects of a vaccine, we hope, really kicking in once we get into the middle of February.
DON LEMON, CNN HOST: Man, I hope you're right. It would be great if it could happen earlier but you know, it just doesn't work that way so getting the vaccine delivered is key. Some governors saying that they have been notified that they're going to get fewer doses and they aren't sure why.
They have been notified, they're going to get fewer doses and they're not sure why. Could follow ups and delivery blunt the impact of these vaccines?
MURRAY: Well, you know what we know from the history of rolling out new interventions, new vaccines is it takes some time to get it to the people who need it but there is sort of - the saving grace here is that in every year with seasonal flu, the U.S. is able to deliver about 3 million doses a day of just the regular seasonal flu vaccine and so that makes us think that it'll take us a while but we'll ramp up to a pretty high rate you know in a matter of month to two months to get up to the high level.
LEMON: So it's been a couple of weeks. Three weeks since Thanksgiving and cases are out of control. We're setting records for hospitalizations and deaths on almost daily basis. Should anyone be getting together with the extended family or household that are outside of their own bubble for Christmas next week?
MURRAY: Absolutely not Don. You know we know that COVID is incredibly transmissible. It's really seasonal so it's much worse, got greater risk of transmission in the winter months. As you say things are getting worse particularly in number of big population states so now people should stay safe. They should stay with their own households and really avoid those gatherings that can be so risky.
LEMON: Chris Murray, thank you so much. I appreciate you joining us. Be safe. Thank you. President Trump has spent his entire term speaking excuse me, seeking the spotlight until now. His disappearing act coming as the country faces unprecedented crisis.
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[02:50:00]
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LEMON: At least one incoming senator seems to be willing to keep trying to overturn the will of the people and the president loves to hear it. I want to bring in now CNN's senior political analyst Kirsten Powers and political commentator Charlie Dent, a former Republican congressman from Pennsylvania. Good evening to both of you. Good to see you. Doing OK?
KIRSTEN POWERS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yep good.
CHARLIE DENT, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good to be here.
LEMON: Great. Kirsten, so the Senator-elect Tommy Tuberville is not ruling out objecting to the election results when Congress tally the votes on January 6. Watch this.
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TOMMY TUBERVILLE, SENATOR ELECT (R-AL): Listen to me now. We have no choice but to win this election. They're going to try to steal, they're going to try to buy, they're going to do everything they can. Lie, cheat, steal to win this election like they did the presidential election.
REPORTER: Are you going to fight to make this election right?
TUBERVILLE: We're going to fight hard.
REPORTER: What can you do on January 6? Madison said you have tricks up your sleeve.
TUBERVILLE: Just wait - well, you see what's coming, you've been reading about it in the House. We're going to have to do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Lordy, Lordy, Lordy and President Trump is taking notice tonight, tweeting more Republicans should follow his lead. I mean this plays in Trump's twisted narrative that he has been cheated and why is this guy going along with this BS?
POWERS: I don't know, I can't get into his motives but you know, it's obviously completely made up. It's not - it's going to create delays but it's not going to actually ultimately change the outcome of what happened so I don't think people should be too concerned about that but just the idea that used to have you know people out there somebody who's going to be a U.S. senator saying these kinds of things is so scary.
And also just to consider anybody who's been sitting here watching the news what is actually happening in this country right now in terms of this pandemic, in terms of needing a stimulus package and you have the president of the United States you know is tweeting about still this craziness with this idea that somehow the election has been stolen, rather than actually dealing with the job of being the president, rather than actually dealing with the fact of you know major hacking throughout the U.S. government.
I mean it's just - I'm kind of at a loss for words at this point.
LEMON: Yes. Charlie, listen, the number two Republican Senator John Thune, you know the tall guy you always see behind in the background, he's been there for a while. He is hoping that Tuberville doesn't do it. He says it's time to move on. Do you think the Republican Senate is going to stay in line?
DENT: I think that most Republican senators overwhelmingly will follow John Thune and Mitch McConnell on this. What Senator Tuberville is doing is not a great way to start your senate. He's a new guy as Kirsten said, he might disrupt things, slow things down a little bit.
He's not going to change the outcome. It's a complete waste of time. I think the senators will be more disciplined than the House members frankly. I'm more worried about the House being disrupted at this point than the Senate.
LEMON: Really? Why so? Tell me about it.
DENT: Well, because I think there are more members. You saw you know I believe over 126 signed a letter, basically supporting the Texas lawsuit that would have disenfranchise millions of voters in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin. In many respects I think they're less disciplined in the House on these types of matters. They don't follow instructions as well from their leadership as to - as does the senators.
So I think you have potential problems. Now again, it'll be destructive. It's not going to change an outcome. Joe Biden's going to be elected and he'll be approved by the House and the Senate on January 6.
[02:55:55]
LEMON: It's just one more delusional act to add to the circus that is already in Washington right now. Kirsten, I've got to talk about this because he you know Charlie just mentioned you know how Congress has to - you know he's concerned about - well, he talked about the 126 folks who voted for this crazy Texas you know lawsuit or at least signed on I should say.
So the president-elect picked Congresswoman Dab Haaland to lead the Interior Department. She's going to be the first native American cabinet secretary but by choosing her Democrats will only have a three seat vote margin in the House so again to Charlie's point, they have to stick together if they want to get something done and if they want to maintain a majority, right? A majority vote?
POWERS: Yes, absolutely. I mean, I think look, the thing about it is that Nancy Pelosi, there are people I know, AOC has come out recently and so she thinks she needs to you know be replaced eventually. She's very good at keeping the Democrats together and very good at navigating those differences so at least they do have somebody who has experience managing the different sort of personalities and different factions that are in the Democratic Party.
But that is a very near a margin that doesn't give you a lot to play with and you know what's going on here even though ultimately all of this is going to end up with Joe Biden as President of the United States, there's been a lot of damage done to democracy and there's been a lot of damage done to our systems and I don't think we should overlook that.
You know, I think that we don't realize sometimes how fragile our democracy actually really is and you know, people who look at this certainly, a lot of people I've been interviewing recently for a book I'm working on about the division in the country, people who are experts on this or experts on democracy and have looked at other countries are saying like this is starting to look like a lot of other countries that ended up in civil wars.
And so you know, we have to be - we have to really take this seriously.
LEMON: Thank you both. Good to see you. Be safe.
POWERS: thank you.
LEMON: The Republicans party becoming more and more detached from the reality under Trump - under President Trump. Well, Biden's optimistic. He will be able to reach bipartisan agreement but will the roadblocks be insurmountable?
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