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U.S. Sees Highest Daily Death Toll Yet; U.S. Detects Several Cases of Virus Variant; 2.8 Million Doses Give Out of 12.4 Million Available; Most of England Moves into Lockdown as Cases Soar; Republican Senator to Object to Biden's Win Certification; Trump Slams Republican Georgia Governor, Says He Should Resign; Trump to Return to Washington Ahead of Biden Win Certification. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired December 31, 2020 - 04:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[04:00:00]

ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: Ending the year on a grim note, the United States has a second consecutive record day for coronavirus deaths while getting vaccines out quickly remains a major challenge.

Plus, President Trump cut short his holiday as Republicans eye a last ditch attempt to challenge the presidential election results.

And a new era about to dawn with a post-Brexit trade deal signed, we'll look at how life in the U.K. and Europe is set to change.

Hello and a very warm welcome to our views in the United States and right around the world, I'm Isa Soares and CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

Now, the closing days of the 2020 have brought the highest daily COVID deaths in the U.S. so far. Have a look at this. Wednesday had the most deaths reported in a single day, well over 3,700 people, and U.S. health experts predict that more than 80,000 more Americans will die of the disease in the next three weeks.

And to put that in some historical context, more Americans have died of COVID-19 in less than a year than all of the United States combat deaths during the World War II and Vietnam combined. We get the latest now from CNN's Nick Watt.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEN. GUSTAVE PERNA, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, OPERATION WARP SPEED: There's two holidays, there's been three major snowstorms, there's numerous factors. And here's what I have confidence in every day, everybody gets better.

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): And we're lagging behind some other countries in shots per day per capita. Better than Canada, worse than the U.K. and a lot worse than Israel.

OLIVIA TROYE, FORMER COVID TASK FORCE ADVISER TO VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: I think it comes down to really just a lack of a national strategy on this vaccine distribution. And this has been the problem from day one on the pandemic response.

WATT (voice-over): Meanwhile, the Brits just authorized another vaccine, Oxford-AstraZeneca's U.S. trials continue authorization maybe in April. It's cheaper and easier to ship than those already green lit here.

MONCEF SALAOUI, CHIEF SCIENTIFIC ADVISER, OPERATION WARP SPEED: We know that it should be better and we're working hard to make it better.

WATT (voice-over): Meanwhile, it's officially here, a new variant of the already rampant virus, one confirmed case, one more suspected in rural Colorado, both National Guard members deployed to a care facility after an outbreak.

GOV. JARED POLIS, (D) COLORADO: We don't yet have a good idea of how prevalent it is, either nationally or within our state.

WATT (voice-over): Another case confirmed in Southern California. There is no evidence this variant first detected in England is more deadly, but studies suggest it is more transmissible.

DR. RICK BRIGHT, BIDEN COVID-19 ADVISORY BOARD: That means it's easier to spread. It's easier for people to get infected by this virus.

WATT (voice-over): Potentially piling more pressure on already crowded hospitals, nearly 125,000 COVID patients currently hospitalized in the U.S. a record. Here in Los Angeles County that number is up nearly 1,000 percent since late October, some patients have been turned away due to oxygen supply issues.

TONI KATANO, EMERGENCY ROOM NURSE: We officially have no more beds, zero beds and are more visible.

WATT (voice-over): In LA there's now a COVID death on average, every 10 minutes.

WATT: So admiral Brett Giroir who is one of the people involved in the vaccine program in this country admitted, he did say, we need to be doing a better job but added all vaccine programs start somewhat slow.

Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Well, California has more cases of COVID-19 than any state in the United States. Well over 2 million confirmed infections since the pandemic began. Frontline medical workers there are fighting an uphill battle. You can imagine what they face an overwhelming surge of new patients. In the last hour I spoke by phone with Dr. Nathan Kuppermann of the University of California Davis, and I asked him how the current situation actually compares with the conditions he saw earlier in the year. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DR. NATHAN KUPPERMANN, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS (via phone): So, that early peak in March was not half as big as the peak now, but back in March, we didn't know what we were dealing with. We had a new viral pandemic. We did not know how to treat patients. And we weren't sure if we were transmitting the disease to our families and to our loved ones.

[04:05:00]

Now, the peak is much greater. Yet we are much more experienced in caring for this disease, so we know how to treat patients. We know how to keep ourselves safe and protected, and we are also mindful of everybody's wellness and trying not to burn our clinicians out, because that's a great risk.

SOARES: Yes, I mean, you know how to treat patients. You are, you know, taking great care, but you must also be exhausted. I have so many friends who are doctors here in the U.K., doctor, and they are physically and mentally drained. Not to mention as one friend told me recently, they are working in constant anxiety.

KUPPERMANN: We -- so you are absolutely true that these times are exhausting both mentally and physically, and you have to be super mindful about that, because people are getting sick. Fortunately at our health system, nobody has died. That is no staff has died from COVID.

But given that this is an academic medical center, we are really asking people just to care for patients, get home and take care of themselves. Rest in between their shifts. Don't worry about anything else except for the outstanding care of patients because this is a time unlike any we have ever experienced. So we are having to be very mindful of people's physical health and mental health as well.

SOARES: Yes, and worth reminding people that when you're done, everybody is done with their shift, they don't have to go home and look after loved ones as well and families. They all have families.

Let me ask you, doctor, about vaccinations, because we were told that 20 million doses would be administered by January the 1st, but we are so far off from that target, doctor. So, why -- what it would -- what's needed to pick up the pace, do you think?

KUPPERMANN: Well, that's an outstanding question that public health authorities need to answer. We have only administered 2 million doses I think in the United States.

You know, fortunately, that health system like ours, everybody has been immunized, and we followed the CDC recommendations of who is first tier, who is second tier, so emergency personnel, intensive care personnel receive the vaccine first, and then on down the line. The administrators, only at the very end.

So, fortunately, the good news is that we feel sort of a shot of hope, and we feel better prepared to care for patients psychologically, because we -- at least the clinicians are protected. But the distribution nationally has been a problem that public health authorities need to answer.

SOARES: Dr. Nathan Kuppermann of the University of California Davis, thank you very much, sir, for all your time and all your work and all of your colleagues. We wish you a better New Year and a healthy New Year too. Thank you, sir.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Now here in the U.K., medical experts are advising against having New Year's Eve parties as cases surge. 981 COVID-19 deaths were reported here on Wednesday. That's the highest single day number since April -- as you can see on your graphic. More than 50,000 new infections were confirmed, that's the second highest after Tuesday's record.

Now the government has moved 3/4 of the population into the highest tier restrictions, tier four effectively. Seems like a lockdown. Let's bring in CNN's national correspondent Matthew Chance, live for us in London. So Matthew, millions of people in England waking up this New Year's Eve to new restrictions as the numbers as I have just outlined, continue to spike.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, very dangerous situation, according to officials, that the U.K. is facing at the moment because of that dramatic surge in COVID-19 infections. You've just given us the numbers. Nearly a thousand people dead in the past 24 hours, that's the highest number since April. More than 50,000 new infections, and an enormous amount of pressure on the National Health Service. The medical provider in this country that is struggling to find capacity, staff, beds, to cope with the influx of people across the country that need hospitalization.

Well, the national director of the NHS for England is Professor Stephen Prowis. Here's what he had to say about the New Year's Eve celebrations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN POWIS, NATIONAL MEDICAL DIRECTOR, NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE ENGLAND: Stay at home. Mark the new year with just nearest and dearest within the rules. This action will reduce infections, relieve pressure on hospitals. And that's how everybody can help to save a life. COVID loves a crowd. So please leave the parties for later in the year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHANCE (on camera): Well, later in the year there could be some cause for party because as 2020 draws to a close, there is a glimmer, at least, of hope with the approval of the new vaccine from AstraZeneca, and Oxford University. It's much easier to store than the vaccines that are already out there.

[04:10:00]

It doesn't have to be frozen at those very deep temperatures. It can use normal refrigerators, which is going to make it much easier to distribute around the country and elsewhere around the world -- Isa.

SOARES: Thank you very much. Matthew Chance for us there in London. Thank you.

With us now from Cambridge, England, Sir David King He the former top scientist for the U.K. government and currently serves as chairman of the independent Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, also known as SAGE. So David, always great to get your insight.

Let's talk about this sharp rise -- sharp surge in cases that we've seen and deaths, I should say, throughout the country. Not even taking account, as we've heard, Christmas and the new year. Given the trajectory of the spread, which I know that SAGE -- as independent SAGE has been looking at, how worried are you?

DAVID KING, FORMER CHIEF SCIENTIST TO U.K. GOVERNMENT: Well extremely worried. This is the worst situation we've been in since this pandemic began. And quite frankly, the real reason for the surge is very clear from the DNA data that's been conducted on the patients who've come forward with the disease, it's clear that this new variant, B-117, which is now present in the United States as we've just heard, is the cause for this very rapid rise here.

What we have seen is that the number of deaths as you have just said, is virtually at that very high peak back in April of this year of around a thousand deaths a day. But the problem is now as distinct from that point in April, we're still seeing a daily rise in the number of deaths in this country. And all of this big rise is attributable to this new variant. This variant we have analyzed is 56 percent more transmissible than the previous variant. That is its advantage over the previous one.

SOARES: And so, Sir David, you know, we heard Matthew Chance just now our correspondent in London saying 20 million people will be in tier four as of today. Do you think these tiers go far enough, because from those regions we're looking at, have been in the highest tier for some time? They are reporting highest COVID cases. So what needs to be done here?

KING: Yes, so if we take London, for example, the number of cases since tier four, the highest tier was introduced in London in the southeast, the number of cases has actually quadrupled in that area. So quite clearly, it is not enough, particularly with the new variant to control the pandemic, and we are calling for a complete lockdown across the whole of England.

And the reason I say across the whole of England is that it's very, very clear that B-117 is going to penetrate the whole of the United Kingdom. There is no way we're going to prevent that from happening. It's already across the country, and once it's anywhere, it's going to spread very much more rapidly than the old variant.

The worst aspect of these new measures is the schooling. Every one of us would love to see schools stay open, but we realize that a lot of the transmissions are occurring for children who themselves are not suffering badly from it. But of course they transfer it over to adults, and it goes from adult to adult.

SOARES: So David, we'll get to schools in just a moment, let me ask you this. Have you seen any -- has the government published any scientific advice in relation to the lockdown or not? Why not go for the lockdown as you clearly pointed out. These tiers are simply not having the effect to try to curb the virus in the first place.

KING: For some reason, the government is always behind the curve on this epidemic. If we look at countries that have got ahead of the curve, that means as soon as the virus is in their country, they have acted quickly. In Europe, the country that is the exemplar is Greece. And in Greece, they acted very, very quickly, back in February, they got all the equipment in place in March. They began the lockdown very much sooner than any other country when they didn't even have a single death. By the time they got to June, they only had 300 deaths in Greece.

Now, we have always been reluctant to take any measures. And I think the problem is that we are seen to have a division between people in the chancellor of the Exchequer's office saying we must not hit the economy by going into lockdown.

Now this is simply crazy because if we delay going into a lockdown, the lockdown lasts considerably longer. Always in a pandemic get ahead of the disease.

[04:15:00]

We got behind it, and we have never had a proper test trace, isolate and support system in place. We are taking the best case example from New York City where they are isolating people into hotels which are requisition for this purpose. Absolutely the right way forward.

SOARES: Yes, and some may argue there is a lack of strategy, not just getting ahead but a lack of strategy all together. Sir David King, always great to get your insight. Great to see you. Hope you have a wonderful new year.

KING: Thank you, Isa, the same to you.

SOARES: Thank you.

Not one Republican Senator says he plans to object to the electoral college results as President Trump gives up for an early return to the White House after a holiday in Florida. We'll explain what that means, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: President Donald Trump is skipping his annual New Year's Eve bash in Florida and in just hours, he will be headed back to Washington earlier than expected. And this comes ahead of the Republican plan to try to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden's win. CNN's Boris Sanchez has the details for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) [04:20:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As President Trump spends yet another day on the golf course, Missouri Republican Josh Hawley becoming the first Senator to say he will challenge the Electoral College results in Congress next week.

SEN. JOSH HAWLEY (R-MO): These are normal folks living normal lives, who firmly believe that they have been disenfranchised.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): Hawley arguing that some states failed to follow their own laws, and quote --

At the very least, Congress should investigate allegations of voter fraud and adopt measures to secure the integrity of our elections.

HAWLEY: Seventy-four million Americans are not going to shut up.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): With Hawley joining a small group of conservative House members next Wednesday, it'll force a debate and a vote on the election results, which will put GOP lawmakers on the record either supporting Trump's unfounded voter fraud claims or voting to certify Joe Biden's win, which is certain to happen.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This was a massive fraud.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): The news coming as Trump's campaign launches another last-minute Hail Mary effort in court. Trump's team appealing their most recent loss in the Wisconsin Supreme Court to the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking to toss out more than 50,000 absentee ballots from heavily Democratic districts.

The Trump campaign now racking up at least 59 out of 60 losses in court, with cases denied or dismissed at the local, state and federal levels.

Despite the staggering failures and zero evidence, Trump continuing to peddle conspiracy theories and again targeting GOP officials in Georgia on Twitter.

VIC REYNOLDS, DIRECTOR, GEORGIA BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: There were no fraudulent absentee ballots identified during the process.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): After an exhaustive audit found no widespread fraud in the Peach State, Trump calling on Republican governor Brian Kemp to resign.

GOV. BRIAN KEMP (R-GA): So, I've done the things that I can do under the power that I have by our laws and constitution in this state, and that's what I'm going to continue to do.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): And erroneously accusing Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger's brother Ron of working for a Chinese firm.

BRAD RAFFENSPERGER (R-GA), SECRETARY OF STATE: Integrity matters. Truth matters.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): Raffensperger's office confirming his brother does not work for a Chinese company, and his name is not Ron.

SANCHEZ: Something else to consider about President Donald Trump's attacks on Georgia officials just how much confidence Republican voters are going to have in the state's elections when two Senate Republican incumbents are fighting in very tight runoff races just days away.

Boris Sanchez, CNN, traveling with the president in West Palm Beach, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Now from Georgia to Washington, a lot of developments for us to cover. And joining me now to discuss them all is Leslie Vinjamuri, Head of U.S. and the Americas Programme, Chatham House. Leslie, great to see you. It's been a while since we have spoken. Let's talk about President Trump, if we can, with only a few weeks left of his time in office. Heading back to D.C., trying to disrupt President-elect Biden's certification. What is the strategy -- his exit strategy here, you think, Leslie?

LESLIE VINJAMURI, HEAD OF U.S. AND THE AMERICAS PROGRAMME, CHATHAM HOUSE: Well, I think his exit strategy is very much partly just, you know, continuing to be deeply distressed by the result, not wanting to accept it. But I think there's also a play here. Donald Trump, as we saw him tweet just recently is thinking about his future. He's intimated that might get into -- that's there's going to be more media channels, other than Fox News. He's thinking about the future of the Republican Party. He's playing populous politics with the fiscal stimulus.

So he's really looking ahead and thinking about how to shore up his base, who will be his base, amongst even sitting Senate Republicans. And so really, all of his moves right now, I think, are very much focused on his own personal position.

SOARES: Yes, and as we just saw or heard with Boris Sanchez's report, we now have the Republican Senator Josh Hawley becoming the first Senator to say he will object to the certification of Joe Biden. But it seems he might -- perhaps he might not be the last. Does it have any chance of succeeding? Or is this just a show?

VINJAMURI: Yes, it is a show, but of course, you know, the goal, again, for Josh Hawley in particular is to position himself within the Republican Party to tightly align himself with Donald Trump. He's in a very strong seat. He doesn't really have any personal risk to his own position. He's looking ahead to 2024, to what plays and sets him apart really from Mitch McConnell and others who might have aspirations.

But it's really deeply destructive for the Republican Party as a whole not showing consensus. Clearly Mitch McConnell and others want there to be a smooth process on January 6th. It's not going to affect the outcome, but it certainly sows discord among the American electorate, and it really shows a Republican Party that has not come together and that is going to face a series of internal struggles and battles.

[04:25:00]

And they're going to play out with quite high consequences, potentially for public policy in the days and weeks ahead.

SOARES: Yes, and I think you pointed out very clearly, the whole is motivation. It's personal, trying to put himself ahead, trying to tap into President Trump's base, perhaps. Let's talk about the high stakes race in Georgia because there's more than 2 1/2 million people, I believe, have voted early in Georgia. Who do you think that bodes for -- Leslie?

VINJAMURI: Well, I think, you know, I mean you asked the right question. Early voting is, you know, it's almost -- it feels a little bit, Isa, like a replay of the presidential elections where that early voting, which was of course counted quite late, but those early voters were -- many of them were Democrats. It's looking right now that a lot of African-American communities are voting early, as well as a lot of wealthy Democrats.

But it doesn't tell us what the result will be. It really is a very tight two races. It really will come down to voter turnout. A lot will depend on election day itself January 6th -- January 5th. And the fact that the president is traveling to the state indicates that he understands just how important that voter turnout is. And right now, you know, getting white working class voters to turn out in a runoff election, it's traditionally been a harder sell. I think those trips are really important.

SOARES: Yes, and the president's traveling, so is the President-elect Joe Biden, but like you said, it feels like another election in the days ahead. Leslie Vinjamuri, always great to see you. Have a wonderful new year. Thank you so much.

VINJAMURI: It's great to see you.

SOARES: Thank you.

Now today is the last day of trading for the year for stock markets that in 2020 really saw remarkable rebound from a spectacular collapse. If I have a show you the Asian markets, you can see there. Closing in the past couple of hours, you can see it ended mixed with a Shanghai composite there, 1.75 percent.

But U.S. markets are not looking to close out the year with a bang unfortunately. The Dow, Nasdaq, and the S&P 500 futures are all pretty flat as you can see. But that follows a record setting day with the Dow hitting an all-time high. And that is quite remarkable considering how sharp the U.S. markets felt at the beginning of the pandemic, and how they have bucked really a ruin of the economy and widespread unemployment to really strongly recover. We'll keep an eye on those markets in the U.S. for you today.

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking down, not just on 2020 but on the U.K.'s long relationship with the European Union. We'll take a look at what the end of the transition to start a new deal would mean for many people. Plus this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I feel that there's got to be a better way to distribute this for people that really need it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Seniors in Florida are among the first to get COVID vaccinations in that state. But to get a shot, many of them must endure long hours of waiting in line. We'll bring you that story after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)