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E.U. Countries Fighting Over Vaccine Deliveries; Inside a British Care Home Hard-Hit by Coronavirus; Biden: U.S. to Buy 200 Million Additional Vaccine Doses; Acting Capitol Police Chief: We Failed; U.S. Assures Support for Two-State Solution; Biden Signs Orders Promoting Racial Equity; European Leaders Urge Multilateral Cooperation against COVID-19; China's Crackdown on Citizen Journalists Who Reported on Coronavirus. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired January 27, 2021 - 02:00 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: Now with more than 100 million COVID cases worldwide, we look at the hype and focus on getting much needed vaccines to all countries around the world.
In Washington, a top Capitol police official admits they were unprepared for the threat they knew was coming ahead of the deadly insurrection.
And later, taking on the powerful in Russia. The TikTok generation tells Vladimir Putin his time is up.
Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church and this is CNN NEWSROOM.
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CHURCH: With more than 100 million cases of COVID-19 confirmed worldwide or, in other words, one in 76 people testing positive for the virus since it was first detected last year, the outbreak has spiraled out of control in the past few months, with more than half of all infections coming since early November.
The U.S. remains the worst affected country, reporting over a quarter of the global case count. Its death toll has also skyrocketed in recent weeks. So far in January, more than 77,000 people have died from COVID-19, making it the deadliest month since the pandemic began.
Excitement over vaccine advances has been blunted by delayed deliveries, as well as accusations of hoarding and nationalism. European countries are debating how to best distribute the limited supply while struggling with second and third waves of infections.
The head of the European Commission says drug companies must honor their obligations.
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URSULA VAN DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: Europe invested billions to help develop the world's first COVID-19 vaccines, to create a truly global common good.
And now the companies must deliver. They must honor their obligations. And this is why we will set up a vaccine expert transparency mechanism. Europe is determined to contribute to this global common good. But it also means business.
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CHURCH: And our Cyril Vanier is live in Paris, joining us now.
Like everywhere else, demand for the COVID-19 vaccine is outstripping supply. That has triggered tensions, particularly between the E.U. and Britain.
What's the latest on this?
CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Really, if you want to go back to the source of this, the tension is between the E.U. and AstraZeneca, the vaccine maker.
AstraZeneca, which has been supplying vaccines to Britain for several weeks now -- because it's been authorized in Britain for multiple weeks and they have a production site in the U.K. -- this same vaccine is not yet authorized in the European Union.
I would point out that an important part of the story but it's expected to be greenlit by the European Medicines Agency on Friday. And the 27 member states of the European Union hope they will be able to hit the ground running and get scheduled deliveries, because the E.U. has preordered 300 million doses of this vaccine.
But a couple days ago, there was a surprise announcement by AstraZeneca, that they were behind. They wouldn't be able to deliver in the first quarter, between now and the end of March, all the doses they wanted to. We don't know exactly how much they are short.
But some individual countries have been giving an estimate. France believes they will only get a third of the doses they expected to receive from AstraZeneca in the first quarter.
The European Union, as you heard, is furious. They feel that, with the preorder of 300 million doses, that money should have served to not just do research into the vaccine and develop the actual vaccine but also develop the production facilities and the supply chain.
That's where the problem lies today. The CEO of AstraZeneca explained that they have glitches in the European supply chain and the reason this is not happening in the U.K., the reason they are being able to supply the U.K. and not the E.U., is because the U.K. entered into an agreement with the vaccine maker three months before the European Union -- Rosemary.
CHURCH: It's just an extraordinary situation.
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CHURCH: Meantime, there are real big problems with vaccine rollout across Europe. Bring us up to date on that and cases and hospitalizations.
VANIER: This really puts it in perspective, what's at stake with these vaccine deliveries.
Right now, in Europe, as there is in many parts of the world, there is a race between the virus and the vaccine. The problem is that, in too many countries, the virus seems to be gaining ground. Europe is facing what you could call a third wave of the virus.
Case numbers in countries like France are fairly stable. But the deaths and hospitalizations are increasing. And we know, in France, that we are staring down the barrel at another third possible nationwide stay at home order.
It's possible we are only a few days away, especially as authorities are tracking the U.K. variant, the variant that was first identified in the U.K. of COVID-19. It's on the rise in European countries. Here in France, it accounts for up to 9 percent of positive COVID tests.
In Spain, it's at least 5 percent. In Portugal, it's 20 percent to 30 percent. You get the picture. This U.K. variant, which wasn't even detected in Europe until a month ago, is now becoming -- not a majority variant but it is becoming more and more present and is gaining ground in these territories.
That's why European countries, many of them are either in a strict lockdown or, in the case of France, possibly on the verge of entering another strict lockdown.
CHURCH: And the solution is there right in front of everyone and the vaccine, just cannot get enough of it right now. Cyril Vanier, many thanks for bringing us up to date on the situation there.
In the U.K., more than 100,000 people have lost their lives to the virus. Just 10 months after the government said it was hopeful deaths could be capped at 20,000, the U.K. is the fifth country to surpassed 100,000. It now has the highest per capita death rate from coronavirus in the world.
On Tuesday, the prime minister apologized for the tremendous loss and says he takes full responsibility.
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BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We truly did everything we could and continue to do everything that we can to minimize loss of life and minimize suffering in what has been a very, very difficult stage and a very, very difficult crisis for our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: Salma Abdelaziz is with us live from London.
Prime minister Johnson says he is deeply sorry as the U.K. death toll passes 100,000. Many of those lives lost in aged care homes.
What's the latest on that?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN PRODUCER: Rosemary, it's a very somber day here across the U.K., 100,000 people who have lost their lives, 100,000 families.
This death toll is not proportionate. There is a specific part of this population that lost their lives and that's the elderly. That's the grandmothers and grandparents, residents of care homes, who suffered deeply at the beginning of the crisis and continue to suffer deeply now.
There is a bit of good news. About 60 percent of residents of care homes have now received the first dose of the vaccine. We are starting to see progress. The portion of the population that contributed a third to the death toll of 100,000 is now getting the vaccinations. We visited a care home in Peterborough, England, to find out more.
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ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): This is not what you expect to see inside a British nursing home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cheers. Cheers to freedom.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Places once devastated by COVID-19. But this is a day of celebration.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pleased, delighted.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Today is vaccine day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get my sleeve rolled up, misses.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Forty-five residents and dozens of staff got the first dose.
SANDRA STEPHENS, CARE HOME RESIDENT: I hope it's going to be over, the whole COVID business.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): This care home suffered deeply. An outbreak here at the start of the pandemic left half the residents sick. Four died of the virus. Now these survivors have some wisdom to share.
STEPHENS: The secret is to begin to realize that you are in control of yourself and, therefore, it's up to you to make something of the something that is difficult.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Like so many, Sandra Stephens suffered from depression during lockdown.
STEPHENS: That was the deepest feeling of all, actually, the feeling of being all on my own.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): So the 86-year-old made changes and she said she moved into this nursing home to be closer to her daughter.
NATALIE WHITE, CARE HOME MANAGER: That -- we go this way.
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WHITE: It's very emotional. It's a big day.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): The care home manager, Natalie Wright, says she found strength by leaning on those around her.
WHITE: We've got vulnerable people that needed us and you just have to be brave and do -- you know, we all just did everything that we could.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Joan Curtis recovered from COVID last year. She says, on the tough days, do the best you can.
JOAN CURTIS, CARE HOME RESIDENT: Just try and stick it out and be as cheerful as possible.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Bernard Morton lost his wife of 68 years just before the pandemic. He says has not seen his three children since the funeral.
BERNARD MORTON, CARE HOME RESIDENT: We could exercise no control. It's really in life that you haven't got a bit of input. But that input wasn't needed at all or taken.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): His advice? Really try and stay positive.
MORTON: You're always hoping for the best, that's what it really boils down to. Otherwise, you could be very, very unhappy.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): There are many more difficult months ahead but those who suffered most want us to keep hope alive.
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ABDELAZIZ (on-camera): Rosemary, in spending the day at that care home, I met residents who had dementia, residents who were physically unable, had physical limitations. You can only imagine how scary it must have been when the pandemic first started, when they see staff and nurses approaching them with PPE and masks, how terrifying that was.
Looking at the pictures now and remembering the day in the care home, I think these are the people we considered the most vulnerable, the most frail. And I think their resistance really gives us something to aspire to -- Rosemary.
CHURCH: Definitely right. This has been difficult for everyone, particularly for the elderly, but such wise words from so many. Salma, thank you so much for that story. We appreciate it. With frustration growing nationwide over a shortage of vaccine
supplies, the U.S. president is promising to speed up distribution and planning to vaccinate most Americans by around mid September. His administration will buy an additional 200 million doses of COVID vaccines, bringing the national stockpile up to 600 million.
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BIDEN: That's 100 million more doses of Pfizer and 100 million more doses of Moderna, 200 million more doses than the federal government had previously secured; not in hand yet but ordered. We expect these 200 million additional doses to be delivered this summer.
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CHURCH: The Biden administration says it will also ramp up vaccine allocations to states by 16 percent starting next week. So far, more than 44 million doses have been distributed but just over 1 percent of the U.S. has been fully vaccinated and fewer than 20 million people have received their first dose.
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CHURCH: Dr. Esther Choo is a CNN medical analyst and professor of emergency medicine At Oregon Health and Science University. And she joins us live from Portland.
Thank you so much, Doctor, for talking with us and for all you that do.
DR. ESTHER CHOO, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Glad to be here, Rosemary.
CHURCH: So President Biden vowing to get all American adults vaccinated by the end of summer. He's ordered an additional 200 million vaccine doses and just committed to increase distribution of doses to states by 16 percent starting next week. But state governors say that's not enough. What is your reaction to all of this?
CHOO: Well, I think it's still mostly helpful. I mean we're still only six days into the new Biden administration. And I think what they're doing, really, is signaling that they are committed to vaccine manufacturing and distribution from end to end.
So starting with the drug companies and the manufacturing process, trying to figure out what any bottleneck might be that interrupt the supply and then seeing it all the way through delivery to the state. And then working with states and trying to figure out what the barriers have been on that end. In terms of not just receiving supply but mobilizing supply and getting it that last mile into arms.
So, still very early and of course, you know, they walked into a situation where not much was being done downstream. So understandably, states are really frustrated. There hasn't been a lot of guidance. And this administration is just getting started and cannot do miracles. But there is the commitment and the thought and the communication and the plan to help at every level. CHURCH: Yes, it is the glimmer of hope we're all looking for. And of course, once those supplies are assured these vaccine doses need to be administered as fast as possible which is a challenge itself. But what about those Americans who refuse to get vaccinated? What impact will that likely have on achieving herd immunity in this country?
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CHOO: This is something that is also improving over time. So, you know, we see new data coming out that increasingly Americans are more receptive to vaccine. I think every week that goes by people feel less and less like they're guinea pigs, like the first wave.
And I think the influential things which are, knowing more, so getting more information, and also knowing somebody who received the vaccine, those things will just improve over time.
So I think there will be a tipping point where enough people have gotten it that other people want to get it. We just have to get to the first stage.
But certainly, our estimates for what we need to achieve herd immunity are high. They seem to be creeping higher. We are first aiming for 70 percent. But the range could go up to 90 percent.
So we certainly will need to really push out good information about the vaccine and give people plenty of time to ask the questions they need to ask and get the right answers.
CHURCH: The CDC says, based on various studies, it's now safe to open schools as long as COVID precautions are in place -- masks, social distancing, testing, better air ventilation. But many teachers don't feel safe until they are vaccinated.
How do you balance all this and make the right decision with sending kids back to school?
CHOO: It's really hard. Even with the new CDC recommendations, it's still a very tough challenge.
The question is, if schools can open safely with precautions, what resources are we giving to schools so they can have those precautions in place?
Many schools simply cannot put in the kind of testing procedures we need to make those safety statistics be true where they are. So I think we still need a lot of support to states and communities so that schools have what they need in place.
That may take a while for many communities. And I think teachers, again, need to have a say in whether they feel safe, because they are in a higher risk category. So I think it's still not a no-brainer to open all schools everywhere. I think those need to be community level decisions, with all stakeholders engaged in the conversation.
CHURCH: Absolutely. Dr. Esther Choo, think you so much for your expert advice. We appreciate it.
CHOO: Thank you for having me on.
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CHURCH: Join us for a CNN global town hall, "Coronavirus: Facts and Fears," with several experts from President Biden's COVID team. For all of you night owls, that's 1 am Thursday in London, 9 am in Hong Kong, only here on CNN.
Prospects for convicting Donald Trump in his Senate impeachment trial appear to be fading fast as more Republicans are questioning whether the process is constitutional. Senators were sworn in Tuesday, promising to serve as fair and impartial jurors.
But many Republicans seem to have already made up their minds, despite rejecting a move by Rand Paul to stop the trial. He claims Trump cannot be tried and convicted since he is no longer an office.
The former president has already been impeached by the House for inciting insurrection ahead of the Capitol riots earlier this month.
House impeachment managers are scouring video of the attack on the Capitol to use as evidence against the former president. Meanwhile, lawmakers say they are stunned by how unprepared Capitol police and federal law enforcement were. One calls it "dumb luck" more people didn't die. Jessica Schneider has our report.
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BRANDON STRAKA, FOUNDER, WALKAWAY CAMPAIGN: Welcome to the revolution!
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Brandon Straka took center stage on January fifth, one day before prosecutors say he stormed the Capitol. Straka spoke out at a Stop the Steal rally, warning that calls to stop Joe Biden from taking office would only amplify.
STRAKA: We are a problem for the RINOs who wanted to lay down and hand over this election to Joe Biden and the Democrats. Help me tell them right now we're not going away, we're not going away.
SCHNEIDER: The next day prosecutors say Straka recorded himself and other rioters attacking the Capitol. In one of the videos, court filings claim Straka directed people to storm inside and told fellow rioters to take the shield away from a Capitol police officer.
And prosecutors say he wrote on Twitter that he was confused why the Capitol attack was being condemned.
"For 6-8 weeks everybody on the right has been saying '1776!' & that if congress moves forward it will mean a revolution! So congress moves forward. Patriots storm the Capitol -- now everybody is virtual signaling their embarrassment that this happened."
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SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Straka even posted pictures of him posing with the president from December 2018 on his Instagram. Writing, tonight was a long-awaited thrill. I finally met and spoke with at real Donald Trump. He offered tremendous praise and even went around to several tables nearby and lauded me and WalkAway.
WalkAway is the group Straka founded which encourages liberals to abandon their beliefs.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We are going to walk down and I'll be there with you. We're going to walk down to the Capitol.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take the Capitol right now!
SCHNEIDER: This new video compiled by Just Security shows how many closely many in Washington on January 6 were parroting the president. Hundreds of those who attended the rally on the Ellipse marched to the Capitol to commit violence. One hundred fifty people have been charged federally so far and prosecutors say the charges will be getting a lot more serious. They are building towards charging some rioters with seditious conspiracy which carries a hefty penalty of 20 years in prison.
And now the acting chief of the Capitol police is revealing the major missteps by the department and that officials at the Capitol were not prepared for what they knew was coming.
Acting chief Yogananda D. Pittman telling the House committee, "We knew that militia groups and white supremacists organizations would be attending. We also knew that some of these participants were intending to bring firearms and other weapons to the event.
"We knew that there was a strong potential for violence and that Congress was the target. The department prepared in order to meet these challenges but we did not do enough."
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SCHNEIDER (on camera): Acting chief Pittman was operations manager the day of the insurrection and we've learned that Capitol police officers are discussing holding a no confidence vote targeting Pittman and four additional chiefs who were on duty that day.
In fact, one source telling us Pittman never took control of the radio or instructed officers how to respond in any form.
The union president saying no vote is currently underway but that officers are definitely pushing for one -- Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.
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CHURCH: Vladimir Putin gets an earful from the new U.S. president and generations of young Russians are raising their voices on TikTok. That's next on CNN NEWSROOM.
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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.
Antony Blinken is getting right to work as the new U.S. secretary of state. He was sworn in as America's top diplomat on Tuesday, taking the oath of office on a copy of the Constitution. He called the new role, "the honor of his life."
A longtime Biden associate with prior experience at the State Department, he was approved and welcomed by senators on both sides of the aisle. Afterwards, he had his first call with a foreign counterpart, speaking with Canada's foreign minister.
The new administration is announcing changes to Trump-era foreign policy.
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CHURCH: The acting ambassador to the U.N. says America backs a two- state solution between Israel and the Palestinians. Here is some of what he told the Security Council on Tuesday.
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RICHARD MILLS, ACTING U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: The Biden administration will restore credible U.S. engagement with Palestinians as well as Israelis. This will involve renewing U.S. relations with the Palestinian leadership and Palestinian people.
Relations, which have atrophied over the last for years. President Biden has been clear in his intent to restore U.S. assistance programs that support economic development and humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people.
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CHURCH: President Biden has said he will take a harder line with Russia than Donald Trump did. And the first evidence of that came in a Tuesday phone call with Vladimir Putin.
The White House says Mr. Biden pressed his Russian counterpart on the recent cyberattack, meddling in U.S. elections and bounties on U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, Russian state media report President Putin wants parliament to approve a five-year extension of the START nuclear treaty with the U.S.
President Biden also wants answers from Moscow on the poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who is now in a Moscow prison. But the U.S. president is not the only one pressuring Putin. CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Tonight, supporters of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny gearing up for more protests after coming out last Saturday, demanding his release from prison, confronted by scores of riot cops and a heavy-handed response.
"Russia without Putin," some yelled; clearly noticeable, the mainly younger people in the crowd.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Generally, I'm happy about how things are going in Russia and as well I'm really -- I feel sad for us, I feel sorry for him because he definitely does not deserve this.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Russian state media is trying to portray the protesters as radicals, but especially the younger ones also as shallow and naive, brainwashed by content on social media. But political science student and TikToker Mikhail Petrov says their grievances are real.
MIKHAIL PETROV, STUDENT, TIKTOKER: I don't want to be under the Putin's regime anymore because they've been living under this regime of their whole life and they want something better.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Alexei Navalny called for the protests after being detained as he returned to Moscow after five months recovering from poisoning by the chemical nerve agent Novichok.
Navalny's group also released an investigation into Vladimir Putin's alleged wealth, calling it, quote, "Putin's palace."
In a sign that the claims made in the investigation and the nationwide protests are becoming a problem for the Russian leader, Putin, who won't even mention of only by name, used an event with handpicked youths to publicly deny and try to mock the allegations.
"It's boring, girls," Putin said, but the joke might be on Putin himself.
Social media already ridiculing his alleged extravagant taste, like this rap video taking aim at an aqua disco that Navalny's investigation claims is installed inside the palace. However, the anger many Russians feel over alleged government repression and corruption are very serious, the head of Navalny's organization in Russia tells me.
"At these rallies, people came out to support Alexei Navalny," he says, "but there are so many problems and grievances in their minds, a lot of anger that's been building up."
And Alexei Navalny's group doesn't plan to stop. They've called for the next major protests across all of Russia for this weekend -- Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.
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CHURCH: Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, U.S. President Joe Biden is taking an aggressive approach to fighting climate change. A look at the series of executive orders he's expected to sign. That's next.
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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.
President Biden says the country needs to make racial equity and justice a part of everyday life, as he signed a series of executive orders. In a first step to address mass incarceration, he directed the Justice Department to end contracts with privately run prisons.
He ordered increased enforcement of fair housing practices. He committed to stronger relations with Native American tribes and made it government policy to condemn anti-Asian bias, specifically in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
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BIDEN: We have never fully lived up to the founding principles of this nation, to state the obvious, that all people are created equal and have a right to be treated equally throughout their lives.
And it's time to act now, not only because it's the right thing to do but because, if we do, we will all be better off for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And President Biden is expected to sign more executive actions to combat climate crisis in the coming hours. He has already signed several executive orders, including rejoining the Paris climate accord.
Sources say one of the additional measures will include suspending new oil and gas leases on federal lands. Meanwhile, the country's new climate envoy says the nation is ready to reclaim a leading role in the global effort to tackle climate change.
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JOHN KERRY, U.S. SPECIAL PRESIDENTIAL ENVOY FOR CLIMATE: Three years ago, scientists gave us a pretty stark warning. They said we have 12 years to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.
Now we have nine years left. And I regret that my country has been absent for three of those years. So we are proud to be back. We come back, I want you to know, with humility, with the absence of the last four years, and will do everything in our power to make up for it. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: For more, CNN's John Defterios joins me now, live from Abu Dhabi.
Good to see you. John Kerry will take to the virtual stage at the World Economic Forum later today.
Does he plan to unveil even more climate measures?
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: I have to say. This has been billed as U.S. Climate Day going into this presentation by John Kerry at Davos. I think he will affirm the decision on oil and gas and not allow any more drilling on federal lands or waters into the Gulf of Mexico.
It's a 180-degree difference from Donald Trump, who liked the idea of U.S. oil and gas supremacy, producing nearly 13 million barrels a day, number one in the world this time last year.
That's changing. We know the Biden administration has said net zero by 2050 in terms of emissions, very ambitious 100 percent renewable energy on the electrical grid in the United States by 2035, refitting 4 million buildings in four years because the emissions are the highest in American cities.
But this dovetails nicely with the European Union. Angela Merkel had addressed climate change national priorities for Germany, European Union priorities at the WEF yesterday. Let's take a listen.
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ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): We had said our European goal, our national goal for CO2 emissions, from 40 percent to 55 percent, is something that we want to aim at for 2030.
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MERKEL (through translator): We have committed ourselves for 2050 to climate neutrality, which may well lead to a situation that Europe -- and once we have achieved that -- is the first climate neutral continent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEFTERIOS: And Europe is the first continent to go completely renewable in terms of the higher priority in 2020. The renewables surpassed fossil fuels for the first time in history in Europe last year -- Rosemary.
CHURCH: John, Germany's chancellor didn't pull any punches with China at her virtual Davos appearance.
Did she make a call for transparency to President Xi?
DEFTERIOS: She did not name President Xi directly. I think that would have been a bit over the line if you will. But after 16 years as chancellor of Germany and doing the World Economic Forum every year, she did say you can't support multilateralism without transparency.
The day before President Xi gave a speech saying that they are worried about the U.S. retrenching.
That's not the case from Angela Merkel. She said, we didn't have transparency when it came to the source of the Wuhan virus and even took issue with the World Health Organization and its information policy, unwilling to challenge China before. So stern words from the German chancellor.
CHURCH: Indeed, John Defterios, many thanks. We appreciate it.
A federal judge in the U.S. state of Texas has temporarily blocked a pause on deportations. It's among the first court challenges to President Joe Biden's executive actions. The lawsuit was brought by the Texas attorney general, citing a deal between the state and the Department of Homeland Security.
Judge Drew Tipton blocked the order for 14 days saying, the state would be harmed if the hold on deportations continued. The Justice Department will likely appeal.
And still to come, Beijing is cracking down on citizen journalists who risked it all to tell the truth about the coronavirus when the outbreak first began. We will take a look at that.
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CHURCH: A long awaited investigation into the origin of the coronavirus will soon begin in Wuhan, China. The World Health Organization's team of experts will leave quarantine in less than 24 hours from now.
However, the group is facing several challenges in their search for answers. It is still unclear how much Chinese authorities are willing to cooperate. And there is skepticism of just how much information the group will be able to uncover, since it has been more than a year since the first cases were reported.
Citizen journalists in Wuhan who risked their freedom to expose the truth about the outbreak are now being targeted by China's government. CNN's David Culver has more.
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DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Nearly 5,000 miles from his home in China.
[02:40:00] CULVER (voice-over): Chen Kun is now finding his way in a new life in exile. He fled to Paris after his younger brother was arrested last year, caught up at a crackdown on citizen journalists who reported on the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan.
His brother, Chen Mei, used his online project, Terminus 2049, to archive published stories about the virus, preserving them in case they were deleted by government censors.
CHEN KUN, CHEN MEI'S BROTHER: At the beginning of the pandemic, the Chinese authorities, they covered up the real information about COVID. I think that information my brother collected and reposted will make the Chinese government feel ashamed.
CULVER (voice-over): In the early chaotic days of the outbreak, people used social media and livestreaming to provide vital information to the public on the epidemic during a moment of national crisis. It also forced government officials to acknowledge the rapidly spreading threat.
CULVER: At the time here in Wuhan, there seemed to be a window of opportunity for journalists to do this kind of reporting. A lifting of China's usual censorship on media coverage, that was seen as a positive sign of things to come. But soon that window slammed shut.
CULVER (voice-over): Chen Mei was arrested in April, along with his friend and the websites cofounder, Cai Wei, accused of picking quarrels and provoking trouble.
Zhang Zhan, a former lawyer, was sentenced to four years last month for the same crime after she livestreamed on-the-ground reports about the outbreak in Wuhan.
ZHANG ZHAN, CITIZEN JOURNALIST (through translator from captions): After I took some pictures of some patients, I was warned by national security officers.
CULVER (voice-over): She has staged a hunger strike, to protest her detention. Her lawyer says she fears she may die in jail.
Others who spoke out include another lawyer, Chen Qiushi, and Fang Bin, who uploaded a video of body bags at a Wuhan hospital. Both have disappeared into China's shadowy legal system.
Police also reprimanded a Wuhan doctor, Dr. Li Wenliang, who had warned contacts on Chinese messaging app WeChat of the rapidly spreading SARS-like virus in his hospital. The doctor later died of the disease, leaving a pregnant wife. His bravery in speaking out made him a martyr in China and sparked national calls for freedom of speech.
Sent to reclaim the narratives and control the public message, China's propaganda department deployed more than 300 journalists to Wuhan in early February.
The Chinese government has since denied targeting people for their reporting, saying, "In China, no one gets punished or penalized simply because of making remarks."
In Europe, Chen Kun now becoming a whistleblower himself, protesting outside the World Health Organization and trying to tell the world what happened, despite the risks to his family.
CULVER: Are you worried that speaking out could impact them?
CHEN: Yes, I'm worried but I don't have any choice. I just have one option to do. It is speak out. Maybe the Chinese government, if they want to rewrite and temper the history of the COVID in Wuhan.
CULVER (voice-over): He hopes his brother's attempt to preserve that history may help the world piece together the origins of the world's worst pandemic in a century -- David Culver, CNN, Wuhan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Incredible bravery there.
And thank you so much for watching us. I'm Rosemary Church. "WORLD SPORT" with Patrick Snell is next. I'll be back at the top of the hour.
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