Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

India's Maharashtra State Imposes 15-Day Near-Lockdown; Deaths Outpacing Births in Some Brazilian Cities; China & U.S. Flex Military Muscle as Tensions Rise Over Taiwan; U.S. President Joe Biden to Announce Withdrawal of U.S. Troops from Afghanistan by September 11; U.S. Pauses J&J Vaccine over Blood Clotting Concerns; U.S. High Commissioner Compares Myanmar to 2011 in Syria. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired April 14, 2021 - 00:00   ET

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

[00:00:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm John Vause.

Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, unconditional withdrawal: U.S. President Joe Biden will announce an end to America's longest running war, a full troop pullout from Afghanistan by September.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine on hold in Europe and the U.S., as regulators investigate a possible connection to deadly blood clots.

Don't call it a lockdown, the pandemic epicenter in India, about to come under curfew with all nonessential businesses, even Bollywood ordered to pause but apparently it's not a lockdown.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

VAUSE: Hello, everyone, I'm John Vause.

After almost 20 years, more than 2,000 troops died, more than 20,000 were wounded, after hundreds of thousands of Afghans were maimed or killed and after spending $2 trillion , U.S. President Joe Biden has decided the United States has seen enough of the war in Afghanistan.

Hours from now the president will announce the last remaining U.S. troops still in country will be withdrawn by September 11th deadline of this year.

But the U.S. exit does not mean an end to the conflict. The country remains on a knife's edge with a weak federal government and what little progress has been made for women and other minorities and centers could be lost to a resurgent Taliban. Here's why the White House says now is the time to leave.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: But I will say that the president has been consistent in his view that are there is not a military solution to Afghanistan. We have been there for far too long. That has been his view for some time, well documented, well reported on.

He believes and he remains committed to supporting negotiations between the parties, which many of you may be following, are resuming next week. He always believes we need to focus our resources on fighting the threats we face today, 20 years, almost 20 years after the war began.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Helmand province in Afghanistan saw some of the fierce fighting between the U.S. and the Taliban. Nick Paton Walsh reports on what life is like is there at the moment and what the future may hold when the U.S. forces leave the country.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voice-over): If America is leaving Afghanistan, after nearly two decades of blood and treasure lost, what world does the U.S. leave behind for ordinary Afghans?

Taliban stronghold Musa Qala is where many American and British soldiers died. Now it's a snapshot of how the Taliban will run Afghanistan as they gain power. We asked six men living there, two on camera anonymously in safety, what it's like.

In short, bleak for women, a few smartphones but, for all, Taliban justice and Taliban taxes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There are consequences. If you don't pay, they beat you or imprison you.

WALSH (voice-over): A broadly medieval society then, considering all the billions spent. Except just recently with the odd smartphone allowed. That's how we got pictures of the streets. Taliban roam the market U.S. Marines once patrolled 10 years ago.

The Americans were based here, a location you can see on the satellite images not far from the empty shop where the Taliban have their temporary courts, which they call the room, dispensing swift, brutal justice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Punishments depend on what they want. If the plaintiff gives a murder, the court might not give a sentence. But if it's demanded they may, for example.

Around four years back, three people were hanged to death from the electricity pole on the road out of town for people to see. They had been arrested a few times for robbery but they did not stop.

WALSH (voice-over): This footage from a drive around town heads out to the refugee camps by the river, from where U.S. Marines used to get shot at. And it's clear few women are allowed on the streets. They still don't go to school. Nobody even dares ask about that, we're

told. But most men we asked said women had it good. This is what they meant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They are not allowed to do business outside their house. When they go out, they need to dress according to sharia law. So for them, it's more important to take care of their homes than working outside.

WALSH (voice-over): Women can also get a rough justice in this backward world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): One woman pleaded guilty for adultery and she has been in prison for the last five years now.

[00:05:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): No one knows what will happen to her in the end. The man caught with her was killed by his in-laws for bringing shame to his marriage.

WALSH (voice-over): Fighting is rare here now and the Americans must just watch from jets or drones above.

WALSH: In fact, we were told the Taliban only allowed some smartphones in Musa Qala because peace talks meant that U.S. airstrikes there had slowed down. The Americans had been using smartphones to track Taliban fighters.

WALSH (voice-over): Taliban rule in these streets, means they set taxes from opium harvests or shops, we were told, or ask for bread or clothes for their fighters when in need. But some said feuds between Taliban groups mean people can pay more than once.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Many people have been taken to the Taliban room, locked up for a night or two or have been beaten up. There are different groups of Taliban. It would be better to have a single official getting tax. But every group tries to take tax for their own pockets. That's one problem for people now.

WALSH (voice-over): Life then goes on, much as it did much before the Taliban were removed from power after 9/11. It's just a lot of Americans and Afghans lost in the battle in between -- Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Kabul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Dexter Filkins is a staff writer for "The New Yorker" and a Pulitzer Prize winner for his reporting on Afghanistan and Pakistan, he is with us this hour from New York.

Thanks for taking the time, it's good to see you.

DEXTER FILKINS, "THE NEW YORKER": Thanks, thanks very much.

VAUSE: OK, so this seems to be kind of a no-win scenario regardless of who is president or who is in the White House.

There was an editorial in "The Washington Post," which described the move as unconditional withdrawal, that may spare the United States for the cost and lives but will almost certainly be a disaster for the country's 39 million people and, in particular, its women.

It could lead to the reversal of the political, economic and social progress which the United States fought for two decades at the cost of more than 2,000 American lives, hundreds of billions of dollars.

In many ways, though, in recent years, those gains that were made had been lost because of a resurgent Taliban and the ongoing drawdown of U.S. forces. Instead of should the U.S. leave, should the question be, should they stay?

FILKINS: Well, I think that "The Post" put it well, let's just take the main game and that's women and that's half the population. And I think if you focus on the cities where most of the women live, their lives are very different. That has transformed the society, in an incredible way I think in a mostly positive way.

The women are doing things that they were never able to do, going to school and now you have women with PhDs. And that's at risk.

And, boy, if I were a betting person, I don't like those odds. I worry about the women in Afghanistan.

VAUSE: If the U.S. is not willing to maintain a significant troop level which would keep the Taliban at bay -- and they have done it for a while now -- then what was the point being there?

FILKINS: The point of being there is to protect the gains that have been made. But obviously you have to have the will to do that and I think, after 20 years, we're basically waving the flag. We don't have the will anymore to do it.

That's when it comes down to. The United States certainly has the capability to keep the Taliban at bay, it just doesn't want to do it anymore.

VAUSE: Operation Enduring Freedom began 20 years ago this coming October. Here is then President George W. Bush.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Taliban will pay a price. By destroying camps and disrupting commutations, we will make it more difficult for the terror network to train new recruits and coordinate their evil plans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: It was all about denying Al Qaeda and other terror groups safe haven and one of the conditions for the peace talks with the Taliban was for a complete break from Al Qaeda and terrorist groups.

There's some speculation whether or not that has happened.

But once U.S. troops are gone if this happens as advertised, how soon before do you think there'll be terrorists and Al Qaeda back in Afghanistan?

Will it be a safe haven again?

What will be the future?

FILKINS: Well, I think the future, probably sooner rather than later is, civil war. If you remember Al Qaeda basically took sanctuary in the country when it was in the middle of a civil war.

And so, we've seen that movie and it's -- yes, I'm worried about that, I'm worried about that. I don't it's going to be Al Qaeda but it's going to be -- I think the chances are that country is going to -- it's in for a lot of turmoil really soon.

VAUSE: White House on Wednesday, President Biden will outline more details, timelines, that kind of stuff.

[00:10:00]

VAUSE: Here's press secretary Jen Psaki.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PSAKI: But I will say that the president has been consistent in his view, that there is not a military solution to Afghanistan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: No military solution; that seems quite remarkable. It took the Soviets nine years to work that out and, before that, the British fought three civil wars over 40 years to learn that as well.

What is the solution?

Pouring a lot of money into Afghanistan hasn't worked either.

FILKINS: I'm not sure I agree with that. I think the point that -- of our military forces being there it is to support the Afghan government in the peace talks. It's to get a better deal. So there may not be a military solution.

But the point is we are walking away from a political solution as well. We are basically throwing our hands up and walking away. And so, all of the peace talks that have been going on for the last several months, you know, all gone.

VAUSE: So an uncertain future, not a good one, looks almost certain for Afghanistan. But I guess you, know wait and see. Dexter, thank you, Dexter Filkins, appreciate it.

FILKINS: Thank you. VAUSE: Iran has announced it will begin enriching uranium to its

highest levels so far, 60 percent purity, inching closer to what they need to make nuclear weapons. The move is seen as an attempt to gain leverage, ahead of nuclear talks this week but France says it's a serious development and will coordinate a response with other world powers.

It also comes after an explosion at Iran's Natanz facility, which Tehran says Israel carried out and now Iran vows revenge. Israel has made no comment. Fred Pleitgen has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Iran taking a significant step forward, now announcing that the country will start enriching uranium to a rate of 60 percent, starting on Wednesday.

That, of course, is in noncompliance with the Iran nuclear agreement, part of what the Iranians called remedial measures. Those are string of measures that the Iranians have taken since the United States left the Iran nuclear deal and imposed heavy sanctions on Iran.

The Iranians are breaching the agreement a little bit more, step-by- step, but they are saying that all those steps can be reversed if the U.S. comes back into the deal and comes back into full compliance with the deal.

Nevertheless, these steps certainly appear to be in direct correlation with the incident that happened at the Natanz nuclear facility. Indeed, Iran's foreign ministry wrote a letter to the U.N. secretary general saying that the United States should come back to the nuclear agreement.

But until that happens and especially after what happened at the Natanz facility, Iran will scale up those remedial measures. Meanwhile, a senior Iranian member of parliament has said that thousands of centrifuges have been damaged in that incident. This is a conservative member of parliament, who's quite critical of the enrichment going on at Natanz.

But nevertheless the senior member of parliament, the Iranian government has not confirmed, that they have said that there is repair work going on at Natanz, and also that the centrifuges that have been damaged will be replaced by more efficient and more powerful centrifuges.

The Iranians are also saying, that they are going to stay in those indirect talks and try to salvage the nuclear agreement and indeed, they believe that their position has now been strengthened -- Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Preliminary results from phase III trials show Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine is more than 90 percent effective, for at least 6 months after vaccination. The vaccine also more than 95 percent effective against severe disease.

Meantime, more problems for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Advisers from the U.S. CDC will hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday, on rare and severe blood clots, among a very small number of women who received the J&J shot.

Just six reported cases out of nearly 7 million doses administered in the United States. But the CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have recommended a pause on the vaccine until a review is done.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAUCI: What does a pause mean?

It really allows both the FDA and the CDC to further investigate these cases to try and understand some of the mechanisms of what it is, some more details about the history of the individuals involved.

So remember, this is something that we always, out of an abundance of caution, as Jeff said, to give us the time to take a good look at it and see if we can get further information.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: There is no definitive link as of yet between these blood clots and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the U.S. president says, even with J&J on hold, there are more than enough other vaccines for every single solitary American.

[00:15:00]

VAUSE: Dr Celine Gounder is a CNN medical analyst and epidemiologist and infectious disease specialist and, in her spare time, host of "The Epidemic Podcast."

Dr. Gounder, nice to see you again.

DR. CELINE GOUNDER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Great to be here.

VAUSE: The CDC and FDA made this announcement on a conference call Tuesday. Here is part of it. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are recommending a pause out of an abundance of caution but, on an individual basis, a provider and a patient can make the determination whether not to receive the vaccine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: On that last point, it was interesting.

If someone was determined to get the J&J vaccine and they went to the doctor they could in theory still get it. Right? GOUNDER: That's right. I think it's important to note that all six of the people who had these really rare blood clots, six out of 1 million women between the ages of 18 and 48, no men had the complication and no older people had the complication.

I can certainly see a scenario where an older person, a man, says I really want that J&J vaccine and they have a discussion with their provider about the risks and benefits and get it.

VAUSE: That gets to the question about risk perception and the damage that may be done to vaccines. Political guru Nate Silver tweeted, six cases out of 7 million people, what a disaster. This will get people killed. It's going to create more vaccine hesitancy. These people don't understand cost-benefit analysis. They make mistakes by orders of magnitude.

He says confidence in AstraZeneca's vaccine has plummeted in Europe after the distribution pause.

If the risk is not so great that people can still get the vaccine, is it worth actually undermining the public's faith?

GOUNDER: With all due respect to Nate Silver, he is not an expert on the psychology of vaccines and vaccine confidence. You have two major drivers of lack of confidence in vaccines, one of which is worry about safety and efficacy.

The other is a lack of trust in the health system and in government. It's really crucial that the CDC and FDA take this seriously, even if the risk is minuscule, to demonstrate to the public that they are doing everything possible to keep our vaccine supplies safe and effective and that they, as institutions of the government, can be trusted to look out for the public interest.

While this may create perceptions of risk in the short term, in the long term, it's well worth taking a pause here.

VAUSE: The question now, for those who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, what's next. Here is Dr. Anthony Fauci.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF COVID-19 MEDICAL ADVISER: Someone who maybe had it a month or two ago would say, what does this mean for me?

It really doesn't mean anything. You are OK. If you look at the timeframe of when this occurs, it's pretty tight, from a few days, 6 to 13 days, from the time of the vaccination.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: We have narrowed it down to women, younger people and now to anyone who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine up to 13 days ago.

What should the vulnerable people be watching for in terms of symptoms?

GOUNDER: The symptoms to look out for are headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath, that occur 7 to 14 days, 1 to 2 weeks after vaccination. A lot of people are getting headaches, fever, a number of other mild side effects with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine as well as with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

Those are not symptoms to be worried about. It's really at the one or two week mark after vaccination that we are seeing all these complications occur.

VAUSE: I saw a statement on Tuesday from Johnson & Johnson, announcing they decided to proactively delay the rollout of the vaccine in Europe.

How similar are the blood clots here in the case of Johnson & Johnson with the ones caused by AstraZeneca?

VAUSE: It's a great question. They are these very rare cerebral sinus venous thrombosis clots, clots in the head. They are extremely rare.

The fact that we are seeing them with both the AstraZeneca and the Johnson & Johnson vaccines is interesting. One of the hypotheses is they are based on the same vaccine technology, what we call adenovirus vectors. Basically it's a cold virus that's gutted and used to deliver the code, the instructions, to make spike protein.

[00:20:00]

GOUNDER: The fact that we are seeing these very rare blood clots with those two vaccines has us asking, is that particular type of technology involved here?

VAUSE: Quickly, what you would normally treat a blood clot with heparin you should not use in this circumstance, right?

GOUNDER: That's absolutely right. That's why it's also so important for people to be on the lookout for this and for doctors to be aware. Heparin can make the syndrome worse and can be fatal. We have many other blood thinners at our disposal but we need to know to use those in this context.

VAUSE: Dr. Celine Gounder, thank you.

A third night of clashes in Minnesota between police and protesters demanding justice for 20-year-old Daunte Wright, a Black man shot and killed by a police officer over the weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE (voice-over): Outside the Brooklyn Police Center Police Department, peaceful daytime demonstrations turned violent as night fell. Water bottles and fireworks were thrown by protesters while police used flashbangs to disperse the crowd.

Police have declared the protest an unlawful assembly. Many have been arrested for defying curfew. The protests come the same day as the police chief and the officer who shot and killed Wright submitted their resignations.

Officials say they hope to have a charging decision by Wednesday. The Wright family also demanding justice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: As tensions mount in Brooklyn Center, the defense for Derek Chauvin, the former police officer accused of killing George Floyd, has started presenting its case in Minneapolis.

On Tuesday, a use of force expert said Chauvin was justified in kneeling on Floyd for over nine minutes and did not use deadly force. Here is part of that testimony.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARRY BRODD, USE OF FORCE EXPERT: I felt that Derek Chauvin was justified and was acting with objective reasonableness following Minneapolis Police Department policy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Much of Barry Brodd's testimony sharply contradicted the prosecution's policing experts. Meantime, the defense case is expected to last only a few days with closing arguments starting next week.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights has an urgent warning about Myanmar. She says the violence echoes the beginning of the brutal conflict in Syria.

Also ahead, some cities in Brazil seeing more deaths than births. Another troubling sign in that country's COVID crisis.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

VAUSE: The U.N.'s High Commissioner for Human Rights is warning the crackdown in Myanmar could spiral into a full blown conflict with similarities to the Syrian civil war. Michelle Bachelet says official statements of condemnation from governments around the world are just not enough.

[00:25:00]

VAUSE: CNN senior international correspondent Ivan Watson is following developments live from Hong Kong.

Yes, absolutely, but what are the other options out there?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a big question. What we are hearing is people trying to sound the alarm. John, it's deeply disturbing how quickly things are unraveling in Myanmar in the less than 2.5 months since the military staged its coup and overthrew a civilian elected government.

Here you have the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights warning that the country is headed towards a full blown conflict. She is invoking the memory of another country and its disastrous history over the course of the last 10 years. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAVINA SHAMDASHANI, OFFICE OF THE U.N. HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: There are clear echoes of Syria in 2011. There as well, we saw peaceful protests met with unnecessary and clearly disproportionate force.

The state's brutal, persistent repression of its own people led to some individuals taking up arms, followed by a downward and rapidly expanding spiral of violence all across the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: John, I reported on the Syrian conflict in the first six months of peaceful protests and the deadly force used against the demonstrators in Syria. It was about the six month mark that I saw the protesters start to arm themselves.

What's more alarming in Myanmar is that that is starting to happen now. I've interviewed activists, who are getting training in explosives, with automatic weapons, in the border areas. We are seeing demonstrators already starting to use improvised weapons in clashes with the security forces, such as in the town of Bago, where the U.N. high commissioner has accused the security forces of killing at least 82 people on Friday and Saturday.

In another sign of how quickly things are unraveling, we've seen military TV post a wanted list last night of some 20 doctors that they say they want to arrest. They are accusing them of disrupting the machinery of the state.

And they are issuing a warning that any hospital or clinic that allows these doctors to practice, they will be prosecuted under the military's interpretation of the law.

So what you have is not only conflict and killing; you have different sectors of society being targeted by security forces, in the middle of a once-in-a-century pandemic. So doctors are afraid to go to the hospitals to treat people. These are all the hallmarks of a state that's heading towards becoming a failed state.

VAUSE: Ivan Watson, thank you live from Hong Kong.

Egypt has seized the giant container ship that was stuck in the Suez Canal for six days last month. A court has ordered the ship's owners to pay $900 million in compensation, including the cost of the rescue operation. More than 400 vessels were blocked from passing through the canal

while the Ever Given was ever stuck. The ship's insurer says it has been negotiating in good faith but that $900 million claim is largely unsupported.

Still to come, drastic new pandemic restrictions for India's financial capital after a nationwide surge in cases this month, the highest in the world right now. We are live from New Delhi in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, India's wealthiest and most industrial state is also India's pandemic epicenter. In just hours from now, a 15-day lockdown will begin in Maharashtra state. That includes the city of Mumbai. Public places and businesses have been ordered to close, with exceptions for essential services.

[00:30:11]

The state accounts for about one quarter of India's almost 14 million COVID infections. The health ministry says Tuesday it will fast-track emergency approvals for vaccines authorized by western countries, as well as Japan.

CNN's Vedika Sud joins us now, live from New Delhi. I know we're not meant to call it a lockdown, because I don't want to call it a lockdown, but it looks a duck, seems a duck, quacks like a duck. It's a dark.

VEDIKA SUD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, John. You know, it's been a rough month for the state of Maharashtra, like you said, the richest state in the country. And now you have the chief minister of Maharashtra, Uddav Thackeray, who's laid down some very strict guidelines.

He's saying this is not a lockdown, per se. But it's a near lockdown if you look at all the measures that they're taking that you mentioned just about 30 seconds ago.

So the chief minister has admitted now that Maharashtra is really strained; the system is strained. He's also reached out to those who have graduated from medical colleges to come and help, so it's as bad as it gets.

There are additional beds that are being added across the state of Maharashtra, because the incoming COVID cases are so high. He's also said yes, I do agree, that people have to earn their bread and butter, but we also have to save lives. Let's just listen in to what he had to say yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UDDAV THACKERAY, CHIEF MINISTER OF MAHARASHTRA (through translator): This disease is spreading at a horrifying pace. I say horrifying, because today's number of positive cases in the state is the highest so far. Nearly 60,212 COVID-19 positive cases have been reported in the state today. Hence, the situation is very grim.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SUD: The chief minister has also said that the state is low in oxygen supply. He will be speaking with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hopefully today, requesting him to send in more oxygen supplies using the air force of India.

Also national perspective, John. At this point in time, Sputnik vaccine has been approved for emergency use here in India as of yesterday. What's also interesting in that the state of Maharashtra, along with some other states, have been talking about a shortage of vaccines.

And now the health ministry has announced that they're open to approving emergency use of vaccines that have been approved by the WHO, western countries, and Japan in the coming weeks and months. Which also is good news, in a way, because it seems India is running short of supplies if you go through the statements made by some state leaders.

The health minister responded to this a few days ago, saying that we still have enough stocks, but that seems to be a very big development, as well. What's really worrying at this point in time is the fact that the Kumbh Mela continues, is the largest religious festival across India. It goes until month end.

And as of today, this morning, there are over 3,000 infections reported since the beginning of the festival. And today is another very important day. It has significance religiously, because a lot of people will be, yet again, taking a dip in the holy Ganges water today. A very worrying situation indeed, John.

VAUSE: Absolutely. Vedika, thank you. Vedika Sud, live for us in New Delhi.

Well, Germany's government will now be able to overhaul what has been a patchwork response to the coronavirus pandemic. The country is struggling with more than 3 million COVID infections, while intensive care units are at peak capacity, and threats of a third wave draw near.

On Tuesday, cabinet members signed a measure to let the government impose national lockdowns and curfews if case levels rise above a certain rate. German Chancellor Angela Merkel says it's a chance for the country to make some significant progress against the virus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): We need to break the third wave of the pandemic and stop the rapid rise in infections. People understand regional differences very well, but they expect traceability and can't clarity. I am therefore convinced that this is literally necessary to take a new path. And that is exactly what will happen with the legislative process launched today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[00:35:06]

VAUSE: And that means Parliament has yet to approve these changes before they actually take effect.

In Brazil, the current global epicenter of the pandemic, deaths are outpacing births in a number of cities including Rio. Nearly 4,000 COVID-related deaths were reported on Tuesday alone.

Details now from Stefano Pozzebon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: The health situation in Brazil is going from bad to worse. And just on Tuesday a new report revealed that in the city of Rio de Janeiro, which is Brazil's second largest city and arguably its most iconic, there were more deaths then births for the sixth months in a row.

And that's just to give you an idea of what a dramatic impact coronavirus is having on Brazilian population. And Brazil, like much else of Latin America, still has a very -- fairly young population. On any given day, you would expect to see more births than deaths and the population to grow.

But for the last six months, coronavirus has reversed that trend. And it's a chilling statistic to analyze.

To make things even worse, also on Tuesday the Brazilian health ministry declared that up to 1.5 million citizens are risk of losing the immunization effect of the vaccine, because they did not receive the second dose of the vaccine in time.

The ministry did not reveal an explanation for this incident and urged as many people as possible to attend the national vaccination campaign.

Brazil has so far been able to only vaccinate 6 million people out of its total population of over 200 million. And it's currently going through the worst outbreak since the pandemic began.

For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Bogota.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: When we come back, China and the U.S. flexing their military might amid rising tensions over Taiwan. More details on President Biden's latest move.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: China has described military exercises near to one as combat drills, just hours before a U.S. delegation sent by President Biden arrives in Taipei.

CNN's David Culver has the latest details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): China is flexing its military might, releasing through state media a flood of dramatic video clips like these. They show Chinese naval exercises that U.S. officials say are aimed to intimidate the people of Taiwan.

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: And what is a real concern to us, it is increasingly aggressive actions by the government in Beijing directed at Taiwan.

CULVER: Under the One-China Policy, the People's Republic of China, and its ruling Communist Party, consider Taiwan to be part of its sovereign territory.

President Xi Jinping has vowed to never allow the self-governed democracy to become formally independent, and he will not rule out the use of force if necessary to take the island back.

CAPT. CARL SCHUSTER (RET), U.S. NAVY: He's also signaling to the United States we can prevent you from helping Taiwan.

[00:40:05]

CULVER: In recent months, the People's Liberation's army-navy showcasing its capabilities just off Taiwan's eastern coast. Military experts say that is a pointed effort to demonstrate that China can cut the island off from U.S. Military support.

that is a pointed effort to demonstrate that is a pointed effort to demonstrate that China can cut the island off from U.S. military support.

From above, near daily occurrences of multiple PLA aircraft entering Taiwan's air defense zone from the west, a coordinated move that is alarming to some experts. It has sparked strong words from Taiwan's foreign minister.

JOSEPH WU, FOREIGN MINISTER OF TAIWAN: We are willing to defend ourselves and is without any question. And we will fight the war if we need to fight the war.

Taiwan's military is no comparison to China's. Where the PLA boasts more than a million soldiers, Taiwan only has 140,000 troops. China has got roughly 100 intercontinental ballistic missiles and more than 200 nuclear warheads. Taiwan has neither. That is why the island is so heavily reliant on allies, most especially the U.S.

BLINKEN: And, we have a commitment to Taiwan, under the Taiwan Relations Act, to make sure that Taiwan has the ability to defend itself.

CULVER: But Biden ministration officials stopped short of guaranteeing U.S. military intervention, should Beijing make a move on Taiwan. Instead, the U.S. has been using its Pacific fleet to showcase its own strength. This photo from last week showing a Navy guided missile destroyer's commanding officers sitting feet propped up, as one of China's two aircraft carriers sailed by.

And while the PLA has focused its exercises to Taiwan's east, the USS John McCain cruised to the west of the island last week. The guided missile destroyer passing through the Taiwan Strait, right between the mainland and Taiwan.

In response, Chinese officials said the U.S. was stirring up trouble.

U.S. military leaders believe a Chinese attack on Taiwan could be just years away.

ADMIRAL PHILIP DAVIDSON, COMMANDER, U.S. INDO-PACIFIC COMMAND: I think the threat is manifest during this decade, in fact in the next six years.

ADMIRAL JOHN AQUILINO, COMMANDER, U.S. PACIFIC FLEET: My opinion is this problem is much closer to us than most think.

CULVER: The Biden administration facing mounting pressure on the matter, as tensions at sea rise. But some analysts believe much of what we're seeing is unnecessary hype.

BONNIE GLASER, SENIOR ADVISOR FOR ASIA, CSIS: The near-term goal is to deter independence, and China has largely achieved that goal. And I don't believe that the Chinese are likely to use force within the next few years. I think they do not want to pay the price.

Whatever the intention, former navy captain and U.S. Intelligence officer culture says, China's messaging is clearly directed to a specific audience.

SCHUSTER: They want the American people, and the American government to see the cost of helping Taiwan as exceeding the benefits.

CULVER (on camera): You well know, Captain, you're going to have Americans who will look at this, and they'll say, Why should Americans be involved in anything over there? Why should they care what's happening with Taiwan? To that you would say?

SCHUSTER: If we won't defend a 70-year partner from a violent aggression, then other countries will look at it and believe we are either not capable or not willing to sacrifice anything for them.

CULVER: David Culver, CNN, Shanghai.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Thank you for watching CNN. I'm John Vause. I will be back with more CNN NEWSROOM at the top of the hour. In the meantime, stay with us. WORLD SPORT is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:45:21] (WORLD SPORT)

[00:58:09]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)