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CDC Chief Says Omicron Could Become Dominant Variant; Michigan School Shooter's Parents Now In Custody; German ICUs Brace For Peak Around Christmas; Biden Wants To Calm Tensions Between Russia And Ukraine; South Africa COVID-19 Cases Quadruple Since Tuesday; Blizzard Warning For Hawaii's Big Island. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired December 04, 2021 - 05:00   ET

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

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello and welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world, I'm Kim Brunhuber. I want to get to our breaking news.

Just a short time ago, the parents of the suspect in Tuesday's deadly school shooting in Michigan were booked into Oakland County Jail, the same jail where their son is being held.

James and Jennifer Crumbley were taken into custody in Detroit after hours on the run. Police say they were given a tip about the couple's whereabouts.

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CHIEF JAMES WHITE, DETROIT POLICE DEPARTMENT: We got a tip that they were here or that possibly the fugitives were at this location. The vehicle was spotted. Our officers responded in a matter of minutes. When they got here, they set up a perimeter, did surveillance.

We notified and activated our metro division, our special response team. They came out and they were able to take the fugitives into custody. Well, they certainly appeared to be distressed, as you can imagine.

And, as I indicated, they were in a commercial building, in a room. We were able to take them into custody without incident. And -- but however, they were very distressed as they were walking out.

QUESTION: Any indication they were aided getting into the building?

WHITE: Yes, in fact, they were aided. And we're looking into that portion of the investigation. That part is very active right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Authorities considered the couple to be fugitives after they failed to show up for their arraignment on charges of involuntary manslaughter Friday afternoon.

Investigators say their son shot and killed four students at Oxford High School earlier this week. My colleague, Paula Newton, spoke to CNN's Shimon Prokupecz about the new information.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE PRODUCER: There was some question that I certainly had.

OK, why did they wind up here in Detroit?

So now we know that the police are working an angle, where someone told them to come here, that someone perhaps may have helped them get inside this building.

They didn't break into the building. But I want to show you something, Paula, you may not be able to see. But the car is kind of behind -- well, this guy here is standing so you can't see.

But the car is parked in a parking spot. So they just came in, drove through this parking lot, parked the car and it's just sitting there in a parking spot like nothing. So someone saw the car. It's really -- it's really striking. The car is just there, like just taking a space.

So they clearly knew to come here and we know that. We didn't know that before. They clearly knew to come here and that there would be a place for them to hide out. It didn't work because someone saw them and called 9-1-1.

And the chief saying, well, thank you to the community for doing that. And as a result, the police were able to take them into custody. But yes, that curve ball, that now someone else is being investigated for essentially aiding them, aiding their escape or, you know, for their help on being on the run. And now that person is potentially facing charges.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Shimon, we could see the car and actually that's troubling, right?

They just basically drove right in, parked this car, as if they were, you know, parking up to a mall or something and then got into this building, which is why the chief said, look, you know, there could be other charges pending here.

We're getting a much better look now at the car. As you said, it was there. They weren't even making an attempt to kind of hide it. And they were in the building right next to where that car was parked.

Shimon, I also want to point out -- and this is no small thing. They did say that they basically were in distress, that they surrendered to police, that they were not armed. And I have to say that, when police approached them, they couldn't have known that, right?

These were people that they knew had bought guns and knew how to handle guns. PROKUPECZ: Right. They couldn't have known that. But when you see the

type of officers that came in here, SWAT team members, right, heavily armed officers. They had to come in here and they had to go through this building to look for them.

There is video of them going into the building. So they knew. They had a lot of information, so they were able to prepare, suit up and go in and look through the building.

And then they found them. They found them in a particular area of the building. And so they don't know if they knew the owners of this space in the building. And so that is something they're still trying to figure out. But it is really interesting that someone let them in. So that's going to be an interesting angle, once we learn who that person is.

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BRUNHUBER: Legal experts have pointed out that the charges against the Crumbleys are unusual. The prosecutor said the egregious behavior before the shootings led to the charges being filed. CNN's Alexandra Field reports.

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KAREN MCDONALD, OAKLAND COUNTY PROSECUTOR: While the shooter was the one who entered the high school and pulled the trigger, there are other individuals who contributed to this.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a rare move, a prosecutor holding the parents of a school shooter responsible in the deaths of four teenagers hunted down investigators say by their son in the hallways of a high school.

MCDONALD: Anyone who had the opportunity to stop this from happening to have done it.

FIELD (voice-over): James and Jennifer Crumbley each charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter following Tuesday's attack.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have an active shooter incident. So far, we do have confirmed injuries.

FIELD (voice-over): The Oakland County prosecutor saying the father bought the semi-automatic handgun used in the shooting four days before the attack with his 15-year-old son by his side.

The shooter later posting a picture of it on social media with the caption, "Just got my new beauty today." And his mother in her own now deleted post writing. "Mom and son day testing out his new Christmas present," according to prosecutors.

Within days, their son's behavior sets off alarm bells at Oxford High School, prosecutors laying out a series of glaring failures that followed.

A teacher at Oxford High School observed the shooter.

MCDONALD: Searching ammunition on his cell phone during class and reported the same to school officials.

FIELD (voice-over): Jennifer Crumbley doesn't respond to messages from the school but investigators say she does send a text message to her son. "LOL. I'm not mad at you. You have to learn not to get caught."

The next day, the morning of the shooting, another teacher makes a shocking discovery.

MCDONALD: A drawing of a semi-automatic handgun pointing at the words quote, "The thoughts won't stop. Help me," end quote.

In another section of the note was a drawing of a bullet with the following words above that bullet quote, "Blood everywhere," end quotes.

Between the drawing of the gun and the bullet is a drawing of a person who appears to have been shot twice and bleeding. Below that figure is a drawing of a laughing emoji.

Further down the drawing are there words quote, "My life is useless," end quote and to the right have that are the words quote, "The world is dead." End quote.

FIELD (voice-over): Officials say the suspect and his parents met with administrators, law enforcement isn't notified, neither is the School Resource Officer but the Crumbley's who were told to get counseling for their son within 48 hours resist taking him home for the day. They never asked him where his gun is likely in his backpack investigators say.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put it out as a mass casualty, please.

FIELD (voice-over): As news of a shooting at the high school breaks on Tuesday afternoon, a text from Jennifer "Don't do it." Minutes later, prosecutors say James Crumbley calls 9-1-1 to report a missing gun that had been stored investigators say in an unlocked drawer.

MCDONALD: I am by no means saying that an active shooter situation should always result in a criminal prosecution against parents but the facts of this case are so egregious.

This doesn't just impact me as a prosecutor and a lawyer, it impacts me as a mother.

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BRUNHUBER: Harry Litman is a former U.S. attorney and host of the "Talking Feds" podcast. He joins us from La Jolla, California.

Thanks for being here.

To start, how rare are charges in circumstances like this against the parents?

HARRY LITMAN, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL: It really depends on what you mean by "like these." From looking around, I haven't seen charges like this against parents.

And, obviously, they sort of alarm people with thinking that, now every time there's a rampant shooting, they'll simply blame the parents. But that's really, in my view, a mistaken a way of looking at it.

And I think you can run this analysis if the parents were, say, adult roommates who had bought him a gun, given him access, known he was likely to use it and not done anything with it.

So I'm confident, though I can't cite you case, letter and verse, that there have been involuntary manslaughter cases for people like that before.

And I think everyone's kind of shocked at seeing that these have been brought against parents, tend to distort what the prosecutor is really saying, which is, as in any case, where somebody doesn't intend to kill but does action that unintentionally causes the death, involuntary manslaughter charges can result.

Those, I think, are not 1 in a million.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, well, that's an interesting way to frame it, to sort of see them as roommates, let's say, rather than parents. But we're seeing it through the lens of parents here. The prosecutor called it unconscionable and criminal.

But is it criminal?

One could call it bad parenting, they could come to the conclusion that they ignored red flags.

But what exactly is the basis for the charges here?

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BRUNHUBER: Is it kind of the conspiratorial way that Ethan's mother texted him and said you have to learn not to get caught?

Is it the fact that the parents didn't check the backpack?

What's the basis?

LITMAN: All right, for starters, even though the father reports that his gun is missing, they bought his gun for him as a Christmas present. They stored it in an unsafe way. They knew he was carrying it. They knew he was looking for ammunition, which they laughed off. They knew when dangerous and called to the school and they could have

done something about it that they didn't. And they were cavalier about it.

And again, I think it's a very natural reaction as a parent to think, oh, my God, in addition to a tragedy like this could I be held criminally responsible. But that is not what is basically the theory of the state here. It's the conduct that they did.

And I'll go back to a roommate, who buys a kid a gun, knowing he can't have it, lets him go out using it.

Has he caused the death?

If you don't know how to parent and you're flummoxed by a child and you know they have problems and the child does a rampage shooting, have you caused those deaths?

I don't think so.

But you buy the gun, give it to him and know he's buying ammo, have you caused the death?

Arguably. I don't think it's going to be a clear victory. I think it's a hard case including for these reasons. It gets tied up in these issues of parenthood. But I think it does fit the facts and the law. And that's notwithstanding as opposed to because they're parents.

BRUNHUBER: Let's look at the process here. I mean, the prosecutor announcing charges against the parents without informing the police so they could arrest them. I mean, the sheriff said he heard from the media that he was being charged with a felony.

How unusual is that?

It seems to have been a big mistake.

LITMAN: Yes, so it's both unusual and bad form if it happened. There's bedlam and total confusion here and they'll be trying to sort of unscramble things over the next many hours.

But yes, it does seem as if nobody really took account of the possibility that they would abscond, which, by the way, their 15-year old is in jail. It is a remarkable thing to do. But I certainly agree. It should have been much more methodical.

If it was as reported, I just don't think from my own experience we should be too certain to credit every kind of fact that is being reported about the process now. It's obviously frenetic on the ground.

BRUNHUBER: Just a horrific case and still so many outstanding questions but really appreciate you helping them unpack some of the legal issues there. Harry Litman, appreciate it.

LITMAN: Sure, thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Thousands gathered in downtown Oxford, Michigan, Friday night, holding candles and shedding tears, as they remembered the lives cut short. The vigil also paid tribute to first responders and the seven people wounded in the attack.

Bells rang and four minutes of silence were observed, one for each of the four teens killed in the shooting, Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Tate Myre, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; and Justin Shilling, 17.

A dozen U.S. states have reported at least one case of the Omicron variant. The World Health Organization says no deaths have been attributed to the new variant so far and most cases have reportedly been mild.

Nearly two years into the pandemic, the U.S. is approaching nearly 50 million cases since it began. And for the first time in two months, more than 100,000 new infections are being reported daily. Hospitalizations have been on the rise for almost a month with about 58,000 patients now being treated and deaths due to COVID are around 1,300 per day, the highest in more than a month.

So while Omicron is causing concern, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the Delta variant remains the main driver of infections in the U.S.

Let's take a look at your COVID headlines across Europe.

A grim forecast from the German health minister, saying on Friday that Germany's ICUs will hit a new peak around Christmas.

Right now, there are some 4,800 patients in German intensive care units. Mask and face coverings are now mandatory in Rome and Sicily. The new rule will run at least until midnight on December 31st.

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BRUNHUBER: And in an effort to curb a recent surge in cases, Ireland is closing night clubs and limiting outdoor events to 50 percent capacity. And British scientists are warning that even if vaccines protect against severe disease, Omicron could still produce a large wave of infections and that could lead to high numbers of hospitalizations.

We have this story covered from all over Europe. We have CNN contributor Barbie Nadeau in Rome.

But first, let's go to Salma Abdelaziz in London.

Salma, we don't know what's going on with Omicron but experts say they better act now or else.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's concerning news from the scientist body that advises the government. And they say if, let me emphasize the "if" here, if there's any significant reduction in the vaccine efficacy with the Omicron variant, that could lead to a surge in sickness and hospitalizations.

And that could put huge pressure on the government here.

What's the government's plan?

The plan is boosters, boosters, boosters, because we simply don't know how effective the vaccine will be against the new Omicron variant. But it's the best bet we have. Authorities are trying to get an offer, an invite, for every single person over the age of 18 who will be invited to get a booster by end of January.

This is a huge effort, not because of the number of vaccines available but because of the staffing and resources required, 2.5 million shots given per week here, you need to ramp that up significantly.

Basically, this government needs to get to the levels that they had during the first rollout of the vaccine. Doctors putting aside other procedures and other appointments, putting all their time and interests into putting out, rolling out the booster vaccines.

But the fear is again, will she's vaccinations be enough?

Do more restrictions need to be rolled out?

I will tell you the example of Ireland. Just last night, the prime minister in a televised address rolled out new restrictions in place through the Christmas period and after New Year's. He said, quite simply, while addressing people, we cannot take the risk of not having social measures in place because, if this variant turns out to be more deadly, more capable of evading the vaccine, more transmissible, the Irish prime minister wanting rules and restrictions in place already.

Indoor venues reduced to 50 percent. The number of households that can meet at home, that's been reduced as well. Here's again that crucial point. Ireland is a highly vaccinated country. The prime minister was actually thanking the youth there for their efforts, for their sacrifice.

Unlike in Germany and Austria, where we've seen governments quite angry at the unvaccinated, really pushing people to get those shots. Really two pictures here, Kim, even in the vaccinated populations, prime ministers and governments taking steps to put restrictions in place.

And in populations like here in the U.K., authorities trying to get more boosters out. Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Absolutely. Thanks so much, Salma.

We heard, Barbie, turning to you, more restrictions in U.K. and Ireland, also in other places in Europe, like Rome, where you are, and especially Germany.

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, in Germany, they're focusing on punishing people who have not had a vaccination. Not having a booster but not having had the first vaccination. The vaccination rates are low there. And number of new cases continue

to rise and number of deaths following suit as well.

Here in Rome, today you have to wear a mask, face covering outdoors, where people gather, which in Rome, is pretty much everywhere. They're trying to mitigate the spread, not only of Omicron but the Delta variant, which is dominant here.

We were locked down last year during the holidays. So people are out shopping and celebrating and enjoying themselves. Now they're going to have to wear a mask to do it.

We're seeing other restrictions like that with face coverings across Europe as cases rise. Italy, though, is one of the few places that always had a mask mandate indoors since March 2020. We have not been able to not wear a mask doing shopping. But it's getting more strict in Rome and Sicily, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: I want to ask about this idea of mandatory vaccinations, Austria making it compulsory, Germany as well, the E.U. entering into discussions as well.

How realistic do you think that is?

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NADEAU: Well, in each individual country, you have to vote to adopt something like that. In the E.U. to have a mandatory vaccination, it doesn't sit well with a lot of countries. But in a lot of places you have that. You can't go to work unless you show that you're vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19.

And in Italy, we have the super green pass, which means that a negative COVID test no longer counts as a way to get into an indoor dining place or cinema or theater, something like that.

So they're sort of putting a lot of pressure on people that haven't been vaccinated to get them, if they want to do anything interesting, I guess, to have their vaccination. Whether they can compel the entire population to get a vaccination or be fined, in Greece, everybody over the age of 60 has to be vaccinated.

They face a monthly fine until they do. That does put pressure on people but there are a lot of holdouts of those, who just do not want the vaccination. Kim.

BRUNHUBER: We know all about that in this country, the U.S.

Listen, thank you to both, Salma Abdelaziz in London and Barbie Nadeau in Rome.

With tensions between the two countries at their highest level in years, a growing fear that Russia is planning an invasion of Ukraine. Ahead, we'll explore what Joe Biden is prepared to do to keep that from happening. Plus breaking news on the deadly school shooting in Michigan. Parents

are now in jail after skipping a court hearing and going on the run. We'll have the very latest on that after the break. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: There's growing fear that Russia may be planning a new invasion of Ukraine as tensions between the two countries reach their highest level in years. Moscow denies having any plans for an invasion. But Kiev and Washington aren't just taking Vladimir Putin at his word.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What I am doing is putting together what I believe to be -- will be the most comprehensive and meaningful set of initiatives to make it very, very difficult for Mr. Putin to go ahead and do what people are worried he may do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: CNN's senior international correspondent Matthew Chance is following developments from Kiev, Ukraine, and has this update.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As fears mount, that Russia is planning an imminent invasion of Ukraine, diplomacy is being urgently stepped up, with U.S. and Russian officials, saying a virtual presidential summit is being planned.

No date has been announced yet for the direct online talks between President Biden and Vladimir Putin. But the Kremlin said it hopes the summit will be held in the coming days.

Russia, which the U.S. and Ukrainian officials say has deployed tens of thousands of troops, is demanding new security guarantees from the U.S. to stop any further expansion of NATO to the east.

Ukraine, which is getting military assistance from NATO and ultimately wants to join the alliance, says that Moscow should have no voice in that process, calling the Russian demands illegitimate.

All this amid further reports from U.S. officials that they have intelligence that more Russian military deployments have been taking place near the Ukrainian border. Moscow denies it's planning any further invasion.

But President Biden said the U.S. is putting together a comprehensive and meaningful set of initiatives to, in his words, "make it very, very difficult for Mr. Putin to go ahead and do what people are worried he may do."

U.S. officials have warned that more severe economic sanctions against Russia would be on the table if a Russian attack against Ukraine takes place -- Matthew Chance, CNN, Kiev.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The relationship between Russia and Ukraine has been tense and dangerous for years since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

So if the two countries were to go to battle again, will it be a similar situation?

Last I spoke to a Russia expert, who said that things have changed for both countries over the last several years and it would in fact be an entirely different kind of war. Here he is.

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ALEXANDER BAUNOV, SENIOR FELLOW, CARNEGIE MOSCOW CENTER: Of course, Russian military is developing, it's more high tech than even before. It's modernized but the Ukrainian military -- and in Moscow, this fact is known very well -- is not the same as 2014, either.

First, it has new weapons. And then, the psychological berea (ph) that existed in 2004 (sic), because, imagine, there are officers, service men, who were starting in the same military school in the Soviet time.

They were on other or different sides of the front line at that time. And psychologically, it was very difficult for Ukrainian military men to fire onto their former Russian colleagues. Now it's over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Some experts say that thing most likely to keep Vladimir Putin from invading Ukraine would be crippling sanctions by the West which could do serious damage to the Russian economy.

Still ahead, the parents of the Michigan school shooting suspect are now in custody, after being on the run. Why prosecutors decided to charge the couple in the deadly attack.

Plus, a Michigan prosecutor say Ethan Crumbley had access to the gun that the parents bought just days before the shooting. Red flags she said they ignored. We'll explain. Stay with us.

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(MUSIC PLAYING) BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world, I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

An update on the breaking news: after hours on the run, the parents of the suspect in the deadly Michigan school shooting are now in custody. They're in the same jail where their son is being held.

James and Jennifer Crumbley were arrested shortly after police discovered a car in Detroit believed to belong to the couple. According to authorities, they were aided in getting access into the building where they were later found.

The pair were supposed to show up on charges of involuntary manslaughter Friday afternoon. Instead, authorities said they turned their phones off and withdrew $4,000 from an ATM.

Prosecutors say the Crumbley's son opened fire at Oxford High School on Tuesday, killing four students and wounding several others.

Meanwhile, thousands gathered together Friday night at a vigil remembering those lives cut short by gun violence.

The parents of Ethan Crumbley will eventually have their day in court. Each has been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter.

But what kind of precedent is there for holding the parents of a young shooter responsible?

More from Brian Todd.

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JENNIFER CRUMBLEY, ETHAN'S MOTHER: I'm Jennifer Crumbley.

TODD (voice-over): James and Jennifer Crumbley have the rare distinction of being parents criminally charged in connection with the school mass shooting that their son, Ethan, committed. Each parent facing four counts of involuntarily manslaughter.

MCDONALD: I expect everyone to have humanity and to step in and stop a potential tragedy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sheriff's office.

TODD (voice-over): Just how rare is it for parents or other adults connected to child shooters to face criminal charges?

PROF. DANIEL WEBSTER, DIRECTOR, JOHNS HOPKINS CENTER FOR GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION AND POLICY: This is extraordinary. This virtually never happens. I can think of one case, again, another Michigan case but it is extraordinary, even though these events, sadly, happen all too commonly.

[05:35:00] TODD (voice-over): Daniel Webster of Johns Hopkins, who has been studying this issue for 30 years, is referring a case in Flint, Michigan, in 2000, where a man pleaded no contest to involuntarily manslaughter and was sentenced to two years in prison after a six- year-old boy who was living with him found a gun in a shoebox and killed a school classmate.

With this case in Oakland County, Michigan, Prosecutor Karen McDonald laid out some of the potential evidence against the parents, saying that James Crumbley purchased a handgun but it was really for his son, which he said that the son's social media post show.

WEBSTER: It is illegal to purchase a handgun for a 15-year old.

TODD (voice-over): Experts say it was the parents' alleged inaction on the morning of the shooting that could give them the most legal trouble.

That's when the prosecutor says Crumbley's parents were summoned to the school after a disturbing note was found on his desk, a note with drawings of a gun, bullets and references to deadly violence.

The prosecutor says the parents didn't ask their son where the gun was, didn't check his backpack and refused to take him home.

KIM WEHLE, FORMER ASSITANT U.S. ATTORNEY: The argument is extreme negligence. They had enough knowledge that it was criminally negligent for them to have not taken the steps to protect in this instance the other students in the school.

TODD (voice-over): Webster says many gun owners he's observed who are parents are vigilant about gun safety when their children are very young. But then --

WEBSTER: Once they become 10, 11, 12 years old, there are many gun owners who have the view that you're going to sort of tell them the rules -- you don't touch this if I'm not around -- and that those rules will always be obeyed. And that, of course, is ridiculous.

TODD (on camera): In this case, Crumbley's parents may not be the only adults to face possible charges. When asked if she's looking for other charges, Oakland County prosecutor McDonald would only say the investigation is ongoing -- Brian Todd, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Earlier, CNN spoke with Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald about some of the warning signs Ethan Crumbley showed leading up to the shooting and how his parents reacted to this behavior.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCDONALD: My strong feeling is that we will likely find out more and more information about his past. But what we do know is that this gun was purchased. It was purchased for him. He had access to it.

And he was, as recent as the day of the shooting and the day before, exhibiting behaviors and statements that are very concerning.

And any reasonable person would look at that, particularly if they knew he had access to a weapon, and say, something is wrong and I need to do something, particularly if it were his parents, the people who actually purchased the weapon for him.

So you can't really look at what occurred the day before the shooting and the day of and say, we had no warnings. It was a definite warning sign. And it was, unfortunately, ignored.

And except for the promise to get counseling, Mom and Dad said nothing. They never disclosed that he had a weapon. They never asked him where the weapon was. We think it was in his actual backpack while they were meeting with him. And he went back to school and, just a few hours later, he started firing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Stay with CNN, as we continue to follow this breaking story.

Two years into the global pandemic and the new Omicron variant has health experts on edge. So just ahead, we'll go live to South Africa, where new infections are breaking out at alarming rate.

And I'll talk to a COVID expert on just how bad the Omicron variant could get here in the U.S. that's just ahead. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: The World Health Organization says no deaths have been reported so far from the Omicron variant. And most cases appear to be mild. But the mutated virus has spread quickly to nearly 40 countries.

That has health experts worried. In South Africa, where Omicron was first found, COVID cases have quadrupled since Tuesday. A surprising number are small children, CNN's Larry Madowo is in Johannesburg.

Larry, what more are scientists learning how fast it's spreading and how it's affecting people?

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kim, scientists say that the new variant appears to be more transmissible but is less severe. They have very little data because South Africa just entered the fourth wave of its COVID pandemic. So far, cases of about 2 million in the COVID pandemic and deaths around 90,000.

However, the important thing to take away from here is the quadrupling of cases in just four days. That's extraordinary. A positivity rate of 24.3 percent. It's still early days to figure out the number of hospitalizations related to Omicron variant because, still, like I say, early days.

But cases are up, hospitalizations are up. And in one small of area, in the province of Gauteng, some of those admitted in the hospital are under 2 years old. They're also seeing here in South Africa, some already vaccinated are also getting reinfected.

But the infections are less severe. And Omicron cases are less severe. But they're going to need time to get through that.

However, it does appear, here in Gauteng province, where Johannesburg is, there are more cases reported here than anywhere else. That is why the World Health Organization is sending a surge team to this province.

They're going to help with surveillance. They're going to help with contact tracing. And they're going to make sure they're helping authorities here deal with this situation.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. To do that, they'll have to get more people vaccinated. But the vaccination problem in South Africa is very different from, Kenya, where you're normally based. And they have a vaccine shortage. Johannesburg, they have vaccine but the problem is hesitancy.

Is there a plan to push people to get vaccinated?

MADOWO: That's what authorities say they hope will encourage them to get vaccinated. There's criticism of travel bans to South Africa. And White House press secretary Jen Psaki saying South Africa turned down some vaccines from the U.S. because they hadn't put enough in arms here.

In the country, South Africa has the highest vaccination rate than any other part of the country. But there is hesitancy from people who say, they told to us get two vaccines.

[05:45:00]

MADOWO: And now another one? What, eight and nine shots?

That's fueling that hesitancy from people who already were reluctant to get vaccinated because they feel this might be a cycle that keeps recurring to no end and that will give epidemiologists something to worry about, with health experts to help explain it to people why it's important for them to get that protection because, even the early days, they say the vaccines are likely effective against the Omicron variant.

BRUNHUBER: An important message there. Thanks so much for your reporting, Larry Madowo in Johannesburg, appreciate it.

Earlier, I spoke with ICU and critical care physician Dr. Andre Campbell about the Omicron variant and whether it's just a matter of time it's a huge problem here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DR. ANDRE CAMPBELL, VICE CHAIR FOR DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION,

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO: We hope not. So, let's talk about what's going on in South Africa.

Remember, there's only 5 percent of people vaccinated on the African continent, 36 percent of people in South Africa are vaccinated. Here, we have varying rates; some states at 40 percent, some above 60 percent. But the national average is 60 percent vaccinated.

That's not boosted. So that means, if you're not definitely vaccinated, two shots and boosted, then you need to get your booster. So only 20 percent of people here are boosted. So what that means, because it's spreading rapidly in South Africa, there's a chance that the same thing may happen here.

But so far, with collecting information, it's too early to tell. But the first cases that have come into the United States have been people who are vaccinated. And they're having fairly mild cases and being able to stay home. Not like right now.

Right now, we have 51,000 people in the hospital with Delta in the United States; 13,000 in the ICU; 120,000 cases. This is all Delta. So right now, this country is on fire with Delta. Everybody is worried about Omicron because the problem is there's a lot more mutations, instead of having 20, it has 30.

And that's why they're worried that the vaccinations may not work. But so far, they seem to be holding up. And the people who have to worry, 20 percent of people, 60 million people not vaccinated in the United States, those people, if Omicron starts going through those people in the United States, it's going to be a problem.

BRUNHUBER: I just want to follow up on something you said about most of the cases being relatively mild. South African doctors have reported that as well, similar to what we're hearing from the European health officials about the cases there.

But is there a danger that the discussion around the perception of milder symptoms could sort of lure us into a false sense of security here?

CAMPBELL: I think that is -- that can be the case. But I think everybody's on guard. Within one week or so, 10 days, we've really come a long way, just trying to understand things.

So right now, we'd say it's too early. We can't be complacent. And we have to be on guard to really watch out for it because if this thing is picking up -- so they went from a couple cases to several hundred -- almost 1,000 cases in South Africa in hospitals in a shorter -- but, remember, most of those people were unvaccinated.

So it may be different here than there. But we cannot be complacent. The masking, the distancing, the handwashing, making sure you're boosted. Three shots total, you need to do that.

BRUNHUBER: Quickly, before we go, on the booster. Administration is telling everyone they should get vaccinated and get the booster. This is a question I'm sure you're asked all the time.

Should people wait, you know, just a little bit longer for the vaccine companies to see if the vaccines work against Omicron?

And if they don't, wait for the new formula?

CAMPBELL: Well, that's a good question. But I think the answer for that is get vaccinated now. Don't wait because the new formulations will take some time. We know right now that the vaccines are working very well against what we have in this country with Delta.

So I would say don't get alarmed by Omicron now. Don't panic. But you need to panic about is Delta, which is here and it's 99 percent of our cases. So Delta is on fire in some parts of the country. Some parts of the country are not so bad. In New York, California, it's not as busy, 70 something, 80 people infected in the hospital.

Now we only have one or two. That's because we have a 77 percent vaccination rate in San Francisco. So the answer is, don't hesitate, get your vaccination. The booster should must done. Only 20 percent of people are boosted. We need to get that number up really high.

BRUNHUBER: Great message, Dr. Andre Campbell. Thank you.

[05:50:00]

CAMPBELL: Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Coming up, a blizzard warning issued for Hawaii. An update from the CNN Weather Center on just how much snow will fall in the tropical paradise. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: A blizzard warning has been issued for Hawaii. The big island is forecasted to get up to a foot of snow in the mountain peaks. Wind is also a major threat, with wind gusts of 100 miles per hour.

(WEATHER REPORT)

[05:55:00]

BRUNHUBER: That's all we have, I'm Kim Brunhuber. Thanks so much for watching. For viewers in North America, "NEW DAY" is next. For the rest of the world, it's, DUBAI EXPO 2020."