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U.K. With Its First Omicron Death; P.M. Boris Johnson on Defense Mode; Europeans Don't All Agree with Vaccine Mandates; France's COVID Cases Going Up; South Africa's Positivity Rate Now at 31 Percent; China reported One Omicron Infected Patient; Indonesia Shaken by 7.3 Earthquake; Tropical Depression rai Headed to Philippines. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired December 14, 2021 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead here on CNN Newsroom, Boris Johnson is facing on the heat from parliament as the U.K. battles a growing COVID surge. We are live in London.

A unanimous decision. Lawmakers investigating the January 6th insurrection have voted to charge Donald Trump's former chief of staff, with criminal contempt.

And a historic meeting that Iran is not too happy about. Israel and the UAE mark a turning point in their relationship.

UNKNOWN: Live from CNN center, this is CNN Newsroom with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us.

Well, Britain is battling what Prime Minister Boris Johnson calls a tidal wave of infections from the Omicron variant of the coronavirus with new cases surging especially in London.

Lawmakers are expected to vote today on new measures to fight the virus. They include a work from home order, tougher mask mandates, and stricter rules to get a health pass. The country has confirmed its first death of a patient with Omicron, possibly the first in the world.

Britain's health secretary says the variant is spreading quickly across the U.K. with a number of infections doubling every two to three days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAJID JAVID, BRITISH HEALTH SECRETARY: While Omicron represents over 20 percent of cases in England, we've already seen it rise to over 44 percent in London. And we expected to become the dominant COVID-19 variant in the capital in the next 48 hours.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): Prime Minister Johnson is speeding up the vaccine booster rollout, urging all eligible adults to get a third shot by the end of this month. Meanwhile, he is trying to contain the fallout from another scandal for hosting a Christmas quiz party last year that allegedly violated COVID restrictions.

And CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is live this hour. She joins us from London. God to see you. So, Salma, the prime minister coming under increasing pressure over alleged lockdown Christmas parties, but he says he certainly broke no rules despite photos and videos suggesting otherwise. His approval ratings are plunging to an all-time low. Can he even survive this?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Rosemary, this week, it will be a test of the prime minister's authority. A test to see whether or not he can continue to wield power, continue to hold his political stance through yet another challenge, through yet another test. And that is of course the Omicron variant.

As you can imagine, the scandal has absolutely rocked this nation. The allegation is that the prime minister and members of his senior staff were holding parties, plural, inside Downing Street, inside his residence and offices eating cheese and drinking wine at a time that the country was being ravaged by a variant of COVID-19.

At a time, when people were being kept apart from their loved ones, at a time when hundreds were dying in hospital by the day. And so, it's now just about that scandal but it's also about how the prime minister has handled it. Because his strategy has been denial, denial, denial, despite as you said photos, videos, multiple accounts to media.

This now is the time when the prime minister is going to be paying the piper, finding out how he can hold on to his political office despite this growing scandal. Take a look at how it unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ (voice over): Prime Minister Boris Johnson is trying to save his credibility and office after a week of scandal that set off public fury.

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon, everybody.

ABDELAZIZ: The latest hit coming from British tabloid The Mirror. A newly-leaked photo showed Johnson at a Christmas Party quiz inside Downing Street of December last year. At a time when indoor social gatherings were banned in London.

Downing Street admits Johnson took part in the virtual event briefly. But added, those participating in person were already working in their offices. It adds to mounting information that multiple parties took place at the prime minister's office and residents last year. A brazen violation of lockdown. CNN has confirmed that two social gatherings were, indeed, held. One

on November 27th, and another on December 18th. And that Johnson himself gave an impromptu speech at the first one.

[03:05:04]

Days earlier, a leaked video of a mock press conference showed officials laughing about the alleged December 18th Christmas party. Allegra Stratton, the prime minister's spokesperson, seen in the video --

ALLEGRA STRATTON, DOWNING STREET PRESS SECRETARY: I'm truly sorry --

ABDELAZIZ: -- apologized and resign shortly after. Last week, Johnson launched an investigation into the social gatherings. Still, he has continuously denied that any parties took place, or any restrictions were broken.

JOHNSON: I can tell you that if I certainly break that rule, the whole thing will be looked into by the cabinet secretary. And what I am focused on, frankly, is the vaccine rollout.

ABDELAZIZ: It comes as health officials warn Omicron cases in the U.K. are doubling every two to three days. On Sunday, the Prime Minister pled for compliance with new COVID rules and urged everyone eligible to get boosted.

JOHNSON: There is a tidal wave of Omicron coming.

ABDELAZIZ: But the country's opposition leader, Keir Starmer said Johnson is a threat to public health and no longer fit for office.

KEIR STARMER, LEADER, BRITISH LABOUR PARTY: Now that trust is broken. And many people are now saying, well, if the Prime Minister is going to allow breaking of the rules, parties, quizzes going on in Downing Street, when we are being asked not to see our loved ones well, why should I follow the rules?

ABDELAZIZ: Johnson is set to be back in parliament this week to push new COVID measures. He is expected to face a rebellion from his own party, appearing to lose faith, even among his own circle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ (on camera): Now as we've been discussing, Rosemary, the Prime Minister back in parliament today to push through a few more measures to deal with that Omicron variant, he is expected to face a rebellion from his own party. Dozens of conservative M.P.'s have made it known that they are going to vote against these measures, against the Prime Minister, and, yes, of course, these are M.P.'s who say they are opposed to the curving of civil liberties, or what they see as the curving of civil liberties with these new restrictions.

But it also begins to show you that the prime minister may no longer wield that authority over his own party, particularly at a time when he needs it most. Now, the measures are expected to go through because the Labour Party, the opposition party is going to vote for these measures, but you can see how this is a problem for the prime minister. He is relying on the opposition party to push restrictions through. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Yes, we'll watch to see what happens. Salma Abdelaziz, joining us live from London, many thanks for that report.

Well, a hatred of COVID vaccine mandates and lockdowns is creating some strange bed fellows in Europe. Bringing together the far left and far right.

As CNN's Melissa Bell reports.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's the new front in Europe's fight against the pandemic. No longer the hesitant, but those dead set against vaccines and COVID-19 restrictions. A fight that's set to get much uglier.

Nearly one year into the E.U.'s vaccination program and amid a surge in COVID infections, vaccines are becoming mandatory for entire populations or certain categories, like the elderly or healthcare workers.

ALEXANDER SCHALLENBERG, FORMER AUSTRIAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): Despite months of persuasion, despite intensive media campaigns, despite discussion in various media, we have not succeeded in convincing enough people to get vaccinated.

BELL: In November, Austria became the first European country to announce that vaccines would be mandatory for all starting from February. The far-right freedom party immediately called for demonstrations.

But it isn't just the far-right. Across Europe and for populist parties from all sides of the spectrum, the COVID-19 measures and vaccines have provided a federating new focus that transcends the old left-right divide.

JEAN-YVES CAMUS, POLITICAL SCIENTIST: It's a divide about whether you trust the media or not, and whether you trust your politicians or not. The new divide is between the mainstream and the periphery, and the periphery is made of all kind of people.

BELL: Sophie Tisier (Ph) agrees. She has helped organize several of France's COVID demonstrations.

UNKNOWN (through translator): We want to create a citizen's opposition which is beyond electoral considerations and much more like a watchdog that sits outside the world of politics. To be able to tell it, look here, you are no longer protecting our rights.

BELL: Researchers at the University of Turin have found a strong correlation between anti-vax and populist sentiment, which means that mainstream governments are now taking on those they have already lost. SILVIA RUSSO, POLITICAL SCIENTIST, UNIVERSITY OF TURIN: The result

here would be that, those anti-vaxxers that would hold even more extreme positions. If the vaccine become mandatory then, the government would need to have some kind of control about it. And this can also undermine institutional trust.

[03:10:02]

BELL: Increasing the aggressive vaccine policies may force many more people into vaccination centers, but they are also likely to push many more forcefully, onto the streets.

Melissa Bell CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And still in Europe, COVID cases are rising in France ahead of Christmas. But the prime minister says the rate of increase appears to be slowing down.

For the latest, CNN's Eleni Giokos joins us live from Athens, Greece. Good to see you, Eleni.

So, encouraging news from France, but it goes against what we are seeing and other parts of Europe. The latest in France, and indeed, across the continent.

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rosemary, and it's interesting that you heard the prime minister saying there is a deceleration of the fifth wave. (AUDIO GAP) But it's also warned that France could be hit with a 6th wave come January with could be full for Omicron right now, the prognosis is that Delta is still is the dominant variant in France.

And as we heard from Melissa Bell, there is a frustration from authorities that are desperately trying to get people firstly to vaccinate, secondly to think about the booster shots to try and bring these numbers down. And just last week, we saw some record daily numbers coming through in France, some of the highest we've seen since the start of the pandemic.

And they are still in the tens of thousands and you got ICU beds right now, half of which are full with COVID-19 patients. The health passes now a big point of contention for many people to try and circumvent that. You've actually seen a network of people that have been offering fake health passes which now are currently under investigation.

The health authorities and government is saying that thousands of these fake health passes are currently in hands of people and you need these passes by the way to get into certain public spaces like bars and restaurants.

And those restrictions are starting to increase quite dramatically to try and ensure that they curb the spread of COVID-19. In the meantime, you are seeing similar numbers playing out in the west of Europe. Tens of thousands of people are testing positive for COVID-19. Remember, the WHO had said that Europe is now the epicenter of the

COVID-19 pandemic and that was in mid-November. And you are seeing these rise in cases, and governments are starting to crack down on the unvaccinated. Thinking about mandatory vaccinations. These discussions are happening in parliaments in Germany, they're hoping to put back through into effect by early next year.

Here in Greece, for example, if you are over 16 it's mandatory to have a vaccine by mid-January, and if you have not been vaccinated that means that you are going to be fined over 100 euro every single month. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Right. Eleni Giokos bringing us the latest from Athens, Greece there. Many thanks.

And we want to get you up to speed on other major COVID stories we are following as Omicron spreads. South Africa's COVID positivity rate has jumped to 31 percent, and that means nearly one in three people tested for COVID come up positive. It's South Africa's highest positivity rate since Omicron was first identified there last month.

And in Asia, mainland China is reporting its first cases of the new COVID variant. State media report at least one was found in the northern city of Tianjin in a traveler who came from overseas on Thursday, and another case was found in Guangzhou in the south.

CNN is covering Omicron from around the world. Larry Madowo is live in Johannesburg this hour. And Kristie Lu Stout joins us live from Hong Kong.

Great to see you both.

Kristie, two confirmed cases now of Omicron in China. What are you learning about these?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, after health authorities in Tianjin confirmed the very first case of the Omicron variant there. Another case of the variant has been reported in Guangzhou.

State media are reporting that this evolves a 67-year-old male who on November the 27th he touched down in Shanghai. He was tested for COVID multiple times while during his hotel quarantine in Shanghai. And then later flew from Shanghai to Guangzhou where he was tested positive to have the Omicron variant.

Now meanwhile, it is in another part of China, Zhejiang province on the eastern coast of China, that continues to be the epicenter of the current flare-up of cases. On Monday, China reported 51 new locally transmitted cases of the virus including 44 in Zhejiang province which is this factory powerhouse in China responding to this flare-up of cases.

Authorities there have announced lockdowns and quarantines. Tens of thousands of people are now in quarantine across Zhejiang province. There are also reports, that over a dozen mainland Chinese listed companies have suspended production because of COVID-19 restrictions.

As China reports a second case of the Omicron variant, the final version of the Beijing Winter Olympic games playbook has already been released. And it provides some clarity about booster shots. In it, it says that athletes are, quote, "strongly encouraged to get a booster shot." But at this moment, not mandated to do so. Back to you.

[03:15:03]

CHURCH: Yes. Actually, on that very point, what impact will all of this likely have on the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics?

LU STOUT: That's all very uncertain right now. Before we found out about these first few cases of the Omicron variant, we heard from a top respiratory expert in China over the weekend. He was speaking at a vaccine summit in Shenzhen, and he said that China is not afraid of the Omicron variant because of its dynamic zero COVID policy.

It's not completely zero dynamic zero, meaning that China acknowledges you can't bring cases to zero, but as low as possible through those mass testing, contact tracing campaigns, lockdowns, border restrictions, et cetera. But, when the Beijing Winter Olympic games kickoff in less than two months' time, that will be the ultimate test of this dynamic zero COVID policy. Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right. Thanks for that, Kristie. And Larry, to you now in Johannesburg. South Africa's COVID-19 positivity rate as we reported has risen to 31 percent in the midst of this Omicron variant surge. So, what is the latest on this, and of course efforts to get more shots in arms?

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A great deal of concern, Rosemary, about that real surge in the number of COVID-19 cases here in South Africa. And that's 31 percent positivity rate is the highest since the Omicron variant was first discovered here just over a fortnight ago.

So what means is that for over 100 tests they're doing, 31 are turning positive. In fact, even President Cyril Ramaphosa himself tested positive after he had been traveling for about a week in West Africa. He is reported to be having mild symptoms and is receiving treatment. He is isolating in Cape Town and has delegated other responsibilities to his deputy David Mabuza.

And from his isolation, he did send a message to South Africans saying that you still need to be vigilant because vaccines work. That is the only way to protect yourself because they prevent severe disease and death. And that's an important message from the president because there are people here who are hesitant to get vaccinated.

And the arguments from the government, from the private sector, from civil society, Rosemary, is that the only way to forestall another hard lockdown is to get vaccination numbers up. If you don't have that happening, then South Africa might have to do another hard lockdown which has been devastating to the economy. But there is pushback, listen to one social activist what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NKOSENTSHA SHEZI, SOUTH AFRICAN SOCIAL ACTIVIST: Lockdowns are highly no-no. First, mandatory vaccines are highly no-no. It will remove the spirits and the meaning of the vaccinations because it will reduce people into animals in your crawl (Ph) that you can just do as you wish.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MADOWO (on camera): The argument here is that mandating vaccines as the South African government is considering, would go against the rights of South Africans. that would go against the South African Constitution, the bail of rights. Legal experts say that's not true. That the government can in fact mandate vaccines if it does protect other people from severe disease and death.

But it's a big debate that's raging right now in the country as the Omicron variant drives these new cases. And this will be critical because we expect to hear a lot more from scientists from the government about how serious this new variant is. And we have some news dropping in the next hour.

CHURCH: yes. It is all about stopping this pandemic and getting vaccinated will do that. Kristie Lu Stout and Larry Madowo, thank you so much for joining us. I appreciate it.

Well, on Capitol Hill the January 6 committee votes to recommend criminal contempt charges for Mark Meadows for failing to comply with its subpoena.

Ahead on CNN, a look on what happens next.

A powerful earthquake strikes off of Indonesia's coast sparking panic and sending people into the streets. We will have details on that after the short break. Stay with us.

[03:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH (on camera): Welcome back, everyone. Well more than a dozen aftershocks have been reported in the wake of a 7.3 magnitude earthquake off of Indonesia's coast.

And CNN's Pedram Javaheri joins us now with details. Good to see you, Pedram. So, what more are you learning about this quake?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Rosemary, this earthquake certainly a scary one for many folks across this region. Fortunately, it happened late into the morning hours. Oftentimes you see these quakes happened into the overnight hours, makes it far more dangerous of course when people are caught off guard, and potentially in bed.

But take a look. At 7.3 very shallow, 18.5 kilometers in depth. Then located about 100 kilometers or so north of Maumere in this particular city. About 85,000 people call this area home. So, quite bit of strong to moderate shaking felt across this particular area. In fact, we know data estimates put somewhere about 350,000 people in total regionwide felt at least moderate shaking with about 2,000 people feeling the strong shaking.

But one good piece of news out of this is the particular fault this quake occurred on is strikes slip fault, which means that the movement on the plate is side to side, not that mega thrust sort of action that we see that displaces water and leads to a tsunami concern.

So that kind of lessen the concern of a tsunami across this region. There was no warning issued at least regionwide for a tsunami. But looking at quakes of this magnitude, it is pretty rare. Anytime you exceed 7.0, that happens on average about 15 times per year. You roughly bring that down to about a once per month. And it often falls right along this line.

The portion of the world the Ring of Fire where some 450 active volcanoes are in place. And some 90 percent of the world's earthquakes take place. And of course, this is precisely where we saw this take place into the portions of Indonesia.

But with that quake, the main shock being 7.3. aftershocks. Generally speaking, based on historical data you would expect one aftershock getting to the 6.3 or greater magnitude. With at least 10 falling in that 5.3 or greater. And you see potentially as many as hundreds in place there in the four scale.

So, a lot of shaking to be had before it's all said and done. Now I do want to talk about another part of the world where quite a bit of active weather is stored the next couple of days. This is tropical storm Rai, it is located near the island of Palau.

But all eyes across the portions of the Philippines on the storm system. Because over the next 24 to 36 hours this system is poised to strengthen. Potentially get up to a category three equivalent. If it were a hurricane, it'd be category three. And it approaches areas of the eastern Visayas, potentially northern Mindanao as early as Thursday afternoon and Thursday night and really could have devastating impact.

Certainly, going to see evacuations in place in advance to the system as it approaches. And if you're tuning in across Tacloban, Santiago, Santa Cruz, these are areas where the winds will pick up in intensity as early as Thursday morning.

And of course, storm surge on the immediate coast really could be devastating and the incredible amount of rainfall also something to follow here with as much as 200 plus milliliters in store as we get into the latter portion of this week. So, a lot of weather happening in this part of the world, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes. Most definitely. And you are right on top of all of it. Many thanks to you, Pedram Javaheri.

Well in the U.S., officials are struggling to assess the devastation after a series of violent tornadoes ripped through the Midwest and South. At least 50 tornadoes touched down across eight states over the weekend, leaving at least 88 people dead.

Kentucky was the hardest hit with at least 74 killed and more than 100 still missing. Exact numbers have been hard to pin down so far, and this is partly why. Entire communities reduced to rubble. Unrecognizable to the people who live there as they begin sifting through the debris, picking up pieces of the lives they had built.

CNN's Boris Sanchez reports.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Terrifying moments captured on camera. As at least 50 reported tornadoes ripped across eight states over the weekend.

UNKNOWN: You can just see rubble and it was unrecognizable. To me, it looked like a war zone.

[03:25:02]

SANCHEZ: Leaving catastrophic damage and loss of life. At least 88 people killed while rescue efforts continue for those still missing.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: What is certain, it is one of the worst tornadoes disasters we have had in the country.

SANCHEZ: The storms unprecedented. One tornado reportedly on the ground in Kentucky for more than 200 miles. It could be the largest continuous tornado track in U.S. history. Entire towns were wiped off of the map in the bluegrass state.

STATE SEN. WHITNEY WESTERFIELD, KENTUCKY: For some folks I don't know that they'll ever recover from this. Completely certainly not emotionally or psychologically.

SANCHEZ: The governor of Kentucky emotional this morning, reflecting on the 74 lives lost there. And 109 still missing.

GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY): Of the ones that we know. The age -- the age range is five months to 86 years.

SANCHEZ: The small town of Mayfield being described as ground zero. Janet Kemp says it's a miracle she survived. Lying flat on the ground in a hallway, praying as the storm leveled her home. Leaving the place she grew up unrecognizable.

JANET KEMP, MAYFIELD, KENTUCKY RESIDENT: It really hurts. Because I love Mayfield. And I wouldn't live anywhere else. So, I'm going to stay here and start again.

SANCHEZ: The path of destruction stretches all of the way to Illinois, where OSHA is investigating the collapse of an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville. At least six workers died after an EF-3 tornado tore through the walls. Imploding a section of the building. KELLY NANTEL, AMAZON SPOKESPERSON: The tornado warning siren actually

went off and we had about 11 minutes from that time to the time the tornado hit the ground in order to get our employees and partners into a safe place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ (on camera): And back here in Mayfield, Kentucky, the cleanup effort is enormous. It is staggering. There are hundreds, if not thousands of workers on the scene. Alongside heavy construction equipment trying to move debris as far as the eye can see in every direction. Getting back to normal is going to be a long and difficult process, but one that residents here tell me they are committed to.

Boris Sanchez, CNN, Mayfield, Kentucky.

CHURCH: Time for a short break. Still to come, queuing up for a third vaccine as the Omicron variant spreads quickly across the U.K.

Meanwhile, Austrian's queuing up for a whole different reason as some in the country come out of a lockdown. We'll have the details for you on the other side of the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:00]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Welcome back, everyone. Well, British lawmakers are expected to vote today on expanded measures to the fight the spread of the coronavirus. It comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson is denying any wrongdoing for hosting a Christmas Cruise Party last year that allegedly violated COVID restrictions.

Meanwhile, the omicron variant is spreading fast across the U.K. with the number of infections doubling every two to three days. The health secretary predicts omicron will be the dominant strain of the virus in London within days.

Meantime in Austria, vaccinated people and businesses are welcoming the end of the lockdown. But the unvaccinated are still under restrictions and can only leave home for a specific reason. CNN's Cyril Vanier report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CYRIL VANIER, CNN SHOW HOST (voice over): The divide in Austria between those free to roam and those who must stay home. The country just began lifting a lockdown put in place three weeks ago to try to lower new COVID-19 cases. But the relaxing of restrictions doesn't apply to everyone.

By government order, people who are vaccinated and those who can prove that they have recovered from the virus can resume many of their daily activities. But the unvaccinated must still stay at home, leaving the house only to go to work, do essential shopping, and exercise. Children under 12 are exempt.

For the majority of people in Austria there are signs of some return to normality like Christmas trees, originally not considered a necessity into the lockdown, now back on sale on the streets. This vendor says he is glad to be back in business but with the omicron variant spreading throughout Europe, he wonders how long that will last.

UNKNOWN (through translator): We are pleased that the lockdown is over and we hope that there isn't as some are predicting, our next lockdown coming. We hope this is the last one for the long time.

VANIER: The lockdown did help cut Austria's 3daily infections, from their peak of nearly 16,000 new cases a day in November, now under 2,500 per day. But it also caused a lot of anger especially from a vocal minority. Encouraged by the nation's far right Freedom Party who oppose the country's plan to mandate vaccines for all citizens over 14 starting in February. More than 40,000 people protested against the compulsory vaccines and restrictions on Saturday.

UNKNOWN: We can have different opinions, we can have different values and we can live together freely. And I think that is what democracy is to stand for. But now it has changed its course.

VANIER: A common mood here in this reopened Christmas market in Vienna were vaccinated shoppers go through the stalls of baked goods and holiday bobbles. This woman says she is just grateful in the chance to take part in this tradition.

UNKNOWN: When you look at how many beds are currently occupied in the ICUs I would have understood if they said there will be no Christmas markets this year. But since they are allowed we are happy to be here.

VANIER: Cyril Vanier, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Joining me now from England, Dr. Peter Drobac, he's an infectious disease and global health expert at the University of Oxford. Thank you Doctor, for all that you do.

PETER DROBAC, GLOBAL HEALTH EXPERT, OXFORD UNIVERSITY (on camera): Good morning, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Good to see you. So, Britain's Prime Minister warns of a tidal wave of infections from this new omicron variant. With cases doubling every two to three days particularly in London. In response, he is speeding up the rollout of booster shots for all eligible adults. How likely is it that the Brits will respond to his pleas to get that third shot and how bad could things get if they don't?

DROBAC: Well, as we just heard, the early evidence suggests that a two dose course of vaccine probably won't be enough particularly to protect against severe disease but a third shot may indeed provide a fairly strong protection. So it is very critical that everyone out there who is eligible go to get your booster shot when possible. It's going to require a ramping up and that's already happening,

ramping up of vaccination capacity. So we are seeing new sites being added, increased eligibility, the military is being called in. We are talking about a million jabs per day to reach the government's target. So that is an ambitious target to set.

I think that if you look at the history over the last year or so that here in the U.K. in general there are pockets of vaccine hesitancy and resistance. Most people have responded to that call to action and judging by the numbers in the vaccine website crashing yesterday there is a lot of demand for people to go out and get their boosters.

CHURCH: That is certainly encouraging isn't it? And of course, other measures being put in place in England include work from home for those who can. Compulsory masks in public and very soon a COVID vaccine pass for those who can prove they receive three shots allowing them access to those large public gatherings.

[03:35:12]

So how quickly could these new restrictions and of course, the accelerated booster shots turn this around? If everyone does what they are being asked to do?

DROBAC: Well, it is a race against time and as we just heard, this new variant omicron spread so quickly. We anticipate that by today, the majority of cases in London will indeed be with the new variant. And in the days and weeks to come then, as it becomes dominant across the country and in other countries we expect to see the numbers of cases begin to rise exponentially and that's quite concerning.

The measures that have come into place this week with the so-called plan b should help to buy us some time at least. I don't know that there will be enough to fully stem the increase that we expect to see. But the hope is that it slows us down and buy us time for more people to get their boosters, for the NHS to prepare.

And of course we still don't know a lot yet about omicron. We don't have a good sense of whether it is more or less likely to cause severe disease, for example. Even if the early indications bear out and it is less likely to cause severe disease than previous variants if we are talking about hundreds of thousands of infections per day potentially, you know, at a population level that still could be a very difficult situation for the NHS and caused a lot of death.

CHURCH: Yeah. I mean, just -- more people are getting infected. And the more vulnerable of course as well. And Doctor, Austria has ended its lockdown for the vaccinated and those who can prove that they have recovered from COVID-19. But the unvaccinated, they have to stay under lockdown.

Is that how nations will need to respond to those refusing to get their shots if this just keeps dragging on month after month? Given what we are dealing with right now?

DROBAC: Yeah, with delta what we saw was that this became in many ways a pandemic of the unvaccinated. Almost everybody who ended up in hospital and ICUs and dying where those who were unvaccinated. And I think some countries have made the decision that it is, you know, it is not OK for a minority of the population who is not willing to get vaccinated to sort of hold the rest of the country hostage and to shut down an entire population in order to do so.

Now that is difficult, you know, politically and is controversial. The reality is the evidence we have so far from countries that have introduced some form of vaccine passports or vaccine mandates is that they do work in terms of encouraging people to go out and get their vaccines.

Back from France, being one of the first countries to impose a vaccine passport months ago, a million people signed up for their jabs the next day. So that to me is one of the most important advantages of some of these new policies.

CHURCH: Yeah. Absolutely. Dr. Peter Drobac, thank you so much as always for joining us. We appreciate it.

DROBAC: Thank you.

CHURCH: And still to come. Newly-revealed text messages gives us a glimpse of what happened behind the scenes at the White House as the January 6th riot unfolded. We'll take a look. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:40:00]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th attack voted Monday to recommend criminal contempt charges against Mark Meadows for failing to comply with its subpoena. Here is what the head of the committee had to say about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. BENNIE THOMPSON (D-MS): If you are listening at home, Mr. Meadows, Mr. Bannon, Mr. Clark, I want you to know this, history will be written about these times, about the work this committee has undertaken. And history will not look upon any of you as martyrs.

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CHURCH: The House Select Committee also revealed a series of explosive text messages on Monday, that Meadows received as the riot unfolded. CNN's Paula Reid is following all of the dramatic developments from Washington.

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PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The House Select Committee has voted to recommend the former White House Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows for criminal contempt. And in this hearing they laid out new evidence that they have obtained

specifically messages that Meadows received on January 6th, among them messages from many Fox News personalities. Including Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and Brian Kilmeade urging him to get the president to say something or do something to put a stop to what was occurring at the Capitol.

Also received a message from the president's son, Donald Trump Jr. urging him to get his father to go out and do something. Let's listen to the Vice Chairwoman, Liz Cheney, lay out the evidence. The stunning evidence that they have collected.

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REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): According to the records, multiple Fox News hosts knew the president needed to act immediately. They texted Mr. Meadows and he has turned over those texts, quote, "Mark, the president needs to tell people in the Capitol to go home. This is hurting all of us. He is destroying his legacy." Laura Ingraham wrote.

"Please get him on TV. Destroying everything you have accomplished," Brian Kilmeade texted.

Quote, "Can he make a statement? Ask people to leave the Capitol," Sean Hannity urged.

As the violence continued one of the presidents sons texted Mr. Meadows, quote, "He has got to condemn this (BEEP) ASAP. The Capitol police tweet is not enough," Donald Trump Jr. texted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID: Liz Cheney argues that these text messages show the White House knew exactly what was happening on January 6th. The Committee referencing another text message from a lawmaker to Meadows saying, quote, "We are under siege."

Now these are all materials that Meadows has handed over voluntarily, makes one wonder what he could potentially be withholding. At this point he is refusing to come to answer questions from the Committee. He and his attorney arguing that he has some executive privilege protections, as chief of staff. They've also questioned the authority of the committee has to conduct this investigation.

Now both of those issues have so far been dismissed by federal judges in separate litigation by Former President Trump, who is trying to block the Committee from getting some of his White House records. Now the former president has the right to appeal that question to the Supreme Court. If he wins that could potentially help Meadows.

But at this point, it appears that this criminal contempt proceeding will continue and will be referred to the Justice Department. This will be a difficult case. The Justice Department is currently prosecuting Steve Bannon and other Trump ally from a criminal contempt. But unlike Bannon, Meadows was a top White House official, on January

6, he could potentially have privilege protections, depending on how this executive privilege litigation pans out. He also, unlike Bannon, he is not completely stonewalled the committee. He has engaged thinking about or saying that he would be willing potentially to do an interview, turning over thousands of pages of documents.

It could be a difficult decision for the Attorney General about whether he wants to criminally prosecute him, whether there is a sufficient case to argue that Meadows is not cooperating at all or should be held in contempt. We will have to wait to see what happens.

Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.

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CHURCH: America's top diplomat kicked off a Southeast Asia tour Monday with the trip to Indonesia. It's Antony Blinken's first trip to the region since becoming Secretary of State. And like most things involving U.S. policy in Asia. China is very much on the agenda. Take a listen.

[03:45:05]

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ANTONY BLINKEN, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: That is why there is so much concern for Northeast Asia to Southeast Asia from the Mekong River to the Pacific Islands about Beijing's aggressive actions. Claiming open seas as their own.

Distorting open markets through subsidies to a state run companies. Denying the exports or revoking deals for countries' policies it does not agree with. Engaging in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities.

Countries across the region want this behavior to change. We do to. That is why we are determined to ensure freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. Where Beijing's aggressive actions there threaten the movement of more than three trillion dollars' worth of commerce every year.

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CHURCH: After Indonesia, Blinken heads to Malaysia later today and Thailand later in the week.

Well, Israel's Prime Minister is describing his historic talks in the United Arab Emirates as meaningful in-depth and straightforward. Naftali Bennett met with Crown Prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed on Monday. More than a year after the two countries normalize their relationship.

CNN's Sam Kiley has the details now from Abu Dhabi.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Om,

Naftali Bennett made history here when he met for the first time ever for an Israeli Prime Minister with any Emirati official here on Emirati soil. He met for four hours that is two hours longer than was scheduled with Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Zayed and then left, leaving this message behind.

NAFTALI BENNETT, ISRAELI EDUCATION MINISTER: I'm finishing up a good visit here in the United Arab Emirates. I want to thank his highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed for very warm hospitality throughout this visit. Throughout the day we had meaningful in-depth and straightforward talks about our two nations, about the region, and about our economy and technology and what we can do together. I am flying back to Israel very optimistic that this relationship can set an example of how we can make peace here in the Middle East.

KILEY: Now what is notable about that message is that there is no mention of Iran nor indeed of the Palestinians. The two red letter issues of the day. Top of the list though really is Iran with the Emiratis being severely out of step with certainly with the Israelis and even the United States.

In their view, that the longer it is worthwhile putting any serious pressure on the Iranians trying to get them to return to the nuclear deal that was effectively torn up by Donald Trump, which was a deal intended to reduce their capability to produce a nuclear weapon.

Now there have been efforts under the Biden administration to revivify that agreement which lately the Iranians who walked away from the Americans wanted greater sanctions indicated this and the Emiratis were very swift to say they are not interested in any further sanctions.

Indeed, they have been reaching out to Tehran. They have been planning to have a major solar farm being built in Iran. They've sent high- level diplomatic delegations and, of course, the Israelis in the background had been threatening military action if there is not a diplomatic solution to ending Iran's alleged nuclear program.

But at the same time this was also been a triumph for Naftali Bennett. It would have been his predecessor who had effectively negotiated what is called the Abraham Accords that normalize the relationship between the United Arab Emirates and several other Arab countries and Israel led by the Emirates.

That was a famous breakthrough in diplomacy over many years of isolation. These are two countries that have never been at war together against one another but they have certainly been extremely frosty. It was impossible until 15 months ago for an Israeli citizen to set foot here, now there are some seven flights a day, back and forth between Israel and Dubai.

Many more other tourists operations being planned. What both sides said coming out of this meeting is that they would go hoping to deepen the economic relationship already worth some $600 million a year. And above all an invitation offered by the Israeli Prime Minister to Abu Dhabi's crown prince to visit at some future day. Israel was made and was accepted.

Sam Kiley, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

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CHURCH: Senior European diplomats are warning that time is running out on the reviving 2015 Iran nuclear deal. They say it could soon become an empty shell without any progress.

In a statement British, French, and German diplomat say Western powers are still not been able to get down to real negotiations. And the U.S. is warning it's prepared to look at other options should diplomatic efforts to salvage the deal fail.

[03:50:04]

Russia is threatening new confrontation if NATO and the U.S. do not respond to its demand for security guarantees. According to Russian state media the Deputy foreign minister is calling for an agreement that would prevent the use of intermediate range nuclear weapons.

The comments come amid heightened tensions over Russia's military buildup along Ukraine's border. The European Union's chief diplomat says E.U. foreign ministers have made it clear, any Russian aggression against Ukraine will come at a high economic cost.

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GABRIELIUS LANDSBEGIS, LITHUANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: I think that we are convinced that Russia is actually preparing for them all out war against Ukraine and it's an unprecedented event probably since the Second World War. And we have to be very precise, and very ready for what is coming in our messaging as well.

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CHURCH: The White House says President Joe Biden spoke with Finland's president about their shared concerns over Russia's military buildup and the need to de-escalate the situation.

Still to come, cleanup is underway after a weekend of deadly storms across the central U.S. But one Kentucky town is facing an added challenge because of its large international community. We will explain.

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CHURCH: A group of migrants in Mexico City clashed with police leaving 17 people hurt including 13 police officers. The interior ministry says that the migrant group was on their way to a gathering but were told they couldn't stay the night there due to sanitary measures. And they were offered transport to a hostel when a scuffle broke out. Officials say they will prioritize dialogue to find better solutions to the migration policy.

In the United States officials are still assessing the damage after a weekend of deadly tornadoes. Bowling Green, Kentucky was one of the hard hit areas. The storms killed at least 15 people there, 13 are still missing.

CNN's Nick Valencia spoke to a police official who says the city is facing even greater challenges because of its large immigrant community.

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NICK VALENCIA, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): What kind of challenges have you faced here? Because of this being an international community?

RONNIE WARD, SPOKESPERSON BWOLING GREEN POLICE DEPARTMENT: Well, communication is a problem. So you start out with infrastructure being a problem and then (inaudible) barriers being a problem. And then folks not being having the ability to get information that we are sending out. So what we are trying to spread the word is here is where you can get help. And here is what kind of help is going to be offered. And just general information on how you can get food, how you can get shelter just for the time being.

VALENCIA: We have talked to residents that have come through here and landlords that had come through here and they said that, you know, this is an immigrant community in some parts. And they are not used to tornadoes. And that may have contributed to some being caught off guard. What is your take away?

WARD: Right. Well, we know that the emergency warning system was activated and was working. Now whether they knew exactly what to do, you know, because of the information was coming across cellphones, telling you to take shelter and things like that. So we hope that people were doing that. And they must have. Because we didn't have more loss of lies.

[03:55:06]

You know, one is too many. But if you look across at the damage it could've been easily hundreds. And so we are just -- we know that the systems were in place. And we just hope that everyone was taking precautions.

VALENCIA: And when you walk through this debris and you walked through what used to be homes, what's you impression?

WARD: This is hard to do. I mean, you know you think about the things that are most precious to you. And I look at a house, that the foundation is right there I think, where is the photo album of their children, or where's their kids toys, or where's the wedding photos? And they could be, you know, three blocks from here. And they may never find any of those things.

So, you know, it is not always the house that makes the home but the house is a big part of that. And if you lose your house then, you know, it is devastating to your family. And we've got to figure out, how do we start over again? VALENCIA: And you have spoken to a lot of survivors. What have you

heard? What are they telling you?

WARD: I was just hearing some of the stories of what the storm sounded like. And you know, that a lot of them were glad that they weren't hurt. They hate the fact that there was anyone, many lives lost here. And then we are obviously trying to communicate on what to do. So they have a lot of questions, we are trying to get those questions answered.

VALENCIA: A lot of the residents I've spoken to that did survive, they keep asking themselves why, you know, why did I make it? Why didn't my neighbors make it?

WARD: You know, that is a question that everyone asks themselves in the midst of a tragedy and those cannot be explained. That is heart wrenching too, I mean, because the fact that, you know -- they know people here who are no longer here. And it is hard for them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Elon Musk launched the first ever tourist mission to earth's orbit and this year he became the richest person in the world. Now the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX has been named "Time" magazine's 2021 person of the year. "Times" editor in chief says the designation is a mark of influence and quote, "Fewer individuals have had more influence than Musk on life, on earth, and potentially life off earth too," unquote. The tradition started in 1927 as man of the year and has evolved over the decades to also consider the impact of the group movement or idea.

And I want to thank you for your company this hour, I am Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. "CNN Newsroom" continues now with Isa Soares.

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