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Pro Sport Getting Crushed By COVID; Building Fire Breaks Out In Busy Hong Kong District; U.K. Tightens COVID Rules Amid Conservative Revolt. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired December 15, 2021 - 02:00:00   ET

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

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[02:00:22]

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Anna Coren live in Hong Kong. Well, just ahead of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Mojo is running low as he tries to judge scandal and a new tidal wave of COVID. His fellow conservatives revolt in Parliament.

Omicron spreading at an unprecedented rate. It's in nearly 80 countries and is expected to become the dominant strain in parts of Europe soon and eventually the U.S.

And professional sports are far from immune to the coronavirus. Football clubs, basketball and hockey teams struggling to stay in action as more and more players come down with COVID.

We're following some breaking news here in Hong Kong where a fire has broken out inside a building and one of the city's busiest districts. Well, fire officials say about 350 people are stuck on the roof of the building known as Hong Kong's World Trade Center, which is currently being refurbished. 165 others have been evacuated. At least one person has been injured. We'll continue to follow developments this hour and bring you updates as we get them.

Well, now to a victory for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the fight against the fast spreading coronavirus, but it comes at a potentially high political cost. Lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in support of his new restrictions, including mask mandates, work-from- home orders and COVID passports. But the embattled leader is facing a stinging backlash from members of his own Conservative Party. Many of whom voted against the new rules. Some called the measures that draconian and talked openly about a challenge to his leadership.

The Omicron variant is running quickly throughout the U.K. with close to 60,000 new infections reported in the past 24 hours. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz has more from London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Order, order.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: It's the biggest Tory rebellion against Boris Johnson since he took office.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The nose to the left 126.

ABDELAZIZ: And yet another blow to the Prime Minister's credibility after weeks of scandal, nearly 100 Conservative M.P.s, members of Johnson's own party voted against Plan B coronavirus restrictions on Tuesday. The measures include extending mask mandates in most public indoor settings, mandatory vaccines for NHS workers, and most contentious requiring COVID health passes to enter large public venues like nightclubs.

The U.K. health secretary said the measures are necessary to stem the tide of Omicron.

SAJID JAVID, BRITISH HEALTH SECRETARY: We're likely to see a substantial rise in hospitalizations before any measure is starting to have an impact. So there really is no time to lose.

ABDELAZIZ: But some Tories accused the government of overstepping, curbing civil liberties.

ANDREA LEADSOM, BRITISH CONSERVATIVE M.P.: So Mr. Deputy Speaker, this is a slippery slope down which I do not want to slip. So I'm afraid I'm not going to be supporting these measures.

ABDELAZIZ: Despite the rebellion, the restrictions passed but some warned they did not go far enough.

CAROLINE LUCAS, BRITISH GREEN PARTY M.P.: The government's mixed messaging has been incredibly unhelpful, telling people that a tsunami of Omicron is on the way, but at the same time we can go on partying absolutely undermines that message.

ABDELAZIZ: To slow the surge of cases, Johnson expanded the nation's ambitious booster program.

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Everyone eligible aged 18 and over in England will have the chance to get their booster before the New Year.

ABDELAZIZ: Or rush for bookings crashed the government signup Web site Monday and hundreds were seen waiting in long lines outside vaccination centers. In total, about half a million people across the U.K. received their booster jabs in the 24 hours after the announcement. But the Prime Minister's authority still being tested after accusations that multiple Christmas parties were held in Downing Street during lockdown last year. Johnson has denied the allegations that COVID rules were broken, but launched an internal investigation.

Johnson now fighting what U.K. officials say is a more transmissible variant of COVID-19 with little support from his own party. Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[02:05:00] COREN: The Omicron variant is also spreading rapidly in Europe. The European CDC says there are now more than 2000 cases there with growing community transmission. Eleni Giokos joins me now from Athens, Greece. And Eleni, are what can you tell us about how widespread this surge is?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Look, one thing we know is COVID-19 cases are rising rapidly in many parts of Europe. And this is causing a lot of concern. You've got government's trying desperately to bring the case numbers down. And you see restrictions coming through for the unvaccinated. More talk of mandates. And that is being met with a lot of protest action as well. So if you look at what's happening in Germany, and you see the protests that have been occurring over the past few days, in that country against mandates, against the restrictions that have been put against the unvaccinated.

They're not allowed to go into public areas, apart from essential businesses, and then you hear the government saying they might not have enough vaccines for early 2022, to continue on the vaccine campaign. And that is causing, as well as a lot of concern. And the numbers are rising drastically there. You had some of the most highest daily death toll numbers in Germany and ICU beds are filling up.

If you look at what's happening in France protest action with regards to the health pass record numbers as well, in terms of daily case numbers, but the government says that there's a deceleration and they're hoping that that is going to subside in the next few weeks. But Omicron might be the next wave in France. Then in terms of Omicron spreading drastically. If you look at the Nordic countries that have really raised red flags here.

Denmark, and Norway are saying that they worried about the record numbers that are coming through that is fueling the highest levels of positive cases since the start of the pandemic. Denmark is saying that it's going to be the dominant variant in the next two to three days because it's doubling that rapidly. And again, restrictions coming through here in terms of focusing on the unvaccinated and looking at banning of alcohol in Denmark, specifically, from bars and restaurants to try and bring down those numbers.

And if I look at what's happening in Greece, in particular, in the last 24 hours, the highest death toll recorded since the start of the pandemic as cases are starting rise. Here in Greece, Omicron cases, five Omicron cases had been confirmed. But we don't really know yet in terms of community spread right now. But if you look at what's happening in terms of trends in the U.K. and the government saying that there's a tsunami of American cases. That is concerning in terms of what the prognosis would be for the rest of Europe.

COREN: Eleni Giokos joining us from Athens. We certainly appreciate the update. Many thanks. Well, Keith Neal is Professor Emeritus of epidemiology of infectious diseases at the University of Nottingham. And he joins us now from Derby in England. Great to have you with us, Professor. The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is warning of a COVID tidal wave. His health minister says cases of Omicron doubling every day and the country needs to brace itself for difficult weeks ahead. What are you expecting?

KEITH NEAL, PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF EPIDEMIOLOGY OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES, UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM: I think we can see a rapid increase in Omicron cases. It certainly seems to be spreading faster than the Delta strain, which has essentially eliminated all other strains. And it's very likely Omicron will eliminate the Delta strain. I think cases will slow down in the doubling because we know from the start of any time a new variant comes in, those people who mix most and those most at risk will get infected first.

And then the people who are less risk, at risk get infected later. So the doubling won't carry on. But it's still a potential issue with increased social mixing with Christmas parties and family gatherings.

COREN: Of course, the holiday season is upon us and people obviously have COVID fatigue. Professor, this isn't just happening where you are in the U.K., we are seeing a surge of cases across Europe, as Eleni just described. We know it's happening in Africa, and is expected to dominate U.S. cases perhaps by next month. Look, while there are reports of mild symptoms in the vaccinated for the unvaccinated, the threat of a severe infection is very real. Please tell us more.

NEAL: I think certainly any person who's unvaccinated there's only three bits of advice, get the first dose, get the second dose and get the third dose. We know that's going to have an effect even if Omicron isn't quite as severe as Delta. There is a lot circulating is Omicron less severe. I think the one thing we can say it isn't more severe. But there are different factors in South Africa or the much younger population with a high previous rate that complicates that picture.

[02:10:03]

NEAL: We'll rapidly get a picture in Europe with a number of people admitted with serious issues with Omicron. We have to be careful with the people -- number of people in hospital with Omicron because the (INAUDIBLE) personal accounts care home trips over and ease to go to hospital or develops a chest infection which is unrelated to Omicron and is found to have COVID when -- on their routine testing. So not everybody in hospital with COVID is there because of COVID.

COREN: The Pfizer-COVID pill that has recently been announced, obviously very promising against Omicron and other variants, and the FDA in the United States could authorize the drug in the coming days. Could it be that the magic pill that we've all been waiting for?

NEAL: We've had the magic pill, it's actually injected into because that really is the long-term solution. And we've -- the data coming in from the boosters or the third dose showing incredibly high levels of antibody response, which seems to be more than enough to probably give protection to virtually the whole population with -- against Omicron. We can always change the vaccine.

The drug itself I think is useful in the sense that it will help keep -- it seems to keep people out of hospital which is a good thing. But I think people shouldn't think I -- there is now a drug that I don't need to be vaccinated. I think that's a very short sighted and probably fatal approach.

COREN: Well, we know that waning immunity among the vaccinated is proving to be a problem. Governments are pushing people to get their booster shots as obviously something that you just mentioned people need to do. And yet the WHO is concerned about vaccine in equity, and whether those vaccines should go to poorer and harder hit nations. And how is this dilemma addressed?

NEAL: I think the issue is more we need to support Africa in giving the vaccinations in the sense that I understand about us. We've sent 380 million doses to Africa. And I think only I've heard reports only children's 60 million have been used. We had our previous saying we should be sending vaccinators out there. I think this the idea is sound but I think it's far more sensible. We send people out to train vaccinators, because I might be able to vaccinate two to 300 people a day if I went out there.

But I could train 20, 30 people a day to give 200 to 300 doses a day. And that's the answer is to increase the number of trained vaccinators. It's not a big task. It just needs organization inside the countries with support from other agencies.

COREN: Professor Keith Neal, great to get your insight and many thanks for joining us.

NEAL: Thank you.

COREN: Well, still ahead. Heartbreaking new details about the aftermath of last weekend's deadly tornado outbreak in the U.S. We'll have more information on the victims of those storms next.

Plus, the Philippines braces for a typhoon which is gaining strength in the western Pacific when it's expected to hit the country coming up.

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[02:15:44]

COREN: A moment of hope amid the devastation wrought by last weekend's deadly tornado outbreak in the United States. Jordan Bay's and his family rode out the storm in their basements. Their home was destroyed as you can see, but while going through the debris, Jordan saw his piano was still mostly intact. He sat down to play and he says to started recording the video. This video which has since gone viral.

Well, in the coming hours, U.S. President Joe Biden will be visiting some of the areas hardest hit by the storms, which left at least 88 people dead. More than 100 are still missing. CNN's Brian Todd is in Mayfield, Kentucky. One of several towns devastated by the tornadoes.

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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): As the tornado cleanup gears up clearing roads and moving debris in Kentucky and neighboring states, still talk of finding survivors. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We still definitely are in rescue and recovery we have people missing. I still expect that we will find at least some more bodies. There is just so much destruction.

TODD: The youngest victim, this two-month old girl, Oaklynn Koon of Dawson springs at the devastated candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky. Authorities now believe all workers are accounted for with eight dead. But there are new allegations that at least one supervisor at the factory told employees that if they left for their own safety, they would be fired.

ELIJAH JOHNSON, CANDLE FACTORY EMPLOYEE: I say, man, you got to refuse to let us leave. Even if the weather's this bad. And the tornado is neither here yet. So he was like, if you want to decide to -- if you want to leave, you can leave but you got to be terminated, you're going to be fired?

TODD: Did they say no, we're going to threaten to terminate you if you leave because we think that this is a safety risk. And we have to make sure you stay here. So we had to kind of --

JOHNSON: No say. It was none of that.

TODD: It wasn't that.

JOHNSON: No.

TODD: What you're saying is they wanted the production. They want to get work done.

JOHNSON: Yes.

TODD: But a company spokesman tell CNN they have spoken to supervisors and nothing of the con was set to employees and indeed some employees did leave. And another worker who survived despite being buried by debris, tell CNN he felt free to leave.

JIM DOUGLAS, SURVIVED CANDLE FACTORY COLLAPSE: He could basically sign out so they know you're gone and leave it at any time. So I -- me personally, I never heard anything like that.

TODD: Another workplace safety investigation now opened by the U.S. labor department in Edwardsville, Illinois, where six were killed in an Amazon warehouse. One survivor says workers were warned and sought shelter inside.

CRAIG YOST, SURVIVED AMAZON WAREHOUSE COLLAPSE: The wall fell on me. I was concentrating on one thing and I was breathing because I was being crushed by that wall.

TODD: In the areas hardest hit by what may be the longest tornado track ever in the U.S. survivors continue to return to their destroyed homes.

LATONYA WEBB, BOWLING GREEN, KENTUCKY RESIDENT: I found a lady land here. We found her husband down the street with two little boys and their mother. I didn't make it.

TODD: Frank Withrow (ph) says the storm approached like a freight train.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was looking up in the roof with absolutely coming off. It was unbelievable. I had never seen nothing like that before.

TODD: His wife took shelter in the tub

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It started crashing and I felt vibrations. It was scary. Really scary.

TODD: State officials say more than 100 people are still listed as missing. And we've got some other very tragic news. A relative tell CNN that six members of a single family were killed when a tornado hit their house in Bowling Green, Kentucky on Friday night. Rachel and Steven Brown died along with three of their children ages four to 16 and Rachel's mother. The couple's 13-year-old daughter is still missing. Brian Todd, CNN Mayfield, Kentucky.

COREN: Well, the Philippines is bracing for Typhoon Rai which is gaining strength in the western Pacific. This system is expected to hit the country in the coming day. Let's go to our meteorologist Pedram Javaheri with more details. Pedram, what can you tell us?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN INTERNATIONAL METEOROLOGIST AND WEATHER ANCHOR: The storm system is strengthening very quickly. That's the biggest concern currently with winds about 120 kilometers per hour. This is equivalent to a category one hurricane but the concern is sea surface temperatures are plenty warm. There's plenty of favorable conditions to allow the systems are strengthen and again just strengthening the last few minutes actually to 130 kilometers per hour.

[02:20:05]

JAVAEHERI: So, you kind of see this rapid progression of the storm system and by this time tomorrow I wouldn't be surprised if we're close to say 165, maybe 175 kilometers per hour. And model consensus is that the storm will reach peak intensity right as it approaches land. And climate theologically, we know of course, tropical systems are not unusual across the Philippines on average, eight to nine times per year.

We see landfalls across this region, and we've seen about six of them so far this season. This would be storm number seven, comes ashore sometime Thursday afternoon. Northern Mindanao, very elevated terrain, certainly riskier for significant flash flooding and then work your way towards the central Visayas into areas of Cebu and certainly back towards the west around Palawan.

These regions could all be inundated and the archipelago is made up of 7600 islands. So plenty of landfalls, not just one here on Thursday but potentially many across very populated region of these islands. And, you know, the storm system will maintain its intense -- intensity as quite a bit of water to interact with. That's the concern. Over the next two to three days, conditions begin to go downhill here. And storm surge which is often our primary concern for land falling tropical systems. For some of these low lying areas, it could be as much as two meters high, that is going to be really devastating as it makes landfall. We've had multiple tropical systems in the month of December, mind you in the past decade, make landfall here and leave behind quite a bit of damage and fatality.

So it is a story worth following and you'll notice rainfall amounts in the next 24 to 48 hours could push the quarter of a meter in some of these areas. So a very dangerous situation developing here with us incoming tropical system. Anna?

COREN: Pedram, we appreciate the update. Thank you. Well, scientists are painting a grim picture of how human caused climate change is transforming the Arctic landscape. The annual Arctic report cut find the region is rapidly losing ice cover. Turning the frozen tundra into an environment that's greener and browner than it was even a decade ago. This past year was the seventh warmest on record in the Arctic. And scientists warn temperatures will only continue to rise.

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CLARE NULLIS, MEDIA OFFICER, WORLD METEOROLOGIST ORGANIZATION: The Arctic as WMO keeps saying is one of the fastest warming parts of the world. It's warming more than twice as fast as the global average.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: The report also says the melting ice has led to more commercial ships in the region, bringing more trash and noise which could affect how marine mammals communicate.

Officials in Haiti are pleading for blood donations and other aid after a fuel tank exploded on Monday in the country's second largest city. At least 62 people were killed, many of whom were trying to collect gas directly from the truck when the blast happened. CNN's Matt Rivers has the latest

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MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Massive flames illuminating the night sky in Cap-Haitien, the northern port city in Haiti's second largest. A fuel truck had exploded moments before in the middle of a dense neighborhood. It's not clear what caused the explosion but the city's mayor said the truck had mechanical problems and had stopped. It began leaking fuel and people had crowded around hoping to collect some for themselves.

That crowd is what made the explosion catastrophic. Dozens of people dead in dozens more injured. Frontline workers clearing bodies, covering them with white cloths the next morning, moving the dead into a waiting truck. It was a brutal scene in part caused by a critical fuel crisis on the island. Spot protests have gone on for months, people angry over not being able to get fuel.

We don't have a government, this man says, if we don't demand change, who will? Tire set on fire and debris thrown into the street are desperate attempts to cause enough chaos that the government tries to fix the problem. But it won't be easy. Not only is the government so broken off and can't buy enough fuel. But when summer arrives, it can't get delivered. The vast majority of fuel is imported at these two locations.

But gangs in Port-au-Prince are so powerful. They have near complete control over this crucial stretch of highway, which means they control the flow of fuel into the capital. A gas retailer identity hidden due to security concerns, told us what happens if you try and drive a tanker into pickup fuel.

So I might get kidnapped.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

RIVERS: I might get shot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. If you don't stop.

RIVERS: I might get killed?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

RIVERS: Or at the very least I'm going to have to pay an exorbitant bribe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, of course.

RIVERS: Haiti's government and law enforcement are either unwilling or unable to secure a flow of fuel from the ports.

But not having enough fuel doesn't just mean you can't use your motorbike. Consider this. Here in Port-au-Prince the electricity grid is not reliable. So, let's say you own a small store and you sell cold drinks. In order to keep that refrigerator running, you need to use a generator. And if the fuel going into that generator is way more expensive than it was before, that means you need to charge your customers more for those cold drinks.

[02:25:06]

RIVERS: Not having enough fuel makes all kinds of things more expensive and that's brutal in a country already dealing with so much poverty.

This, the scene from about six weeks ago inside the empty hallways of Universitaire de la Paix normally packed with patients just a few were inside when we were there. (INAUDIBLE) is still son almost died during an overnight asthma attack.

She says the doctor was using the flashlight on his phone to put my son on oxygen because there is no electricity. It's so bad I almost lost him.

Normally all of those cribs would be filled with sick kids but the hospital is turning away nearly every single patient that comes here because right now there's simply not enough doctors, nurses or electricity to take care of them. That means that one of Haiti's largest hospitals is essentially not functioning.

The doctors are trying but they cannot do anything, she says, they have no help only God can help at this point. Her son survived but other victims of this fuel crisis did not. So many crowded around the leaking fuel trucks had the mayor in part because they were so desperate for gasoline. What happened in Cap-Haitien, a horrific consequence of a country starving for fuel. Matt Rivers, CNN.

COREN: Up next. Few details on our breaking news. A fire in Hong Kong's World Trade Center which has led hundreds of people trapped on the rooftop. A live update just ahead.

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COREN: Updating our breaking news. A fire has broken out inside Hong Kong's World Trade Center dropping about 350 people on the roof of the building. Dozens of others have been evacuated but crews are still on the scene trying to get this fire under control. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout joins us now with the very latest. Kristie, what can you tell us?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN Anna, right now, firefighters here in Hong Kong are working to rescue hundreds of people who are trapped in a building. Around 350 people are trapped on the roof of the World Trade Center, which is located in the Wan Chai district at Causeway Bay, a very busy and popular commercial district here in Hong Kong. We know that 165 people have been evacuated so far.

We also know according to the government that six people are in need of urgent medical assistance including a 16-year-old woman who was semi-conscious when she was evacuated from the building. Let me tell you more about this site. The World Trade Center is an office tower. It's a shopping mall with a number of restaurants inside. And according To the government, the fire broke out at around lunchtime at 12:37 p.m. local time.

[02:30:00]

It was caused, according to government officers, by a switchboard malfunction on the first floor. You see on your screen video just in from the scene of emergency workers coming in. And we know that firemen have been using two jets as well as two breathing apparatus teams to fight the blaze. These are firefighters who are wearing oxygen tanks in the full mask to get into that building and to reach these hundreds of people who are still trapped inside.

According to the public broadcaster here in Hong Kong, RTHK, they manage to interview a couple of people who were rescued by the firefighters. One woman, surname Lei (ph), she says that she was dining in a restaurant on the 12th floor. She says she then fled to a platform on the 5th floor where others, including elderly and children, had gathered. Children are also trapped inside this building along with the elderly, office workers, people who were there earlier this day for lunch.

The public broadcaster of Hong Kong, RTHK, also spoke to a woman who worked in the middle section of the office tower, again, the World Trade Center is not just a shopping mall with restaurants, it's also an office block, about 40 stories.

And (INAUDIBLE) interesting, I want to share what she told the public broadcaster. She said, "At first we smelled something burning, and we called the management office. We were told that there's no need to evacuate yet. But later, my colleagues went down to find out more about the situation and that they said that there was thick smoke downstairs, so we evacuated through the fire escape staircase," she said.

We know according to our CNN crews and producer, Jaden Sham (ph), on the ground there, outside the building. There is dense smoke. You can smell the smoke in the air around the World Trade Center building. At this hour, again, firefighters in Hong Kong working to rescue hundreds of people trapped in this building. 350 people believed trapped on the top of the World Trade Center building in the Wan Chai District, this is in Causeway Bay. A very busy, popular commercials district in Hong Kong.

Again, 165 people evacuated. But still, hundreds inside, including, according to that public to that broadcaster report, the elderly and children. Back to you, Anna.

COREN: We can only hope that everyone is OK. Kristie, we know this is a developing story and we appreciate you giving us those details and putting it into context. Many thanks.

STOUT: You got it.

COREN: We'll be watching (INAUDIBLE) set to take place in the hours ahead. In Brussels, French president, Emmanuel Macron, and Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, will meet face to face during the Eastern Partnership Summit. It comes amid tensions over Russia's military buildup along Ukraine's border. Mr. Macron spoke with Russia's president ahead of that building.

And Vladimir Putin will be talking with president -- Chinese president, Xi Jinping, in the next hour, when the leaders meet virtually. The Kremlin said the two will discuss "aggressive U.S. and NATO rhetoric." The Russian leader has been requesting immediate talks with NATO as he seeks a security guarantee, excluding the deployment of weapons systems in Ukraine and neighboring states. NATO says it has no intention of deploying nuclear capable missiles in Europe.

Well former Belarusian opposition leader, Sergei Tikhanovsky, who rallied the protest against disputed leader, Alexander Lukashenko, is now facing 18 years behind bars. The popular blogger and activist was arrested shortly after he declared his candidacy for president last year. A court in Belarus has convicted him on charges of organizing mass riots and inciting social hatred. His wife, now the leading opposition from outside the country says she is outraged.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SVIATLANA TSIKHANOUSKAYA, BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER: Democratic countries can't allow one dictator, you know, influence the minds of leaders of democratic countries. It's unacceptable. One dictator can't blackmail, you know, the whole Europe. It's unacceptable. So, it's not -- this fight is not about Belarusians only, it's about fight for values, and values are common for all of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: The verdict can be legally appealed, within 10 days.

Still ahead here on CNN Newsroom, there's a break in the action from the NBA to the premier league. How teams are coping with rising COVID cases.

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[02:35:00]

COREN: Welcome back. Well, COVID-19 is wreaking havoc on the world of professional sports. Tuesday's Premier League match between Manchester United and Brentford had to be postponed due to an outbreak on the Manu squad. The League said the decision was made following guidance from medical advisers and that the match would be rescheduled for later date.

In U.S. sports, 65 national football league players have tested positive in the last two days and are now in the COVID protocol.

In the National Hockey League, the Calgary Flames and Carolina Hurricanes have had put games postponed this week because of COVID-19 outbreaks.

And in the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers canceled practice on Tuesday because of coronavirus concerns. And the League postponed two games for the Chicago Bulls after 10 players and several staff members entered COVID protocols. The Bucks and Nets also have players affected.

Well, joining me now from Hawaii, is Dr. Scott Miscovich, president and CEO of Premier Medical Group USA, and a national consultant for COVID-19 testing.

Doctor, great to have you with us.

It would appear, a major disruption is ahead for the world of sport, especially with the expected surge of the Omicron variant. What are you anticipating in the weeks ahead?

DR. SCOTT MISCOVICH, PRESIDENT AND CEO, PREMIER MEDICAL GROUP USA: Well, Anna, I am very concerned that we're going to see many more cancellations unless there is action taken. I will tell you, I've been following this very well since I was very fortunate to be the COVID medical director for the U.S. Olympic teams and I've spent a lot of times in sports to keep athletes safe. Well, Premier League did the right thing. They are now basically going to do daily testing of all their players and that is the first step that needs to happen to keep everyone safe. Now, we have a lot about the things we're worried about, which is the waning immunity and the Omicron variants. So, there's a lot of concern right now.

COREN: Yes. As you say, you were in charge of COVID testing for the U.S. Olympics team, you have designed testing protocols for high schools and states, among others. I mean, how do sporting teams continue to play safely when there are outbreaks and surge is going on?

DR. MISCOVICH: Well, you know, again, it does start with testing because you can identify if you use the right type of testing within hours, almost, of when some of becomes positive. Now, I was fortunate to design a program in the state of New Mexico, what we call Test to Play, where we just have frequent testing on a daily basis, so that if there is one player that's positive, we can continue to test the other players without having to have them quarantine.

And that program is very successful. It's adopted off of a program in the U.K., which is Test to Stay, which is what's keeping the students in school which we've also designed. So, there is a great way to do it, but it also is getting a booster. Right now, we are seeing waning immunity just like we are seeing across the world, and there's breakthrough. And all the League still seem to have two vaccines as what they're providing to their players.

COREN: What's, in your opinion, is the biggest problem that you're seeing among teams and players in relation to COVID? Is there a reluctance to get vaccinated? You mentioned waning immunity. Is there the COVID fatigue?

[02:40:00]

DR. MISCOVICH: Yes, I think it's COVID fatigue. And all of these leagues are well above 85 percent, in some cases, they're into the high 90s. So, I think that, again, the big issue is the failure to really accept and adopt change based on the waning immunity. And I do believe for COVID fatigue where people were looking to have a normal holiday and people are looking to group together and players are like family. So, I don't challenge the fact that they want to get together and their families want to get together.

But the fact that everyone's vaccines -- anybody they're exposed to also, is having waning immunity. And as we're seeing with Omicron, 75 percent of the positives can be upwards of the people that are positive right now are vaccinated.

COREN: Let me ask you about the fans. I mean, the people who attend these games, should they have to be vaccinated to come and watch sporting events?

DR. MISCOVICH: Well, there are different protocols, for example, in the NBA, and I believe the NHL has the same. I don't think the Premier League does because since it's more of an outdoor event. But they require people within the first 15 feet to 20 feet of the arena or rink to be tested at least prior to show proof of testing. And that is correct in the indoor events, I do believe we're going to have another major problem which is the fans. And I think soon we're going to move to having the entire rink show or arena show that they have to be tested or have vaccinations.

COREN: The news about this Pfizer pill. Are you hopeful? Do you think that this will be a game-changer in our fight against COVID?

DR. MISCOVICH: I am so much looking forward to it. You know, we were so excited to see the announcement again in the last 24 hours that they're still saying that it's 88, 89, close to 90 percent effective in reducing severe disease and hospitalization. And the number of doses they're going to produce is really looking solid. This is a massive game-changer.

I'm concerned about supply and demand. There's going to be such a demand for this everywhere. And actually, I'm already working across the country trying to put protocols in play where as soon as someone gets a positive test of those prescriptions are then called in or made available, it started within 24 hours, because three days creates the first window of improvement for severe hospitalization or death and you want to definitely started within five days. But the sooner the better, game-changer for sure, Anna.

COREN: All fingers crossed. Let's hope so. Dr. Scott Miscovich, great to see you and many thanks for joining us.

DR. MISCOVICH: Thank you, Anna.

COREN: Well, Albert Einstein once said that anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. And for block chain trader, selling NFTs, the new form of commerce, has led to a mistake he learned the hard way. Max just sold this digital artwork from a collection called Bored Ape Yacht Club for about $2,800. The problem was, he meant to sell it for $280,000. But he pushed a button too fast, and a buyer scooped it up. I was -- I was just wasn't paying attention, he told us. But the buyer sure was. It was quickly resold for $227,000. That is a painful mistake.

Well, thanks for much for joining us. I'm Anna Coren. World Sport is coming up next.

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