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NBA Postpones Five Games Due To COVID; Sen. Manchin On Biden's Build Back Better: "This Is A No;" Michigan State University To Require COVID-19 Boosters For Spring. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired December 19, 2021 - 15:00   ET

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

AMARA WALKER, CNN HOST: And this just in to CNN. The NBA is postponing five games because of COVID. CNN's Coy Wire joining me now with more -- Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hi Amara. The NBA getting hit hard and the shutdowns by way of postponement are piling up just in the last couple of hours.

[15:00:00]

WIRE: Of the five postponements you mentioned, three of them are today Denver and Brooklyn, Cleveland and Atlanta in New Orleans and Philadelphia.

Now the Nets, they had to add their superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to the league's health and safety protocols yesterday. That gives the Nets nine of their players who are unable to play due to COVID issues right now. They were severely undermanned, and their loss to the Magic last night.

And for the first time this season, we're seeing the NFL having to postpone games as well this week, three of them due to COVID-19 issues after a wave of positive tests impacting several teams.

The NFL has revised its protocols, which now call for fewer tests. The NFL sent out a memo to all teams yesterday saying that they will now only test players -- vaccinated players, coaches and staff if they have symptoms or upon their request.

Previously, they were tested once a week, all unvaccinated players, Amara, still tested daily. The league says they are going to use what they are calling targeted testing, where they will randomly test one group each week and they say they'll monitor players more closely for symptoms including upon entering the building.

You've seen a lot fewer games being played today. Teams, I should say, two games being postponed just today of those three that I mentioned.

WALKER: Yes, something tells me this won't be the only way of postponements in professional sports in general. Coy Wire, thank you so much.

Hello, everyone. Thanks so much for joining me. I'm Amara Walker in for Fredricka Whitfield, and we start with two major developing stories. First, a new warning today that the highly transmissible omicron COVID variant will take over this winter.

Dr. Fauci telling CNN, the country needs to brace for a tough few weeks to months ahead.

We're also following a major setback for the President's Build Back Better bill, which would significantly expand the country's social safety net. Senator Joe Manchin, a key moderate Democratic vote announcing this morning he is officially a no on the legislation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WY): I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation. I just can't. I've tried everything humanly possible. I can't get there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: All right, let's go first to the pandemic.

New cases and hospitalizations rising in the U.S. The delta variant fueling most of these increases right now, but the omicron strain is also spreading quickly in much of the country. One experts saying there is a tsunami coming for the unvaccinated.

CNN's Polo Sandoval and Natasha Chen are monitoring developments. And Polo, we'll start with you. You're in New York, which is seeing thousands of new cases daily, what's the scene there?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Record numbers, too, Amara. Now, when it comes to what Mayor Bill de Blasio has said just recently, basically echoing what we've heard from officials that obviously the importance right now and the big priority should be for people to get vaccinated, and if you've been vaccinated, to get boosted. And then finally, to get tested, especially if you're planning some of those Christmas gatherings in the days ahead.

And it seems here in downtown Brooklyn that many people are actually getting the message. We've been out here for quite some time, even hearing from some of the folks here in line, some even waiting up just over two hours to be able to make their way here to one of these mobile testing sites, which is really where a lot of people are turning to right now in order to have that peace of mind.

And that's really the key here, especially as New York State officials confirmed that they've set yet another single day record for positive COVID cases. Now, two days in a row, nearly 22,000. That's two consecutive days right now of records and that certainly speaks to the importance right now of people getting tested.

Now, when you hear from Mayor Bill de Blasio not only pressing the urgency of getting tested, but also confident that this may just be a temporary reality.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK CITY: We expect omicron to be a fast and temporary phenomenon. We expect these next weeks to see a very, very big surge in the number of cases, more than we've seen previously, and then we expect after a period of time that it will dissipate.

This temporary reality demands an urgent immediate step, which is to maximize vaccination.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Still, a lot of people again waiting up to two -- over two hours in the cold so the city certainly taking steps to make sure that they have other options including, opening other sites and also providing some of those take home tests as well, so people have at least one way of finding out whether or not they're safe as they gather with their loved ones in the days ahead -- Amara.

WALKER: Two hours is a long wait for a COVID test in the cold is quite long.

Polo Sandoval, thank you.

To Natasha Chen now in Los Angeles. Cases there are also rising quickly, right, Natasha?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Amara. I should mention that the California Department of Public Health released new numbers today showing that the positivity rate across the state is under three percent, which is relatively low considering California is the most populous state in the country; however, we have to look at the trend of what has been happening over the last few weeks.

[15:05:10]

CHEN: Let's take Los Angeles County for example. On Tuesday, there were more than 1,100 confirmed COVID cases, and by Saturday, that number surpassed 3,700. We actually have not seen that number go past 3,000 since late August, early September. So this is a stark increase. There are more hospitalizations as well, more than 700 people. That's the threshold we haven't really seen since early October.

Now the State Department of Health had noticed an increase in positive test cases in the days following Thanksgiving into early December, and that is why they already instituted new policies for the State starting December 15th saying that we would do this for one month and then reevaluate at that time.

Those policies include universal indoor masking across California, also requirement of proof of vaccination or a negative test to get into a mega event. They define mega events as a thousand people indoors or 10,000 people outdoors, and also recommending that anyone arriving in California get tested three to five days after arriving here.

We've already seen just like in other parts of the country, events get canceled and postponed, that includes UCLA men's basketball game against Cal-Poly on Wednesday. That's been canceled because of COVID cases on the Bruins team.

The Rams versus Seahawks rescheduled from today to Tuesday and the Anaheim Ducks game postponed as well. So a lot of this, we are seeing the effects of the rising numbers happening right now -- Amara.

WALKER: Yes. It reminds of me of dominoes, right, if like the chips are just slowly falling.

Natasha Chen and Polo Sandoval, appreciate both of you. Thanks.

We're also following major developments on a critical piece of the President's agenda.

Today, Senator Joe Manchin delivering a likely deathblow to the Build Back Better plan saying he won't vote for the legislation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANCHIN: I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation. I just can't. I've tried everything humanly possible. I can't get there.

BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CHIEF POLITICAL ANCHOR: You're done. This is -- this is a no.

MANCHIN: This is a no on this legislation. I have tried everything I know to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Far more now, let's bring in Suzanne Malveaux. Suzanne, tell us more about the reaction there on the Hill. It seems like there has been a fair amount of surprise.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Surprise and really a flood of reaction, Amara, when you think about it here because both the Senate and the House are on recess for the Holiday over the next couple of weeks, but people have been fast and furious in their reactions here, primarily over Twitter.

Representative Barbara Lee of California, really representing a lot of the moderates and the progressives in her statement, saying that she is not surprised, but that she is infuriated and that she is disappointed.

She says those who are going to lose out are the caregivers, predominantly and primarily black and brown women, those who are poor, those who are homeless, as well as the climate, the environment -- there were many provisions in that bill that address that.

On the other hand, and on the other side, you've got the Republicans who are celebrating today. Statements from Senator John Cornyn, as well as Thune, who both described this as a Christmas gift come early for the American people saying it would have cost more in gas and inflation.

But nevertheless, we have seen over the months, the past months, and particularly this last week, leading up to the self-imposed Christmas deadline, a lot of intense conversations going on with Manchin and his Democratic colleagues, the moderates, and the progressives even spilling out on the Senate floor just last week, as they all tried to convince him to go along with this.

They need all 50 Democrats, the simple majority to get this passed through, and he was the last holdout. They started off at $6 trillion, went to $3 trillion and then somewhere behind about $2 trillion to $1.75 trillion. He ultimately said $1.5 trillion really was the final offer, but he did express some concern about the extension of the Child Tax Credit, extending that he thought it went beyond one year, if you worked it out to 10 years that it would be a lot more.

But his colleagues, the Democratic colleagues said, look, this is not -- that is not what this bill is. This bill is paid for.

And so there's a great deal of frustration, and perhaps a sense of waste time here in what they were doing, these back, behind the scenes discussions with the President and with his colleagues. They are now accusing him of not being truthful and not really being a faithful negotiator.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. AYANNA PRESSLEY (D-MA): We cannot allow one lone senator from West Virginia to obstruct the President's agenda, to obstruct the people's agenda. Jake, all I want for Christmas is a senator that has compassion for the American people and not contempt.

[15:10:00]

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): I hope that we will bring a strong bill to the floor of the Senate as soon as we can and let Mr. Manchin explain to the people of West Virginia, why he doesn't have the guts to stand up to powerful special interests.

If he doesn't have the courage to do the right thing for the working families of West Virginia and America, let him vote no, in front of the whole world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Amara, the big question is, what is next? I talked to Senator Dick Durbin. This was right before they went on recess. He said perhaps allowing him to have eggnog and fruitcake, go home, perhaps will come back with a better attitude about negotiating. I asked him why is he optimistic here? And he said, well, because the American people need this.

Obviously, that was not a convincing enough argument for Senator Manchin and the question becomes, can they put forward legislation that deals with specific issues, piecemeal, perhaps the Child Tax Credit portion or healthcare that Democrats -- all Democrats could get on board, and maybe even some Republicans as well -- Amara. WALKER: What a drawn out, frustrating process for so many involved. Suzanne Malveaux. Thank you for your reporting.

So one senior administration official says the White House tried to reach Senator Manchin this morning, but he wouldn't take the calls. Senior Washington correspondent, Joe Johns joining us now at the White House.

What's that about? And it sounds like the White House was blindsided by this?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes, it does. And look, on the one hand, anybody who follows the headlines, including the President of the United States knew these negotiations were not going well.

On the other hand, they apparently thought they had something still to negotiate because Manchin had come with his own proposal, and they thought they were going to work their way through that, when Manchin abruptly pulled the plug, and according to our reporting, sent word through an aide something like 30 to 40 minutes before he went on TV to make this announcement.

And when the White House reached out to him, apparently by telephone, either he didn't take the call, or simply they couldn't get through. So, that's the background. But the sharply worded statement that came out from the White House today, clearly the kind of thing that progressives have been asking for a much more aggressive stance from the White House toward Joe Manchin.

Here's a bit of it. I'll read it to you, "Senator Manchin promised to continue conversations on the days ahead and work with us to reach that common ground. If his comments on FOX and written statement indicate an end to that effort, they represent a sudden and inexplicable reversal in his position and a breach." The statement says, "A breach of his commitments to the President and the senators, colleagues in the House and Senate."

So some pretty tough words there, but pretty clear from the White House, they thought there was more to negotiate here when he pulled the plug -- Amara.

WALKER: Clearly. Joe Johns, thank you.

JOHNS: You bet.

WALKER: Still ahead, more colleges and universities are imposing mandates and restrictions over increasing COVID-19 cases, including Michigan State. I will talk live to the university's President next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:17:23]

WALKER: As Coronavirus cases rise, colleges and universities are finding themselves making difficult choices once again. Michigan State University announcing it is requiring booster shots for students, faculty, and staff before the spring semester begins.

Joining me now is the President of MSU, Dr. Samuel Stanley. Really appreciate your time, sir. So you know, first off, tell us why you arrived at this decision. What were the factors that you considered?

DR. SAMUEL STANLEY, PRESIDENT, MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY: So really, we were looking at the data, and that has really been our goal from the beginning, and I think what we saw was, of course it with omicron. It turns out that if you've only had the initial two shots of the vaccine regimen, you may not be protected against omicron, particularly from the disease -- severe disease with omicron.

And so I think we realized that it was going to be necessary. We'd actually seen our first case on campus on Friday. So, we realized that to come back safely in the spring, we wanted everyone to have that third shot, essentially that was going to be required.

So everybody who was eligible, we wanted them to have it and what we've discovered is well, we've got fairly good adherence when we didn't mandate. We got much better adherence when we do, and so we decided that was a step we needed to take next.

WALKER: And I guess you have a little bit of credibility, right. I mean, your only -- your fellowship was on Infectious Diseases, as I understand. You are a physician by trade.

Just from that standpoint, as a scientist, as a doctor, how concerned are you? Are you concerned about omicron?

STANLEY: You know, I am concerned about omicron. And again, the people I'm most concerned about, of course, are those who haven't been vaccinated yet. So a key, of course, is continuing to push on that.

But I think it is concerning that you can develop disease and certainly can develop, be capable of developing a mild infection if you have not been boosted, and so I think that concerns me in terms of transmission to others essentially that's the key.

WALKER: And I'd imagine, sorry, apologies, there is a bit of a delay there. So, I wasn't sure there. I thought you were done. But obviously in the Midwest is where we are seeing a huge surge, right, on hospitalizations, just kind of overflowing, you know in hospitals, excuse me, what has the reaction been from students, from parents, from faculty, and staff regarding this mandate?

STANLEY: I think the vast majority are very much in favor of it. That's been the case from the beginning. Our faculty were actually were among the first to request a vaccine mandate for the university. And we now have about 91 percent -- actually, about 92 percent of our faculty, staff, and students are vaccinated already.

And so I think there generally has been acceptance, so there are some who were concerned about it as there are nationally and there has been -- excuse me -- some lawsuits and other things, but generally I think people have been very accepting of it.

[15:20:07]

WALKER: Do you think it is time for the C.D.C. at the public health level that the definition of fully vaccinated be updated to include a booster, especially when you see the numbers of how much protection wanes, I think with Pfizer was down to 40 percent with two shots, and then when you get a booster it goes up to I think, it was 80 percent according to the N.I.H.

I know Dr. Fauci has been saying, it's kind of semantics, you know, when it comes to OSHA standards and hiring practices, but would you say it's more than that?

STANLEY: You know, I would say it is more than that, and I think it is time. I think it would give clarity, I think, to the situation and I think what we're seeing is, this is really a three-dose vaccine. And it is not, you know, anybody's fault that we didn't realize this. We continue to have to adapt to the different variants we see. But to be effective, it looks like a three dose vaccine. I think we just take it as such.

Booster has this connotation of you're doing something extra, and I think this is really going to turn out to be essential that people have three doses. And the sooner we get that, I think on track, the better.

WALKER: Yes, talking about semantics, right? It should be called a three-dose vaccine as opposed to having, you know, two shots and a booster. I mean, that might change people's mindsets, right?

So you attended --

STANLEY: That's what I am hoping.

WALKER: Right, right, and you attended Harvard Medical School, and we learned, you know, Harvard with a few other universities, they are switching to remote learning for the first few weeks of its spring semester. Are you prepared to get into remote learning mode as well if need be?

STANLEY: We've worked really hard to get back in person. As I said, we were able to really do a good job of that this past semester, we're very pleased with what we did. We've had a mask mandate since the beginning and again, the vaccine mandate before we started the semester, so I think that's helped us.

We're going to have to take a look at what's happening with cases and what is in the community. We've been much lower than community in terms of our rates. So we've been about one-fifth or so of the rates that we see in the community because we've created this basically a group of individuals who have a high vaccination rate. So that's been helpful for us.

But we'll have to see. We will adjust to the kind of numbers of cases we're seeing in the community and we will take a look at what's happening in other places as well. WALKER: Yes, it looks like requiring boosters or requiring a three- shot regimen may be what's in the future for many of us to keep our employment or attend schools.

Thank you so much for your time, Dr. Samuel Stanley, all the best to you. Thanks.

STANLEY: Thank you so much for having me. Appreciate it.

WALKER: Sure thing.

All right, still ahead. Israel adds the U.S. and Canada to its No Fly List as the country prepares for a new wave of coronavirus infections. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:27:02]

WALKER: Israel is adding the U.S., Canada, and Germany to a No Fly List. The Israeli Prime Minister warning the fifth wave has begun. Elliott Gotkine is with us now in Tel Aviv.

Elliott, so cases are slowly creeping up despite the travel measures. Can you give us a sense of where things stand there?

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Sure, Amara.

So the situation right now is that well, Naftali Bennett, the Prime Minister went on television earlier this evening. It is really time to say those words that the fifth wave is already here.

Cases have been creeping up. We're at about 875 on Friday. That was the highest in at least a month, I suppose more worrying is the rise in omicron cases. So we're now at three, excuse me, 175. It was just 89 a few days ago and there are a further 380 cases where there is a high suspicion that they will turn out to be omicron.

And I suppose that's the main reason why we are seeing the U.S., Canada, and another eight countries -- 10 in total being added today to this red No Fly List because most of these omicron cases are coming from people who are returning from overseas. So, they want to reduce the number of imported cases.

But I think they are resigned that this fifth wave -- this fifth wave is here, and that there is no way to actually stop it, all they can do is try to mitigate it.

WALKER: Right, and that's the argument that I've heard that these kinds of travel restrictions kind of give -- buy officials time to figure out the next steps.

What are those other steps that are being taken, by the way, Elliott, to you know, get a handle somewhat on the surge?

GOTKINE: Well, one of the key things they are trying to do is to ramp up the vaccination campaign for children, so far about just 10 percent, about 140,000 children in Israel have been vaccinated since they started the campaign a few weeks ago and in his news conference this evening, Naftali Bennett saying children need to be vaccinated, but also wear masks, social distancing, and work from home in the private sector when you're able to do so.

WALKER: All right, Elliott Gotkine, a dose of reality all the way from Israel as well. Thank you so much.

And after the break, Senator Joe Manchin saying he is a no on the President's Build Back Better Bill.

We'll discuss that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:33:54]

WALKER: New today, a major blow to President Biden's roughly $1.8 trillion Build Back Better legislation. Senator Joe Manchin saying today, he simply can't get there and he is officially a no.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANCHIN: The thing that never changed, Bret, was basically the same amount of things that they're trying to accomplish by just changing if you will, the amount of time that we can depend on them.

So if you're going to do something and do it, pick what were prized priorities are, like most people do in their families or their businesses, and you fund them for 10 years, and you make sure they deliver the services for 10 years.

It is hard to deliver service for one year or three years or five years and how are we going to continue them, unless it's going to put a burden or unless we have to go back and make adjustments, but we should be upfront and pick our priorities. That's the difference.

So it hasn't shrunk in the desire. The intent is always there, and what we need to do is get our financial house in order, but be able to pay for what we do and do what we pay for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Joining me now, Nina Turner. She is a former Democratic State Senator from Ohio and the co-chair for Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign.

[15:35:10]

WALKER: Nina, good to see you. Let's start with your reaction to the big fat no.

NINA TURNER, FORMER DEMOCRATIC STATE SENATOR FROM OHIO: Well, Amara, we could have predicted this. Progressives like myself and others have said this time and time again that Senator Joe Manchin was going to be just who he is, Senator Joe Manchin.

I do believe strongly that the squad -- the members of the squad deserve an apology -- because they were right as they were fighting and holding the line and saying, do not decouple the BIF from the Build Back Better. Look what happened here.

We see Senator Joe Manchin doing what he has always done, which is to stand in the way of the American people being able to have some relief in this economy.

WALKER: What did you make of his attempt at explaining where he stands? I mean, he is saying that, you know, he wanted lawmakers to prioritize some of these social safety net programs.

TURNER: I think it is laughable. I mean, he just voted for $778 billion military budget more than what was even asked for, and I didn't hear him asking for the same playing field as he is asking.

He didn't put the same prescriptions or demands, if you will, on that military budget, as he is doing on Build Back Better. And you know, Amara, this is the thing. People have been talking about the status of South -- excuse me -- of West Virginia, how people are suffering in that state.

People are suffering all over this country. But it is very clear that Mr. Manchin does not care about that suffering that the D behind his name certainly stands for his donor class, because those are the only people that can get his attention. He is full of it.

WALKER: Wow. Well, you know, there needs to be, you know, good faith. There needs to be trust. There needs to be a basis for negotiation, and I think for all of us watching, you know, we're all kind of confused, like what in the world happened?

According to reporting from Kaitlan Collins and John Harwood, the White House was totally surprised. They knew that Manchin was headed in this direction, right, but didn't expect that he would already make this final decision. How do you explain this disconnect?

TURNER: I'm surprised that they are confused at all when this is what Mr. Manchin has been saying the entire time. You know, Amara, earlier this week, Charlamagne tha God interviewed the Vice President of the United States and asked, who is the President? And she answered the question, President is Joe Biden.

There is a difference between being the President and having the power, and what we do know is that although Mr. Biden is the President of the United States of America, it is very clear that Mr. Manchin has the power.

When you have the overwhelming majority of the Democratic Caucus in both chambers of the Congress in support of Build Back Better, we've got to begin to ask ourselves, why is it that one man, one person from West Virginia gets to decide the fate of Child Tax Credit, get to decide the fate of paid family leave, gets to decide the fate of millions of the poor to work according to barely middle class. You know, Amara, nobody should be surprised. So, I am here today to say this is an indictment on the system and the system is controlled by people, and it is time out for playing games and guess what -- the President needs to go and have somebody gas up Air Force One, and then go ahead and do straight up battle with Senator Manchin, which he has been making it known that this is how he feels.

You cannot say you love America when you are going to allow people to allow the child tax credit to go away. You can't say that you love America. What he is saying is that his owner donors matter more to him than the people --

WALKER: It looks like your video is freezing there. Yes, I mean, we heard from Manchin as well on FOX News this morning that you know, he was also concerned about inflation and I understand Nina Turner is back. Sorry, we lost you there for a second. Is she back guys? Okay, god.

Yes, we can hear you, Nina. Can you hear me?

Okay, unfortunately, we've got a bad connection. That is a shame. We will leave it there.

Nina Turner, thank you so much for that conversation.

Turning to other news now and former Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson, a Republican who held a long career in politics has died at the age of 76. He served as senator for nearly 15 years until he resigned from office in 2019 citing health concerns. When Isakson announced he was stepping down from the Senate, the late Democratic Congressman John Lewis was also struggling with a terminal illness honored Isakson in a speech.

And then he walked across the Senate chambers to embrace his colleague on the other side of the aisle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN LEWIS (D-GA): I will come over meet you brother.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said in a statement Sunday, "The Peach State lost a giant," and remembered Isakson as one of its greatest statesmen.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:44:35]

WALKER: As the potential threat of the omicron variant grows more and more pressing, countries are having to reassess their COVID strategies. Our correspondents are covering the responses from all over the world. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: I'm Steven Jiang in Beijing.

China continues to deal with its latest small outbreak of locally transmitted cases with the usual strategy of mass testing and quarantine as well as extensive contact tracing with the authorities here further convinced of the effectiveness of its zero COVID policy as the omicron variant continues to spread fast in many other countries.

[15:45:10]

JIANG: Now, the one big challenge facing the government here is the upcoming Lunar New Year Holiday, which traditionally means millions of people will be on the move to go home. Already, we've seen local officials discourage travel during that period of time, but that could prove a too bitter of a prospect for millions of Chinese to swallow, because for many that would mean for the second year in a row, they wouldn't be able to go home to see loved ones.

SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Selina Wang in Tokyo.

COVID-19 cases are hitting new records in Australia's New South Wales, driven by super spreader events at large venues, including a Taylor Swift listening party held in Sydney last Friday and the spread made worse by the omicron variant.

Meanwhile, South Korea is reporting record numbers of COVID-19 patients in critical condition. Health officials there say that the medical system is at risk of reaching its limit. New restrictions will only allow four people in private gatherings in the greater Seoul area.

And to New Zealand, it is becoming one of the most vaccinated countries in the world with 90 percent of its eligible population fully vaccinated. The country is set to start a phased reopening of its borders in January after being shut for nearly two years.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Scott McLean in London, where the U.K. just reported the highest number of cases in a single day for the third day running. It was also a record setting day Thursday for vaccinations in a single day. More than half the adult population in the U.K. has now had the booster shot.

Omicron is now the dominant strain in Scotland where researchers at a high containment lab found that it infects cells much more slowly than previous variants, but they stress that what happens in the lab does not always translate into the real world. A new not yet peer reviewed British study found that there is no evidence that omicron causes less severe disease though the authors say the data is still very limited.

Either way, the concern is that the sheer volume of infections is bound to cause hospitalizations to rise even with a less severe strain.

AL GOODMAN, CNN MADRID CORRESPONDENT: I'm Al Goodman in Madrid.

As the omicron variant spreads rapidly across Europe, it is finding fertile ground in France, Germany, and here in Spain. They are among the top 10 countries in the world in terms of the total number of their coronavirus cases, according to Johns Hopkins University tracking.

So in recent days, in France and Germany, they each have notched up about 50,000 new cases daily and in Spain, it's been about 17,000 cases daily. The new restrictions by France on British tourists went into effect this Saturday. Britain has its own big problems with omicron. So British travelers going to France will need a compelling reason to be allowed in and they would need to show a negative COVID test within 24 hours of departure.

And in Ireland, there will be an 8:00 PM curfew for bars and restaurants starting Sunday.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Paula Newton in Ottawa where public health officials say they fear the omicron variant is already spreading so quickly that it could overwhelm the healthcare system in a matter of weeks.

The Canadian government has told all Canadians to avoid non-essential international travel for the next few weeks. There are now capacity limits in restaurant, bars, sporting events, movie theaters, but what will really hit home is the fact that most Canadians will not be able to gather with more than 10 people in their home throughout the entire Holiday period.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: All right, it goes without saying for many of us, the COVID pandemic, putting an enormous stress on our lives here in America, including many other factors that Americans are dealing with.

The American Psychological Association in a survey from October put numbers behind the country's collective anxiety and about a third of adults say they are so stressed about the pandemic that they struggle to make even basic decisions in their day to day lives. It is just one example of how the last 20 months or so have really impacted our mental health.

Dr. Pooja Lakshmin is a psychiatrist and assistant professor at George Washington University and also a "New York Times" contributor. She is joining us now.

Dr. Lakshmin, this is a very important conversation and I'm so glad you're here to talk about it. I mean, give us a sense of the American mindset right now. What are people struggling with?

DR. POOJA LAKSHMIN, PSYCHIATRIST AND ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AT GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: Yes, absolutely. It's great to be here, Amara. Thank you for having me.

So, you know, the past two years in particular for parents and caregivers has just been a time of unrelenting stress and burden, you know, one disappointment, one trauma after another. I don't have to kind of spout out the numbers for our listeners that are parents or caregivers, but I will say that you know the levels of depression and anxiety that we're seeing in particular for parents right now are really skyrocketing.

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LAKSHMIN: And you know, pre-pandemic, the numbers that we would look at in terms of depression or anxiety were in the range of 10 to 20 percent, whereas during the pandemic, we're seeing that one in three mothers, one in three parents in that range are experiencing clinical levels of anxiety or depression. There is actually even some studies that are showing numbers as high as 70 percent, in particular, for moms of very young children that are experiencing clinical levels of anxiety. So the stress is really high.

The other important thing to keep in mind is that hasn't gotten better in terms of levels of stress and in terms of mental health symptoms. We're still at the same place when it comes to the mental health crisis that we were nearly two years ago, which is really disappointing.

WALKER: Right, and I mean, is it going to get any better? I mean, because there are so many factors that are weighing on our stress right now, right? I mean, inflation, I mean, things cost so much more. And if you're already struggling to make ends meet, you know, that's not helping the cause because you're going to have to gas up, you still have to buy milk and eggs, you know, and then there's also the crime issue in many major cities, including here in Atlanta.

I mean, I feel like, I'm constantly looking behind my back. I'm always concerned about the safety of my children, then, of course, you have, you know, the pandemic and worries that, oh, my goodness, my kid is going to be in quarantine again? Are they going to be sick?

You know, can you talk about all of these factors and how they kind of combine and weigh our minds down?

LAKSHMIN: Yes, absolutely, I think you hit the nail on the head that there are just all of these external stressors that are out of our control, right. And when it's outside of your own control, that's when it's the most traumatic and that's when it's the most distressing.

So back in February, I actually wrote a piece for "The New York Times" that was called, "This is the betrayal, not burnout." And I think it's really important for us to come back to the fact that our systems, our social structures that are supposed to be supporting us, so things like you were just talking about, you know, paid parental leave, that we still don't have, you know, affordable childcare that we still don't have.

And so when something like you know, the TikTok violence crisis happened just two days ago, when schools were shutting down, you know, we don't have -- we don't have childcare, we don't have affordable childcare in our country. And so that stressor, that demand falls on parents, mostly on mothers, and to have that be out of your control is really, really distressing.

And so what I see in my practice is like this feeling of just powerlessness, and it's not unfounded, right? Because, again, this is betrayal that we're all experiencing.

WALKER: Yes, I think so. I can identify with that, you know, just not having control of, you know what is going to happen to my child, or are they going to be put in quarantine? And if they are, then she is home, and what I do about childcare? And, you know, there are so many things to think about in this pandemic world that we're living in, right?

So what can we do, especially looking at omicron now, and, you know, again, you know, we heard from a doctor earlier that we are two or three weeks behind Europe, which is going into lockdown, we're already seeing here in the U.S. huge events being canceled, professional sports, postponing games.

So we're seeing this looming wave, or it's already here, and now we're -- I think, stressed even more about what is to come, right? So how do we -- I don't know, deal with this?

LAKSHMIN: Yes, absolutely. That's always the million dollar question. Right? And I think as we're looking at this week before Christmas, right, you know, so many families, especially families that were vaccinated, and, you know, we're kind of looking at, okay, maybe things are going to be okay, maybe things are going to be right, and then the wall got, you know, pulled out from underneath us, the rug got pulled out from underneath us.

So I think there are a couple of things. One, I think we do have to trust in the vaccines and trust in science and do everything that we can in our own individual parts to be good citizens in terms of public health. The other thing that I think is really important this time of year is to really nourish a sense of both end, so you can be worried, you can be scared, you can be, you know, uncertain about what is going to happen, and you can also feel grateful for the joyful things that you do have in life. So it is not one or the other.

Whenever we are in periods of uncertainty, it can be really easy to get into what's called black and white thinking, where you only focus on the negative. Instead, I think now is a time where we can try and really practice that feeling of allowing it all, you know, being worried about the future, but also acknowledging the good that we do have.

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LAKSHMIN: And I think you can model that for your children as well and be honest that yes, there is a new variant, you know, yes, the Holidays might look a little bit different, we might not be traveling, but here are the other traditions and, you know, values that we can still live with and we can still celebrate.

WALKER: Yes, that's really good advice because we must be deliberate about what we are thankful for it and perhaps say it out loud. Maybe that's what helps so many of us.

Yes, really, I wish we had more time but we're going to have to leave it there. Dr. Pooja Lakshmin, thank you. Appreciate your time.

And I appreciate yours. Thanks for joining me today. I'm Amara Walker in for Fredricka Whitfield.

CNN NEWSROOM continues now with Jim Acosta after the break.

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