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China Locks Down 13 Million People In Xi'an After Spike In Cases; Omicron To Be Dominant Across Europe By Next Month; U.K. Reports More Than 100,000 Cases For First Time; Top Researcher: South Africa Has Passed Omicron Peak; U.N.: One Million Children At Risk Of Dying Of Starvation; U.S. And U.N. Lift Restrictions To Allow More Aid In. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired December 23, 2021 - 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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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, lockdown, China orders for 13 million residents of Xi'an to stay home after a spike of COVID infections.
South Africa's Omicron outbreak appears to have peaked with early indications. It was much shorter in duration and much less severe than other waves of the pandemic.
And we knew this was coming, children starving to death in Afghanistan, to weak to cry. This is the humanitarian crisis the world has tried to ignore.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.
VAUSE: Thank you for being with us here on CNN NEWSROOM. We begin in Northern China and the city of Xi'an now under an ongoing strict lockdown order as health officials tried to hit off a spike in locally transmitted infections.
In just under two weeks, the city has recorded 206 COVID infections. 63 On Wednesday. Millions of residents have been ordered to stay at home with mass testing for COVID underway, all part of China's zero COVID strategy.
Schools and government offices have been ordered shut and almost everything not considered an essential service like supermarkets and hospitals, now closed.
No one is allowed to leave Xi'an except for extenuating circumstances and with official approval. Flights have been canceled, so too long- distance bus services, and there are checkpoints on major highways into and out of the city.
China's strictest lockdown level is called sealed areas which prohibits anyone from leaving their home, requires groceries to be delivered. Xi'an right now is under a controlled lockdown. Not a strict one
person per household, allowed to leave their home every two days to buy essential goods and other supplies.
The next level below that is prevention, which advises people to work from home and avoid public transportation.
This is the fourth time a major Chinese city has been placed under a strict lockdown.
Details from CNN's Selina Wang.
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SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The Chinese city of Xi'an and its 13 million residents have been put under strict lockdown. The city has recorded more than 200 COVID-19 cases since December 9th. Residents are largely banned from leaving their homes, but one designated person from each household will be allowed to leave every two days to buy groceries.
Otherwise, residents are only allowed to leave in the case of a medical emergency or for "urgent or necessary works", that's according to the local government.
Xi'an has also shut down all schools, public transport and facilities except for essential service providers.
This is the fourth time a major Chinese city has been placed under strict lockdown. The first was back in early 2020 when Wuhan ground zero of the pandemic went into lockdown.
With the games now less than 45 days away, the country is doubling down on its zero COVID strategy. Cities are locking down in mass testing residents in response to just a handful of COVID-19 cases in the country.
Olympic participants will have to be in a strict bubble and tested daily. If they are not vaccinated, they'll have to quarantine for 21 days upon arrival.
If China pulls off the Winter Olympics successfully, it would be a propaganda win for its handling of COVID-19 and for its authoritarian system.
Selina Wang, CNN, Tokyo.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Well, South Africa's Omicron outbreak may have peaked with doctors reporting new COVID cases down more than 20 percent in some areas.
The head of the South African Medical Association says the wave was steeper but much shorter than previous waves. New researchers found Omicron infection are 80 percent less likely to
lead hospitalization compared to Delta. Another study has found a vaccine booster will reduce the chance of symptoms by almost 60 percent compared to just two doses.
Researchers stressed the numbers are early and more analysis is still needed.
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MARIA VAN KERKHOVE, TECHNICAL LEAD ON COVID-19: We have not seen this variant circulate for long enough in populations around the world, certainly in vulnerable populations. We do -- we did learn some information this week that Omicron as it enters older age groups, older people with Omicron tend to have more severe disease. That's unsurprising.
We know people have died from Omicron. It's too early to conclude. And I think that's really critical right now because the data is a little bit messy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: New restrictions are being imposed across Europe almost as fast as the Omicron variant is spreading.
Spain set to bring back outdoor mask mandates that starts Christmas Eve. Belgium is canceling indoor events and activities. Although gyms and museums are allowed to stay open.
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VAUSE: More countries are moving forward with vaccines for younger children.
CNN's Salma Abdelaziz has the very latest now from London but first, we hear from Cyril Vanier reporting in from Paris.
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CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): European countries are racing to protect themselves against Omicron either with new restrictions or with boosters or both.
The Omicron coronavirus variant is already dominant in Denmark, Portugal and the U.K. and because it spreads so fast, Omicron cases roughly doubling every 48 hours. It's expected to become dominant before the end of the year in France and across the continent next month.
France which has just reported its highest number of cases this year has canceled New Year's Eve celebrations is speeding up its booster campaign. About one percent of the entire French population is getting boosted every day, and the country is extending vaccinations to the youngest age group, five to 11-year olds. Several other European nations have also recently opened up
immunization to younger children, Finland, Belgium, Poland, Spain, among others.
Spain is also set to reimpose a national mask mandate outdoors after registering a record number of infections. Neighboring Portugal will close schools, bars and clubs immediately after Christmas on December 26th. And people are asked to work from home.
Belgium has just announced that it will be canceling indoor events and activities starting Sunday, like cinemas, shows and indoor Christmas markets.
And finally, in Germany, the health minister is not ruling out a hard lockdown if cases increase again. The country has already decided to impose strict contact restrictions after Christmas and ban New Year's Eve gatherings.
Cyril Vanier, CNN, Paris.
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SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): For the first time since the start of this pandemic, the U.K. has recorded more than 100,000 new positive cases in a single 24-hour period on Wednesday.
Yet, another record broken largely due to the Omicron variant which has caused a huge surge in cases across the U.K.
Still, the Prime Minister is insistent that no new restrictions will go into force before Christmas, so other steps are being taken to prepare the country for a potential surge in hospitalizations.
On Wednesday, health officials announcing that the isolation period for those who test positive for COVID-19 will now be reduced from 10 days to seven days if an individual tests negative with a lateral flow test on day six and day seven.
Health officials hope that this will reduce the impact COVID-19 has on lives and livelihoods and most critically, keep critical public services staffed like hospitals.
Also today, the government announcing two major contracts that will bring 4.25 million anti-viral courses to this country at the start of the new year.
Also, a U.K. regulatory body approving vaccinations for children between the age of five to 11. And the country's booster program still going full steam ahead, more than 50 percent of eligible adults have their third shot. The authorities want to continue to see that number rise.
Still, the question is, is it enough? We simply don't know the severity of Omicron or how these tens of thousands of positive cases a day, what proportion of them will wind up in hospital. All eyes on the U.K. as the health care system braces for a potential surge.
Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.
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VAUSE: To Hawaii now and Dr. Scott Miscovich, President and CEO of the Premier Medical Group USA and a national consultant for COVID 19 testing.
Doctor, good to see you. thanks for being with us.
DR. SCOTT MISCOVICH, PRESIDENT AND CEO, PREMIER MEDICAL GROUP USA: Thanks, John.
VAUSE: OK, so the real-world data on Omicron collected over the past few days seems to be reporting sort of in the same general direction if you like. In South Africa, doctors say the outbreak may have peaked to a shorter in duration than expected. And new studies confirmed fewer hospital admissions, less severe illness compared to the Delta variant.
Here's a little more on what the White House medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci, what his takeaway is from all that, here he is.
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DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: It appears that in the context of South Africa, there was a decrease in the severity compared to Delta, both in the relationship and ratio between hospitalizations and the number of infections, the duration of hospital stay, and the need for supplemental oxygen therapy.
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VAUSE: And finally, we had this from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. These early national data suggest that Omicron is associated with a two thirds reduction in the risk of COVID-19 hospitalization, again, when compared to Delta.
OK, so from all of this early data, some have started to draw the conclusion that this is the beginning of the end of the pandemic. The less sever Omicron or coronavirus, rather, is one that we can manage, one we can live with. So, is that a reasonable assumption? And is it a likely outcome?
MISCOVICH: No, not at this point, I think that the data that we're looking at when you really look at it deeply does not fully support that because there's some nuances. And you know, let's start with a real quality data that came out of Scotland is very young, almost half of that group was under the age of 50. And they did not re-stratify it for the people who were a little more higher risk.
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MISCOVICH: So, that's what we're really concerned about right now. Same thing with the data out of South Africa, it was a younger group that came out. And it -- you know, they have other confounding factors, like there were 70 percent positive for one of the other variants.
So, the data I'm really watching right now is I get daily data out of the hospitals right in the -- in London, and the curve is actually parallel right now to Delta in the hospitalizations.
Now, the little positive is there's almost 70 percent less individuals requiring to be put on a ventilator. So, that's probably the best dataset we have. And I want to caution, we do not want the world to think, oh, this is just a cold or flu, you know, this is still too early to really judge Omicron.
VAUSE: And that the change in ventilator use could be used because of the different change -- because of a change in procedure, right? There was a -- at one point, there was a change in how the ventilators were used and who was actually put on a ventilator and for how long?
MISCOVICH: Yes, absolutely. Yes, we use ventilators at the very, very end of treatment, you try to use oxygen, and then positioning and other things. So, ventilator means someone is very severe. So yes, that's true.
But still, it's an indication of the real severity and the progression of the disease. And I will, again qualify, probably seeing that there is slightly less severity, but we just don't have the overall grip enough to let the population of, you know, whether it's Europe, the United States put their guard down.
VAUSE: The first antiviral pills to treat COVID could be available in the U.S. in a couple of days after Pfizer received this Emergency Authorization. It's limited to anyone 12 all over with, you know, high risk conditions. Could this be the game changer here, not just because of the, what, almost 90 percent reduction in hospital stays? But it works completely differently compared to the vaccines.
MISCOVICH: This, in my mind is what we've been waiting for. This is a massive game changer. I mean, we hope that this is being produced as fast as possible. That's the thing, we're already looking at right now is that we'll be probably a little bit of a rationing in the early phases when we really need it, we need it now.
And I've written already policy for a couple of states that I'm involved with, I met with our governor here this morning and Department of Health, we need this out to the people.
Because remember, it has to be three days after you're diagnosed, the sooner you get it, the more you have a chance. But, I want to say this is a massive game changer for the world.
VAUSE: Very quickly, we're almost out of time. I want you to hear from the head of the CDC in the United States, a very important message for anyone who's traveling for the holidays. And anyone who is actually expecting visitors for the holidays, here she is.
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DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, DIRECTOR, CDC: Holiday gatherings and risks of travel really has less to do with the airplane or car ride, and much more to do with how people from different households behave in the weeks to days before meeting up.
Importantly, consider gathering with family and friends who are also practicing similar proper prevention measures.
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VAUSE: OK, so Omicron may have killed off the idea of a carefree holiday travel reunion. But traveling can still be safe. And you know, there are things we need to do and we need to travel.
MISCOVICH: Boy, I want to jump right out. And I only agree with 50 percent of what she started with.
Airplane, yes, we have pretty good data that the airplane air circulation and filtration is pretty solid, but cars? You would not believe the number of people who are getting positive. If you got one person even mildly infected in the car. And you're riding for any period of time with how contagious Omicron is, it's going to be there.
Put the windows down, crack the windows, wear that good N95 and then, you know, in the home of course, you know we talked about this again and again you and I on the show. Wear your mask if you have any people at high risk, use a fan over your shoulder to move the airs around, open up a window but be careful. We've got to take care of our elderly and the people at risk.
VAUSE: Yes, it's all about, you know, getting vaccinated, wearing masks, being sensible, doing the right thing, we can do this.
Dr. Scott Miscovich, thank you. Thank you for the advice earlier too, appreciate it.
MISCOVICH: All right. You're welcome, John, take care.
VAUSE: Thank you.
Well, one million children at risk of starving to death, Afghanistan's humanitarian crisis now a reality and set to only get worse with the harsh winter ahead, more on that when we come back.
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VAUSE: One person confirmed dead, at least 50 others believed to be missing after a landslide at a jade mine in Myanmar on Wednesday, which dozens of workers into a lake and burying them under debris.
Relatives of the victims watch from ashore as fire fighters search for survivors. They're now saying that many of those people who've been swept away will not be found. Some rescue workers fear that this is likely to lead to a higher death toll.
Deadly accidents are common in Myanmar jade industry. At least six people reported killed last weekend in another landslide.
The Biden administration is lifting restrictions to allow more humanitarian aid into Afghanistan. Groups will be exempt from economic sanctions imposed on the Taliban.
The U.N. Security Council has taken similar action, U.N. agencies warned one million children at risk of dying from starvation if relief does not arrive soon.
CNN's Anna Coren reports of the humanitarian efforts and a warning, the images you're about to see are difficult to watch.
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ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A little girl sobs gently rubbing her ears. In a feeble attempt to ease the pain at tormenting her body. She doesn't have the energy to cry the way other sick children do.
Camilla (PH) is exhausted as she lies in a hospital bed in Kandahar, Southern Afghanistan slowly starving to death.
The 2-1/2-year-old weighs just over five kilograms, 11 pounds. About a third of what a normal toddler her age should.
Her mother is sick and we are poor people explains Camilla's grandmother, she tried to breastfeed but had no milk to give.
Camilla now one of at least a million Afghan children under the age of five at risk of dying from starvation. For months, the U.N. has been sounding the alarm, warning that Afghanistan was on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe.
The Taliban takeover on the 15th of August, so international funds immediately dry up, triggering an economic collapse in an already impoverished country where foreign aid represented 43 percent of the country's GDP and 75 percent of government spending according to the World Bank.
But as the U.S. withhold billions of dollars in Afghan reserves and sanctions are imposed on the Taliban government, the West's attempts to force fundamental change within the group are hurting the Afghan people.
And with the country in the grips of winter, facing one of the worst droughts in decades, the most vulnerable are paying the price.
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COREN: In this hospital in Ghor province in northwestern Afghanistan, up to a hundred mothers and children turn up each day with varying cases of malnutrition.
Dr. Faziluhaq Farjad (PH) has been working here for the past six years and has never seen this level of desperation.
DR. FAZILUHAQ FARJAD, HEAD OF MALNUTRITION, GHOR HOSPITAL (through translator): Almost 70 percent of the cases are severe and this is in the city. Imagine how bad the districts are. If nobody pays attention, it's going to get much worse. We are in a disaster.
COREN: One of his patients receiving treatment is Razia. This is her third visit to hospital in eight months. Her skeletal frame a clear sign this child who's just a few months away from turning three is not getting better.
MUSAFER, RAZIA'S FATHER (through translator): There is no work, no income, no food to bring her. Sometimes we have nothing to eat. Every time I see her, I get upset.
COREN: The humanitarian community is collectively issuing an SOS. UNHCR says the country is witnessing truly unprecedented levels of hunger, now inflicting more than half its population of 38 million people.
International Rescue Committee describes a global system failure fueling the crisis, naming Afghanistan the most at-risk country of a deteriorating humanitarian crisis in the year ahead.
While the International Committee of the Red Cross says the country is on the precipice of manmade catastrophe.
The World Food Programme has been distributing aid around the country. And says the middle-class, teachers and civil servants and now joining the poor in the cues.
MARY-ELLEN MCGROARTY, AFGHANISTAN COUNTRY DIRECTOR, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME: Please, please think of just the ordinary people of Afghanistan, the children of Afghanistan, who are -- who are facing into a winter of abject hunger and destitution through no fault of their own, through just a lottery of birth.
COREN: Dr. Paul Spiegel from Johns Hopkins University has just returned from Afghanistan consulting for the World Food Programme and is alarmed by what he saw.
He says Afghanistan's health system that once relied on 80 percent of its funding from international donors is now barely functioning and blames the West sanctions which are gravely impacting government run hospitals imploring for the system to be changed.
DR. PAUL SPIEGEL, JOHNS HOPKINS BLOOMBERG SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: The Western governments, U.S., U.K., the E.U. have to make some decisions quickly or it's going to be too late. And therefore, there's going to be a tremendous amount of I would say unnecessary deaths.
COREN: The little Camilla, her trip to hospital has saved her life for now. After 15 days, she's being discharged with some medicine that may last a few weeks.
She's not very well, but at least she's alive, says her grandmother. It's better from the first day we brought her here.
But having put on just a few hundred grams, her face is as precarious as that of her country, edging closer to the abyss.
Anna Coren, CNN.
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VAUSE: Well, for more on the crisis in Afghanistan, Laurel Miller with the International Crisis Group joins us now from Washington. Laura, thank you for taking the time to be with us.
LAUREL MILLER, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP'S ASIA PROGRAM: Good to be with you.
VAUSE: OK, so, when it comes to sanctions on Afghanistan, there are two significant developments on Wednesday, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution which exempts humanitarian Afghan -- activities in Afghanistan from sanctions.
The U.S. Treasury also announced they would issue what's known as a general license for non-governmental groups in Afghanistan, which also clears them from the U.S. sanctions.
So, explain what this means in terms of international assistance. How significant is this for the people of Afghanistan?
MILLER: It's a positive step, but it's a limited step. What it does is it makes it easier for humanitarian organizations, non-governmental ones, as well as U.N. agencies to do their work in Afghanistan without concern about coming into legal jeopardy because of that.
So, it eases the way towards the provision of humanitarian aid which is crucial right now, given the crisis that the Afghan people are in, but it doesn't fix the fundamental problems that are producing this grave need for humanitarian aid.
VAUSE: I'm just wondering, in a very fundamental way, does it sort of move the situation back to how the process was, if you like, before the Taliban takeover in August?
MILLER: No, it by no means restores the situation to that. I mean, for one thing, the sanctions that these exemptions are carved out of are, in fact, still in place, and they still have a significant effect.
These are sanctions that were placed on the Taliban for a long time. And over the last 20 years were intended to undermine the Taliban insurgency, which they failed to do.
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MILLER: Now, that the Taliban is the de facto government of Afghanistan, these sanctions do still apply broadly to the whole government of Afghanistan, except for where there are now these humanitarian exceptions. Moreover, the United States and other donors cut off other non- humanitarian forms of assistance to Afghanistan, that had actually been paying about 75 percent of public spending in Afghanistan, that's all gone.
VAUSE: And if I understand correctly, the exemptions are only for a year, their temporary?
MILLER: The U.N. exemptions are for a year at which point they'll be reviewed. The U.S. general licenses are -- don't have an expiration date attached to them.
VAUSE: OK, one senior U.S. diplomat seemed to outline the balancing act here while talking at the U.N. on Wednesday, listen to this.
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JEFFREY DELAURENTIS, SENIOR ADVISER, U.S. PERMANENT MISSION TO THE U.N.: We believe the U.N. role in coordinating humanitarian operations in Afghanistan is more critical than ever.
The United States will continue to do its part to support the Afghan people while also holding the Taliban accountable for following through on its commitments.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So, that's the challenge, right? Is it possible to allow humanitarian assistance into the country to help those who need it most while at the same time, ensuring the Taliban does not benefit from that assistance?
MILLER: It's possible to do that much. But humanitarian aid is emergency relief, it's a bandage. That's not the kind of aid that can really keep the Afghan state afloat, can enable essential public services to be provided and prevent a collapsing state and collapsing economy in Afghanistan.
That would require actually working with the Taliban, enabling them essentially, you know, to succeed as the the masters of the Afghan state now, and that's a bridge that the U.S. has not decided to cross.
VAUSE: If nothing else, the easing of the sanctions seems to be a reflection of the crisis, which the country is now facing.
MILLER: Yes, it's a reflection of the crisis. And as I said, it's a limited step to make it easier for humanitarian aid to be delivered. But it still doesn't cross the line of trying to separate support for the Afghan people from anything that could even indirectly help the Taliban succeed at governing Afghanistan.
VAUSE: Laurel Miller, thank you so much. We appreciate your time and thank you for being with us.
MILLER: My pleasure. VAUSE: When we come back, the Omicron variant now turbocharging the
coronavirus and bringing feelings of dread, failure and pessimism. The emotional toll from a pandemic which just won't quit.
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VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
[00:30:29]
Record COVID infections in the Australian state of New South Wales for another day. More than 5,700 new cases on Wednesday, just one recorded death, an unvaccinated man in his 40s, with underlying health conditions.
To the south, in the state of Victoria, they've seen an increase in infections, as well, more than 2,000 on Wednesday.
South Korea has reported a record number of critically-ill COVID patients for the second day in a row. More than 1,000 people are in intensive care units, and officials say ICUs across the country are nearly 80 percent full.
The nation also reported its highest one-day COVID death toll since the pandemic began, with more than 100 deaths on Wednesday.
In the U.S., the Omicron variant has now been detected in all 50 states. President Joe Biden acknowledging the administration is struggling to meet the demand for COVID-19 tests.
Mr. Biden touting the 500 million at-home tests the federal government will make available to anyone who wants one. But the program begins in January.
In the meantime, there's a new weapon in the battle against the virus. Here's CNN's Amara Walker.
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AMARA WALKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The FDA authorizing the first pill to treat COVID-19. Paxlovid, made by Pfizer, will be available by prescription for adults and high-risk individuals age 12 or older who have mild to moderate symptoms but a high risk of hospitalization or death.
Pfizer's CEO says they stand ready to begin delivery in the U.S. immediately.
JEFF ZIENTS, WHITE HOUSE COVID-19 RESPONSE COORDINATOR: As quickly as Pfizer gets the pills manufactured and delivered, we will immediately provide them to states and jurisdictions for distribution.
WALKER: The long testing lines across the country have already begun amidst a holiday rush. In Atlanta, frustrations are running high.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been here for like an hour and a half. The line will stretch all the way back.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're on almost hour three. Less than a mile, but hour three.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Crazy busy. It's like it was back in, you know, January, February timeframe.
WALKER: Some taking precautions as the highly-contagious Omicron variant has overtaken Delta as the dominant strain in just a matter of weeks. Omicron has now been identified in every U.S. state, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico.
DR. PETER DROBAC, INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERT, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD: There are a lot of reasons to be concerned. What we know for sure about this variant is that it's incredibly transmissible. Each infected person infects, on average, five other people, which is much more than with previous variants.
WALKER: For those gathering during the holidays, the CDC director stressing that all guests be vaccinated and or boosted, and exercise caution in the days before they get together.
DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: I want to remind folks that, you know, so much about the safety of your gathering has less to do with the plane ride or the train ride that you're going to do to get there, and very much to do with the behaviors that you have in the week prior to your gathering.
WALKER: Case rates in the U.S. are back to levels seen in the middle of the Delta surge, the highest they've been in 3 months. ICU beds are about 76 percent full, and more than one in 5 are COVID-19 patients.
DR. RICHINA BICETTE-MCCAIN, EMERGENCY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN: I'm pretty worried that the surge that we're going to see in the coming weeks is going to be worse than the surge that we saw last winter.
WALKER: Meanwhile, South Africa has passed the peak of its Omicron outbreak, according to one of the country's top scientific researchers.
With a rise in breakthrough cases, the CDC is actively examining shortening the 10-day quarantine for the vaccinated.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE FOR ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: If you do have someone who's infected, rather than keeping them out for 7 or 10 days, if they are without symptoms, put an N-95 mask on them, make sure they have the proper PPE, and they might be able to get back to work sooner.
WALKER (on camera): So a glimmer of hope there, as this antiviral from Pfizer could really bring down hospitalization and death rates, due to COVID-19.
Now, the pills are supposed to be taken at home, by a patient infected with COVID-19, before they get sick enough to be hospitalized. Now, the White House says that about 250,000 courses of treatment will
be available days from now, beginning in January, and all ten million courses of treatment will be available by late summer.
In Atlanta, Amara Walker, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Over the last few days, governments worldwide have warned of the potential threat from the Omicron variant and announced new measures to try and contain that. And with that, bringing a global sigh of despair, a feeling of common fatigue, even defeat.
More leaders, like U.S. the president and German chancellor, keenly aware that all of us are sick and tired of feeling sick and tired.
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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to start by acknowledging how tired, worried and frustrated I know you are. I know how you're feeling.
OLAF SCHOLZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): This pandemic is wearing us all down. We are all worn out and tired of the pandemic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Psychiatrist Dr. Daniel Bober joins us now from Hollywood, Florida.
Thanks for being with us.
DR. DANIEL BOBER, PSYCHIATRIST: Thanks, John.
VAUSE: It seems to be one word which probably best describes our collective mental and emotional state right now is weary. We're now almost two years into this pandemic, and what seems to be driving this exhaustion is the uncertainty for the future. We can't plan for anything. We don't know what's going to happen.
But also, when Omicron came along, it seemed to really emphasize the point that there doesn't seem to be an end sight for this.
BOBER: No, there doesn't. I think when this all first started, you know, we were kind of in survival mode, so code fight or flight. But then after a while, that sort of turned into anxiety, and now I think it's just frustration. There's different names for it, you know, feeling burned out, moral injury.
But it all amounts to the fact that we're kind of over this already, and the last thing we want to do is take on new public health measures to deal with Omicron.
VAUSE: Yes, there was a poll done in the United States by Monmouth University, which found 60 percent of respondents felt worn out by the pandemic. And what was interesting, it was sort of evenly split between Republicans and Democrats. They all sort of felt the same way.
So overall, how does this impact us on individual levels. And what does it mean on a policy level, for public health officials and governments, as they move forward trying to address the new challenges?
BOBER: Well, I think we have to acknowledge that there is another side to all of this, right? There's also the mental health side. You know, there's kids who are dealing with emotional trauma from being home. Academic loss from, you know, not progressing at a normal rate.
We've got parents who are tired and exhausted from taking on a full- time job of trying to help their kids at school. They can't focus on their own -- on their own livelihoods.
So, I mean, I think this is taking such a toll. And if you look at increases in depression, anxiety, overdoses are skyrocketing. So all these things together point to, you know, the terrible mental health toll that this pandemic has taken.
And so, it's not just about, you know, activity and protecting people's physical health, but it's also about their mental health, as well.
VAUSE: Yes. I want you to listen to the U.S. president, who was speaking to ABC News about the sudden rise of the Omicron variant. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The vice president said in recent days that -- that you didn't see Delta coming, you didn't see Omicron coming. How did you get it wrong?
BIDEN: How did we get it wrong? Nobody saw it coming. Nobody in the whole world. Who saw it coming?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: This is one of those issues where the administration has sent out confusing, mixed messages. Yes, they were prepared. No, they didn't see it coming. The vice president was taken out of context. And, you know, there's lots of examples of these. This is just the most recent one.
When there's no clear message from those in leadership, how much does that add to their feeling of sort of uncertainty and pessimism?
BOBER: Not only uncertainty and pessimism, but also mistrust. You know, we don't want to believe what our leaders are telling us. But people have to realize that this virus is a moving target. And that information that was correct a month ago is not going to be correct today. So, we need to really be careful about the messaging, because people
are looking to the government for guidance, and when the message keeps changing, it doesn't foster any trust whatsoever.
VAUSE: There still seems to be this practice among public health officials, and some government officials, of not being entirely honest or transparent with the public. They're not willing to admit what they don't know. There's also this fear of not actually putting stuff out there because of a fear that it may actually cause alarm, you know, within the public.
But surely, you know, we have a right to be spoken to, and to be dealt with as adults, to be told everything that's going on.
BOBER: Right, I think they need to be more transparent, more honest. And sometimes, they just have to say, you know, we don't know. We don't know what's going to happen.
But I can tell you that this virus mutates, and just as soon as Omicron goes, there's going to be another strain on the horizon. I think we're going to probably be in and out of this for several years, so I think we have to hunker down and be prepared for that.
But I also think we have to strike a balance between personal freedom and public health. I don't think we can hide in a bubble anymore. We're coming up on two years, at this point, so we need to start living our lives.
I'm not saying to do stupid things and take chances, but I'm saying we have to try to temper this a little bit with living our lives and still maintaining basic public health measures.
VAUSE: Yes, this is the balancing act of living with COVID, I guess.
Just very quickly, we'll finish up with another study, which apparently found we're all cursing a little bit more than we did before the pandemic. "The Wall Street Journal" reporting, "Mentions of" -- an "F" word that rhymes with "truck," an "S" word that rhymes with "hit" -- "and a-hole, or related variations, rose 41 percent from full year 2019 to 2021, through the end of November. And on Facebook, 27 percent, on Twitter." This is going to Storyful, a news and intelligence agency.
[00:40:08]
And swearing a little more may not actually be a bad thing, because it actually, what, relieves stress.
BOBER: Yes, I think that's actually a pretty healthy coping mechanism. Whether you're swearing more, or exercising, you know, at least, you're not hitting someone else with your fist. Though I think on the order of things, that's actually a pretty way -- healthy way to cope.
VAUSE: Absolutely. I'm not going to swear now. But it's tempting.
BOBER: That would've been a good closer, yes. VAUSE: Doctor -- Dr. Bober, thanks very much for being with us.
BOBER: My pleasure, John.
VAUSE: Across the U.S. and across -- in fact, in many parts of the world, getting a COVID test is key to slowing the spread of this pandemic, but in many places, supplies are running low.
Health officials are warning demand is only set to grow. CNN's Brian Todd looks at the testing options which are available in the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happy holidays.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From California to D.C., the lines of people waiting to get free COVID tests, many of them unable to buy test kits in stores, are now extending around city blocks, and to say patience is wearing thin is putting it mildly.
NEISHA BLANDIN, IN LINE FOR COVID-19 TEST: Very frustrated. I've been looking for a test for about -- all week, actually, for a few days now. All of the CVS's near me are out. They don't expect to get any until Friday.
TODD: The demand for test kits is so high that CVS, Walmart, Amazon and Walgreens are limiting the number of at-home COVID test kits customers can buy. But many simply can't find them at all.
TAYLOR GERY, LOOKING FOR AT-HOME COVID-19 TEST: We searched around on CVS, on Walgreens, on all the web sites. Everything is full because of the holidays.
TODD: Compounding the problem: at this point, many people are confused over what kind of COVID test to get.
MAEGAN WOOD, IN LINE FOR COVID-19 TEST: So it's kind of just confusing on what's actually correct, and what I need to get to be able to go home for Christmas, see my family, all that stuff.
DR. MEGAN RANNEY, ASSOCIATE DEAN OF PUBLIC HEALTH, BROWN UNIVERSITY: So there are three big categories of tests, and within each of those categories, there are, of course, a bunch of different manufacturers, a bunch of different ways that you can do the tests. It's all awfully complicated for the average American to figure out.
TODD: Over-the-counter at-home tests from these manufacturers are now authorized by the FDA. Experts say they all work well.
DR. MICHAEL MINA, CHIEF SCIENCE OFFICER, EMED: In general, for the purposes that most people are using tests today, which is to ask, am I a risk to others around me, the rapid test you can pick up on the shelf tend to perform very, very well for that use.
TODD: There are 3 basic categories of tests. There are laboratory PCR tests, PCR standing for polymerase chain reaction. Experts say those are the most accurate: more expensive tests done in labs, which amplify the virus's genetic material that may be in your system.
Experts say the PCR test is what you want if you want to figure out whether to go back to the office or travel.
There are also rapid antigen tests, which people can conduct at home, which are cheaper and can return results in as little as 15 minutes.
RANNEY: The antigen test, that rapid at-home test, is the right thing to do if you want a rapid time-sensitive assessment of whether or not you are infectious right before you go into a gathering.
TODD: And there are antibody tests, which can indicate if you have some protection from a previous COVID-19 infection or vaccine.
One expert says, no matter what kind of test you want to take, because of the test kit shortage, it's important to make your test count. If you have just one test available --
MINA: If you feel symptoms come on, don't use the test right away. Assume you are positive and isolate and quarantine. Use the test on day two or day three.
TODD (on camera): Another key piece of advice we're getting from experts, as we head to more holiday gatherings. They say if you've got a test at home, and you're going to, or hosting a holiday gathering, take the test as close in time to the gathering as you can. Not one or two days before, not a few hours before, but maybe 20 to 30 minutes before the gathering, so you can get the most accurate gauge of what to do.
Experts say we're going to have to ride this out for probably one or two more months before more tests are widely available for everyone.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Still to come here, Russia wants to hold talks with the U.S. and NATO, still demanding security guarantees from both, a nonstarter, they both say. More in a report from Moscow, in a moment.
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[00:46:37]
VAUSE: Under the cover of darkness, workers in Hong Kong removed a famous symbol of free speech and democracy and dissent.
The Pillar of Shame sculpture, one of the city's last remaining memorials to the victims of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, had stood at Hong Kong University for more than 20 years.
But in October, authorities said it had to go. The Danish artist who created the sculpture tweeted on Wednesday he's shocked it's being destroyed. It was cut into chunks, wrapped up and taken away around midnight, Thursday local time, while most students are off campus for holidays.
Security guards tried to prevent any filming of the dismantling.
Well, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, is set to hold his annual year-end news conference a few hours from now, and it will go on for a few hours.
This comes amid heightened tensions with the West over Moscow's military buildup along Ukraine's border.
According to state media, Russia now wants to hold talks next month with NATO and the United States, still seeking those security guarantees from both, producing a draft agreement ahead of that meeting with so many demands which seem to be nonnegotiable.
Melissa Bell now reports from Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Talks that could happen as early as next month. That is the idea and the hope on all sides after so many weeks of growing distrust, of rising tensions and ratcheting rhetoric and, of course, of growing numbers of Russian troops on Ukraine's border.
Talks that would take place between the United States and Russia in a location that has yet to be decided. But the fact of the possibility of those talks now recognized both by Washington and Russia.
The basis on which those talks will happen will, of course, be those Russian demands that have been laid out these last few days by Moscow. Many of them already discarded out of hand by the United States' top diplomat for Europe, Karen Donfried, who explained that many of them were unacceptable.
Amongst them, the idea that NATO will pledge not to further its eastward expansion. Also a retreat of NATO positions, weaponry, and manpower to what were the NATO lines before 1997. That is removing weaponry and men from Poland and the Baltic states. Clearly, also, a nonstarter for NATO.
Still, the fact that the talks are planned to happen, the fact that that possibility is now being spoken of by Washington and Moscow, a definite breakthrough after so many weeks of tensions around what's been happening in Ukraine.
The hope now, that nothing on the ground, and particularly along that front line that continues to simmer in Eastern Ukraine will do anything to derail the possibility that some sort of peaceful resolution can be found after so many weeks of growing distrust.
Melissa Bell, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: The jury in the sex-trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell has adjourned for the Christmas holiday with a warning from the judge to be cautious of the COVID surge.
They've deliberated for two days without reaching a verdict. The British socialite accused of luring teen girls to be sexually abused by her former boyfriend and associate and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Maxwell has pleaded not guilty.
A court in Indonesia has sentenced former president, Moncef Marzouki, in absentia to four years in prison.
According to state media, Marzouki was found guilty of undermining the external security of the state, after he accused the current Tunisian president of organizing a coup in July, accusations the current president has denied.
Former President Marzouki now lives in Paris.
Well, an economic meltdown, political paralysis and open questions about the Beirut port explosion, which killed more than 200 people. Some of the problems Lebanon was hoping to at least start resolving in 2021.
[00:50:04]
But as Ben Wedeman reports, the country is ending the year in an even worse state than it began.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is what a collapsing state looks like. Perennial disorder, sporadic violence, basic services barely functioning. Basic goods in short supply.
A national currency and economy in freefall, and a squabbling political class, incapable or unwilling or uninterested in putting aside their differences to save this country, once described as the Switzerland of the Middle East.
When 2021 began, it seemed things couldn't get worse. Beirut was still reeling from the August 2020 port blast. COVID was ravaging a population already battered by a deep economic crisis. The politicians couldn't agree on the formation of a new government.
And as 2021 ends, events have proven things could get even worse.
The cabinet of Prime Minister Najib Mikati hasn't met since October, divided between those who want Tarek Bitar, the judge investigating the Beirut port blast, to resign and those who want him to stay.
The Lebanese currency, already a fraction of its pre-crisis value, has plummeted from historic low to historic low. The economy continues to shrink.
2021 ended up being the year that never was. The year when the families of the victims of the port blast demanded justice which never happened.
The year when, once again, Lebanon's leaders failed to serve the people. Almost 80 percent now live below the poverty line, the United Nations reports.
Monday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited the ruins of Beirut's port, tweeting afterwards, "The Lebanese people deserve the truth."
He's the latest in a long list of world leaders to call on Lebanon's politicians to do their duty and save the country from falling into the abyss. Those calls still falling on deaf ears.
Ben Wedeman, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Up next, a deadly boat accident in Madagascar followed by another tragedy when a search-and-rescue helicopter crashed at sea, forcing one police official to swim through the night to reach shore.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: At least 83 people have died in a boat accident off the coast of Madagascar. An overloaded cargo ship with 138 people on board sank Monday after water flooded the engine. The ship was not authorized to transport people.
Fifty have been rescued so far. Five are still missing.
Meantime, a helicopter searching for survivors crashed at sea Monday, at nighttime. The head of Madagascar's military police was on board. He swam for 12 hours to reach shore.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. SERGE GELLE, MADAGASCAR NATIONAL GENDARMERIE (through translator): Our mission was over. We saw the accident and were about to go home. But like all accidents, something unexpected happened. Our helicopter may have been caught in a gust of wind or something, and it fell.
I didn't have a lifejacket. There were two of us who didn't have lifejackets. The pilot and the mechanic had them, so I immediately took the pilot seat and used it as a lifeline. That saved me. I swam from 7:30 at night until 7:30 the next morning. I think heaven for that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: A passenger on the helicopter died. Another was rescued. The pilot is still missing. And the search for survivors of the boating accident resumes Thursday.
An Arctic air mass moving across eastern parts of Asia is going to send temperatures plunging. Areas from China to South Korea will see temps well below normal.
Let's go to Tyler Mauldin with all the details. It's the time of year, right? It gets cold?
TYLER MAULDIN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It happens. Yes, exactly, John. So you get a northerly wind this time of the year, and it brings down that deep Siberian air into the region. That's what we're dealing with right now.
With that Siberian air comes the frigid cold temperatures, the wind, and also some winter weather lows, too, in the form of freezing rain and snow and that kind of wintry precipitation that you would expect this time of the year.
Looking at the temperatures, this cold air masses all the way down into Seoul. Seoul, your average high this time of the year is 4 degrees.
Now, come Christmas day, on Saturday, we're going to be seeing temperatures minus 7. In Beijing, minus 4 degrees come Saturday. Your average high is 3 degrees.
And then, you can see Shanghai and going on into Tokyo, you're also going to see temperatures that are below average.
Now, the Japan Meteorological Agency has forecast that this cold air is actually going to stick around for many going on into next week. You can see why. That Arctic air, it's not really going anywhere. It lingers across northern China and even portions of southeastern China, too.
So, Seoul, it's not just Japan that's going to be dealing with that Arctic air mass for days to come. But also Seoul, your temperatures will drop down to minus 6, minus 7 degrees over the weekend. And then they hover around your average of 4 degrees come the beginning of next week.
This does come with snowfall, John. As you can see, portions of southeastern China, the Korean Peninsula and, oh, yes, Japan as well. And John, it looks like Japan will be dealing with that snowfall for at least the next four weeks.
VAUSE: OK. It's beginning to look a lot like -- thanks, Tyler.
Before we go, a 70-million-year-old fossil is shedding light on the link between dinosaurs and birds.
This is the perfectly preserved embryo of an oviraptor theropod -- oviraptorod (ph) dinosaur, I should say, curled up inside its egg. Discovered in China more than two decades ago, it sat in storage for 10 years before becoming the subject of a new study.
Researchers say the fossil indicates dinosaurs were moving around and changing poses before hatching, similar to the way modern birds do today. How about that? That looks like a chicken.
I'm John Vause. Back with another edition of CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment. Stay with us.
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