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China Locks Down 13m People in Xi'an After Spike in Cases; Studies: Hospitalization Much Less Likely with Omicron; U.S. Authorizes Its First Antiviral Pill for COVID; U.S. and U.N. Lift Restrictions to Allow More Aid In. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired December 23, 2021 - 01:00 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 on CNN Newsroom, lockdown, China orders 13 million residents of Xi'an to stay home after a spike of COVID infections.
South African's Omicron outbreak appears to peak 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, too weak to cry. This is a humanitarian crisis the world has tried to ignore.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: Thank you for being with us here on CNN Newsroom. And 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 to shut almost everything which is not considered an essential service like supermarkets and hospitals is now closed. No one is allowed to leave Xi'an except for extenuating circumstances and with official approval. Flights have been cancelled, so to long distance bus services, and there are checkpoints on major highways into and out of the city.
This is the fourth major Chinese city to face a strict lockdown the first in Wuhan, affecting more than 12 million people in early 2020. Urumqi population 4 million was largely shut down from July through September of last year, and a third lockdown took place in Shijiazhuang earlier this year. This is all happening just weeks before the Beijing Winter Olympics, making China's push to contain the outbreak all the more urgent. Here's CNN Selina Wang.
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SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: 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 9. 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 central 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 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 VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: South African's Omicron outbreak may have peaked with doctors reporting new COVID cases down more than 20% in some areas that a South African Medical Association says the wave was steeper, much shorter than previous waves. And new researchers found the Omicron infections are 80% less likely to need hospitalization compared to Delta. And other studies found a vaccine booster will reduce the chance of symptoms by almost 60% compared to just two doses. Researchers stressed the numbers are preliminary and more analysis is still needed.
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MARIA VAN KERKHOVE, WHO 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 pandemic restrictions are being imposed across Europe almost as fast as the Omicron variant is spreading. Spain is said to bring back outdoor mask mandate starting Christmas Eve. Belgium is cancelling indoor events and activities other gyms and museums will stay open.
[01:05:07]
More countries are moving forward with vaccines for younger children. In a moment we'll hear from CNN's Salma Abdelaziz with the very latest from London but first we head to Cyril Vanier in Paris.
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CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: European countries are racing to protect themselves against Omicron either with new restrictions or with boosters are 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 cancelled New Year's Eve celebrations is speeding up its booster campaign, about 1% 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 26, and people are asked to work from home. Belgium has just announced that it will be cancelling indoor events and activities starting Sunday, like cinemas, shows and indoor Christmas markets. And finally, in Germany, the health minister is not ruling out they hard lockdown if cases increase again. The country has already decided to impose strict contact restrictions after Christmas and then New Year's Eve gatherings. Cyril Vanier, CNN Paris.
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SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: 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 and 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 stuffed 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% 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 10s of 1000s 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 potential search. 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, NATIONAL CONSULTANT FOR COVID-19 TESTING: Thanks, John.
VAUSE: OK, so the real-world data on Omicron collected over the past few days sees before sort of in the same general direction if you like. In South Africa, doctors say the outbreak may have peaked was shorter in duration than expected. And new studies confirmed fewer hospital admissions, less severe illness compared to Delta variant. Here's a little more on what the White House Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci what his takeaway is from all that. Here he is.
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DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: 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 suggests 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 of you draw the conclusion that this is the beginning of the end of the pandemic, the less severe 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 a 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 risk stratify it for the people who were a little more higher risk. So that's what we're really concerned about right now.
[01:10:23]
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 they were 70% 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 London, and the curve is actually parallel right now to Delta in the hospitalizations.
Now the little positive is there's almost 70% less individuals requiring to be put on a ventilator. So that's probably the best data set 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 there's different change -- because of a change in procedure, right? There's 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, yeah. We use ventilators at the very, very end of treatment, you try to use oxygen. And then positioning and other things have 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 in pre-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 high-risk conditions. Could this be the game changer here, not just because of the, what, almost 90% 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 at a time, I want you to hear from the head of the CDC in the United States, a very important message for anyone who's travelling for the holidays. And anyone who is actually expecting visitors for the holidays. Here she is.
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DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: Holiday gatherings and risk 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 two days before meeting up. Importantly, consider gathering with family and friends who are also practicing similar proper prevention measures.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: OK, so Omicron may have killed off the idea of a carefree holiday travel reunion, but traveler 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% of what she started with. Airplane, yes, we have pretty good data that they are playing air circulation and filtration is pretty solid. But cars, you would not believe the number of people were getting positive. If you got one person even mildly infected in a car, and you're writing 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: Yeah, it's all about getting vaccinated, wearing mask, being sensible, doing the right thing we can do this. Dr. Scott Miscovich, thank you for the advice earlier. I appreciate it.
MISCOVICH: All right. You're welcome, John. Take care.
VAUSE: Thank you.
When we come back, 1 million children at risk of starving to death. Afghanistan's humanitarian crisis now a reality and set to get worse. The harsh winter ahead.
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VAUSE: One person is confirmed dead, at least 50 Others believed to be missing after a landslide and a jade mine in Myanmar on Wednesday, sweeping dozens of workers it will likely burying them under debris. Relatives of those missing watch from shore as rescue crews search for survivors. But chances of finding anyone alive are slim.
Myanmar's jade industry notorious for deadly accidents like this, this past weekend. At least six people died in a separate landslide disaster.
Both the U.S. and the U.N. have eased their economic sanctions on Afghanistan to exempt aid groups. The move is a direct response to humanitarian crisis, which was made many times worse by the sanctions, which took effect when the Taliban rose to power. The reality being now 1 million children are at risk of dying from starvation if relief does not arrive soon. CNN's Anna Coren reports on this crisis that we must warn you the images you're about to see are painful to watch.
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ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A little girl sobs gently rubbing her ears. In a feeble attempt to ease the pain tormenting her body. She doesn't have the energy to cry the way other sick children do. Camilla (ph) is exhausted as she lives in a hospital bed in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan slowly starving to death. The two-and- a-half-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 Camille'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 salvation.
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% of the country's GDP and 75% 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. In this hospital in Ghor province in northwestern Afghanistan, up to 100 mothers and children turn up each day with varying cases of malnutrition.
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Dr. Faziluhaq Farjad 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 translation): At almost 70% of the cases are severe and this isn't just easy. 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. But 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 translation): 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 Program 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 DIR. WORLD FOOD PROGRAM: Please, please think of just the ordinary people of Afghanistan, the children of Afghanistan, who are facing into a winter of abject hunger and destitution through no fault of their own, who just a lottery of birth.
COREN: Dr. Paul Spiegel from Johns Hopkins University has just returned from Afghanistan consulting for the World Food Program and is alarmed by what he saw. He says Afghanistan's health system that once relied on 80% 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, JOHN HOPKINS BLOOMBERG SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: The Russian 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: For 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 100 grammes 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.
Laurel, thank you for taking the time to be with us.
LAUREL MILLER, DIR. 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 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 just 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. 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.
[01:20:12]
Moreover, the United States and other donors cut off other non- humanitarian forms of assistance to Afghanistan, that had actually been paying about 75% of public spending in Afghanistan, that's all gone.
VAUSE: And if I understand correctly, the exemptions are only for a year, 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, once 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, SR. 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 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 a 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, bringing feelings of dread, failure, fascism, the emotional toll from a pandemic which just won't quit.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Record COVID infections in the Australian state of New South Wales for yet another day. More than 5,700 new cases on Wednesday. Notably though, just one death, unvaccinated man in his 40s with underlying health conditions.
To the south, the state of Victoria has also seen an increase in infections, more than 2,000 on Wednesday.
South Korea has reported a record number of critically-ill COVID patients for the second day. More than a thousand people are now in intensive care units and officials say ICUs across the country are close to 80 percent full.
The nation also reported its highest one day COVID death toll since the beginning of the pandemic, more 100 people died on Wednesday.
The omicron variant has now been detected in all 50 U.S. States. And while testing for COVID is key to slowing the spread, a surge in demand is now leading to long lines and shortages of home testing kits.
President Joe Biden says there will soon be additional testing station. And come January, 500 million at-home tests will be available to the American public. And now comes what could be a real pandemic game-changer and it comes in a pill.
CNN's Athena Jones has details.
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ATHENA JONES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In a season of setbacks, a glimmer of hope.
JEFF ZIENTS, WHITE HOUSE COVID-19 RESPONSE COORDINATOR: The Pfizer team has a very promising and now authorized treatment. A pill that dramatically reduces the risk of hospitalizations and death for those at risk.
JONES: The FDA today granting Pfizer's new anti-viral pill, Paxlovid, emergency use authorization.
DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Folks who took Paxlovid, early within three days of symptom onset has a 90 percent reduction in hospitalization or death compared to those that took placebos. So this is a very, very potent agent.
JONES: One problem, the highly effective treatment has to be administered within the first five days of symptoms, making it hard to come by tests all the more important, even as Walgreens and CVS limit the number of tests customers can buy at once in the face of sky high demand.
The news coming as researchers in South Africa, who first detected the highly contagious omicron variant, say the country has passed the peak of its outbreak.
But it's a different story elsewhere. Omicron, now dominant in the U.S. just weeks after being identified here, is helping drive new COVID-19 case numbers back up to levels last seen three months ago in the midst of the delta surge.
New infections jumping more than 20 percent over last week. Nearly 70,000 people hospitalized with the virus.
New York state breaking its record for highest new daily cases, almost 29,000 up nearly 24 percent from its previous highs set Monday.
DR. RICHINA BICETTE-MCCAIN, EMERGENCY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN: I am 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.
JONES: COVID deaths rising 11 percent over last week as the CDC reports COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in 2020 and life expectancy dropped by nearly two years.
Despite the spike in cases, holiday travelers do not seem deterred with the TSA's screening around two million or more people a day for the past 6 days.
The CDC director reminding travelers -- DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEAS CONTROL AND
PREVENTION: How safe your holiday is, is really about how safe you are in the time leading up to the holiday.
JONES: And as Israel gets ready to roll out a fourth dose of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, for medical workers, the immunocompromised and people over 60, U.S. health officials say they will follow the science.
DR. VIVEK MURTHY, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: Right now, we feel confident that if you have a booster, that you have a high level of protection against overall infection, particularly against hospitalization and death, the most severe outcomes of COVID.
JONES: Meanwhile, after the United Kingdom reduced THE required isolation period for vaccinated people who test negative twice for COVID, from 10 days to 7, new debate over whether the U.S. Should follow suit.
WALENSKY: We are actively examining those data now and doing some (INAUDIBLE) analyses to assess that and we anticipate that we'll have some update soon.
JONES (on camera): And when it comes to testing, New York City is working to ramp up efforts. The city is setting a new record in recent days -- 170,000 COVID tests in one day, surpassing its previous record of 120,000.
Mayor Bill de Blasio saying the city will be adding 7 COVID-19 testing sites, bringing the total of city-run sites to 119. The city will also be adding five sites for the sole purpose of allowing people to come and pick up at home tests. That will start Thursday.
Athena Jones, CNN -- New York.
(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.
[01:34:56]
VAUSE: World leaders like the U.S. president and German chancellor keenly aware that all of us are sick and tired of feeling sick and tired.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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 are feeling.
OLAF SCHOLZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): This pandemic is wearing us all down. We are all worn down and tired of the pandemic. (END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Psychiatrist Dr. Daniel Bober joins us from Hollywood, Florida. Thanks for being with us.
DR. DANIEL BOBER, PSYCHIATRIST: Thanks, John.
VAUSE: Ok. So it seems to be one word which probably best describes our collective mental and emotional state right now is weary. We are 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 seems -- it really emphasized a point that there doesn't seem to be an end in sight to this.
DR. BOBER: No, there doesn't. I think when this all first started, you know, we were kind of in survival mode, so-called flight or flight.
But then, after a while, that sort of turned into anxiety. And now I think it is just frustration. There is different names for it -- you know, feeling burnt 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, and there was a poll done in the United States by Monmouth University, which found that 60 percent of respondents felt worn out by the pandemic. And what was interesting it's sort of evenly split between Republicans and Democrats. They also felt the same way.
So overall, how does this impact us on an individual level? 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?
DR. BOBER: Well, I think we have to acknowledge that there is another side to all of this, right. There is also the mental health side.
You know, there are 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 cannot focus 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 -- the terrible mental health toll that this pandemic has taken.
And so, it's not just about, you know, infectivity 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)
DAVID MUIR, ABC NEWS HOST: The vice president said in recent days that you didn't see delta coming, you did not 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 this. This is just a the most recent one. When there is no clear message from those in leadership, how much does that add to the overall feeling of sort of uncertainty and pessimism?
DR. 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 the 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 going to admit what they don't know.
There is also this fear of not actually putting stuff out there because of the 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 be dealt with as adults. To be told everything that is going on.
DR. 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. 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 are 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 that we're all cursing a little more than we did before the pandemic.
[01:39:49]
VAUSE: The "Wall Street Journal" reporting, mentions of an "f" word that rhymes with truck and "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 on Facebook. 27 percent on Twitter. This is according to Storyful, a news and intelligence agency.
Swearing a little more may not actually be a bad thing because it actually relieves stress.
DR. BOBER: Yes. I think that's actually a pretty healthy coping mechanism, whether you are swearing more or exercising, you know, at least you are not hitting someone else with your fist. So I think on the order of things, that's actually a pretty way -- healthy way to cope.
VAUSE: Absolutely. I (INAUDIBLE) swear now but I was tempted.
DR. BOBER: That would have been a good closer, yes.
VAUSE: Dr. Bober, thanks very much for being with us.
DR. BOBER: My pleasure, John.
VAUSE: Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to hold his annual year-end news conference just a few hours from now. Ukraine with tens of thousands of Russian troops on its border, NATO and the U.S. all expected to be a major focus of discussion especially with Vladimir Putin proposing talks next month to de-escalate the standoff.
Ahead of those proposed talks, the Kremlin has taken the unusual step of releasing a draft agreement called "The agreement on measures to ensure the security of the Russian Federation and the member states of the North Atlantic Treat Organization. Essentially a laundry list of already dead in the water demands to NATO and the United States.
CNN's Melissa Bell has details.
(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 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 to 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 alliance before 1997. That is removing weaponry and men from Poland in the Baltic States. Clearly also a nonstarter for NATO.
Still, the fact that the talks are planned to happen, the fact 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: Hong Kong's last public memorial to the victims of (INAUDIBLE) crackdown has now been removed and destroyed. And like thieves in the night, it was all done under the cover of darkness.
The "Pillar of Shame" stood at Hong Kong University for more than 20 years. But last October, the pro Beijing legislature said it had to go.
The Danish artist who created the sculpture tweeted on Wednesday, is shocked that it has been destroyed. Cut into pieces, wrapped up, taken away around midnight at a time of year went most students are off campus for the holidays.
Still no verdict in the sex trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell with the jury now adjourned for the Christmas holidays. The British socialite is accused of luring teen girls who were sexually abused by her former boyfriend and associate pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The latest now from CNN's Kara Scannell.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARA SCANNELL, CNN REPORTER: After roughly 16 hours of deliberations, no verdict yet in the sex trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell. Late Wednesday the jury asked for additional testimony saying they wanted to hear from another accuser, Kate. They wanted to see her testimony. She had testified that Ghislaine Maxwell had recruited her and lured her into giving Jeffrey Epstein massages, massages that she said turned sexual.
They also wanted to hear the testimony of Juan Alessi (ph). He was the Palm Beach house manager and Alessi had testified that he had found sex toys after massages, that he drove Jane, another accuser, to the airport with Maxwell and Epstein. And that he was sworn to be blind, deaf and dumb about their lives.
The jury has now requested the testimony of all four accusers as well (ph) on Tuesday asking to see the testimony of accusers -- Jane, Annie Farmer (ph) and Caroline.
Deliberations will pick up again on Monday after the long Christmas holiday. The judge warned the jurors to stay safe and said that they could take N95 masks with them because of the new variant.
As for Maxwell, she will spend her 60th birthday on Christmas Day, in jail.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Thanks to Kara Scannell there reporting in from New York.
[01:44:47]
VAUSE: Well, a court in Tunisia has sentenced former president Moncef Marzouki, in absentia, for 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 denies. Former president Marzouki now lives in Paris.
An economic meltdown, a political paralysis and open question about the Beirut port explosion that killed more than 200 people -- just some of the very big problems Lebanon was hoping to at least begin to resolve this year.
But as Ben Wedeman reports, the country is now ending the year in an even bigger crisis 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 precrisis 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 is 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: We will take a short break. When we come back, the coral reef able to withstand extreme heat. How, they could hold the key to helping other coral adapt to climate change.
[01:47:46]
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VAUSE: Today on "Call to Earth", the U.A.E.'s coral reefs have thrived for thousands of years in extremely hot temperatures. Scientist John Burt (ph) says the reefs are a proxy for what is to come for the rest of the world due to climate change.
He studies how they could help marine life in other parts of the world survive on a warming planet.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN BURT, SCIENTIST: Coral reefs provide hundreds of billions of dollars a year in services and benefits to humanity. These beautiful ecosystems with vibrant colors and fishes floating around everywhere, they are the richest ecosystem that we happen to see. They are incredibly important in terms of biodiversity.
Probably in the next three decades, we're going to see substantial declines of coral reefs around the world. By 2100, they will largely disappear as a result of climate change.
My name is John Burt, I'm an associate professor of biology at New York University, Abu Dhabi. My team and I are out several times a week on these reefs. This is a beautiful natural laboratory to try and understand how organisms might respond to future climate change in other regions because it is so warm here.
Coral reefs of the Arabian gulf are some of the most interesting in the world because they exist in conditions that are a proxy for what we're going to see at the end of the century in other parts of the world.
When you look at climate change, we have greenhouse gases that are going into the atmosphere. Our oceans are slowly warming up. And that heat is then affecting marine organisms as a result.
So science is in a bit of a race right now to try and outpace global climate change by doing things like assisted migration, moving corals from a warm location to cooler environments, as well as coral crossbreeding.
In my lab, we published a paper just recently where we cross the corals from the Persian Gulf, the world's hottest sea with those of a more benign environment in the Indian Ocean and we upwards of an 84 percent increase in survivorship of the offspring of those corals.
We have this extreme environment, the extreme environment filters out a bunch of species. So we do have lower diversity. But the species that are here are really robust.
Extract the DNA.
We've also done genetics work, for example, showing that the coral animal itself, as well as the algae that's associated with it are genetically distinct here in the southern gulf from those that are in the Indian Ocean.
And so they really have adapted to this unique extreme environment that we have here. And offer a lot of hope for science in terms of trying to understand how organisms might respond to climate change and adapt to it.
These reefs are the most certainly tolerant in the world but we are losing them at an astounding rate because of these recurrent heat waves that are coming through.
So, there is some hope out there. But we are running against time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Please let us know what you are doing to answer the call with the hashtag "Call to Earth".
Back in a moment.
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[01:54:51]
VAUSE: A landowner in Australia and two companies have been charged with more than 250 counts of animal cruelty over the deaths of dozens of koalas. 21 were found dead and many more injured at a timber plantation southwest of Melbourne during a clearance operation last year.
Authorities say 49 of the wounded and (INAUDIBLE) koalas had to be euthanized. Koalas are a protected species in Australia but many had been wiped out after extensive bushfires there. Of course, they are a much loved indigenous animal.
And arctic air moving across eastern parts of Asia will sent temperatures plunging from China to South Korea.
Meteorologist Tyler Mauldin joins me now with the very latest.
Kind of -- when everything does start getting cold, right?
TYLER MAULDIN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. This time of the year. It is expected to get cold, John.
And right now we have high pressure building down across east Asia. That's bringing in northerly winds and this deep arctic air to all of east Asia. And with that comes some wintry mist shift too.
Last hour, I focused on the high temperatures here across east Asia. Now, I want to focus on the low temperatures because notice in Beijing it's going to get as cold as minus-13. The typical morning low, the lowest temperature you would see during the day is around minus-7 so it's going to get real cold there.
In Seoul we're going to see temperatures be as cold as minus-16 during the morning hours. And we're going to see some below average temperatures too as we get farther south.
And you can see that here with this graphic, what we are trying to tell you here is that the Japan Meteorological Agency is predicting that this cold air is going to linger on into next week, too.
And it's not just for Japan. It's across much of northern China and going down into southeastern China. Also the Korean Peninsula. So it is going to continue to be dangerously cold for us in this part of the country. And that does come with some snowfall too, across the higher elevations of China.
And then you get into Japan, we'll see some extreme snowfall here too. And that's going to continue on into next month as well.
John, unfortunately, this time of the year, we do start getting these cold outbreaks as well. High pressure builds in and that puts a lid on the atmosphere that leads to poor air quality and we are dealing with some smog across southeastern China right now as a result.
VAUSE: Oh, I remember it well. I mean those Beijing winters were just horrendous sometimes. You have pea soup from the cold and the wind.
Ok, bad memories. Tyler, thank you. Good to see you. Tyler Mauldin there with the latest on the forecast.
I'm John Vause. Thank you for watching.
CNN NEWSROOM continues with Rosemary Church in just a moment.
I will see you back here, hopefully, tomorrow.
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