Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Omicron Surge Wreaks Havoc with Holiday Travel; Report: Hospitalizations 40% Lower with Omicron; Ex-Cop Found Guilty in Shooting Death. Aired 1-1:30a ET

Aired December 24, 2021 - 01:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:00:23]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead this hour, just as holiday travel surges by rail, in sea, and in the air, COVID sick outs, infections and pandemic guidelines, causing long delays and creating frustration and turmoil.

New data on the Omicron confirms it's significantly less severe than the Delta variant. And cheers outside a U.S. courtroom when a former police officer found guilty of manslaughter in the shooting death of a 20-year-old black man during a routine traffic stop.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.

VAUSE: Thank you for joining us here at CNN Newsroom. And just as holiday travel was starting to surge with millions on the move around the world COVID related delays are causing chaos and frustration for many travelers from the U.K., to U.S., to Australia. In the U.S. air travel topped pre-pandemic levels Wednesday and could again on Thursday. Now hundreds of flights have been cancelled, mostly because of staff shortages related to COVID.

United and Delta announced more than 250 flights scheduled for Christmas Eve have been scrapped. Alaska Airlines has also cancelled a handful of flights.

In Australia, dozens of flight cancellations or postponements nationwide are being blamed on a shortage of frontline staff, forced to self-isolate after coming into contact with someone infected with COVID.

And a high number of driver and train managers calling out sick with COVID as for some long-distance travel services to be cancelled in the U.K.

And the Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship, Odyssey of the Seas were forced to remain at sea after being denied port entry by Carousel and Aruba because of a COVID outbreak among vaccinated passengers and crew.

For the very latest, we head down to CNN's Selina Wang in Tokyo. So, let's just start with the situation in Australia because that's sort of unfolding right now. There are a lot of people being left stranded.

SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, exactly, John. This is a huge blow for so many people in Australia whose Christmas plans are getting thrown into disarray. We've learned that at least 80 domestic flights, 40 inbound and 40 outbound have been cancelled in Sydney on Friday. Jetstar spokesperson told us that those cancellations came late because many other frontline team members have had to test and isolate because they were confirmed as close contacts of people who tested positive for COVID.

Now, the airline apologized and said that they successfully rescheduled the majority of their passengers onto later flights. In addition to Jetstar, the other domestic airlines that fly from the Sydney Airport are Qantas, Virgin, and Rex. Both Qantas and Rex have told CNN that none of their domestic flights have been cancelled.

Now, some travelers on social media are complaining about their Christmas plans getting ruined saying that they went through all the necessary steps including getting negative PCR tests and dealing with the chaos in long lines at testing centers only to be separated from their families on Christmas. And this, John, is as COVID-19 cases are surging across Australia, Queensland reported its highest daily number of COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began recording nearly 600 COVID- 19 cases and health authority saying there that they expect the numbers to get significantly worse in the coming weeks and that it could put a strain on the hospital system.

Meanwhile, New South Wales has continuously for several consecutive days reported record numbers of daily COVID-19 cases. But despite this surge, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said the country is not returning to lock downs, not going to go back to shutting down people's lives. He also said that "Australians have worked very hard to have this Christmas together and we want to protect that." But John it is proving very difficult to do just that.

VAUSE: Yeah, absolutely. Selina, thank you. Selina Wang there, live with the very latest from Australia.

Well, the Omicron variant continues to spread at an unprecedented rate across Europe. Daily infections have been hitting record highs all this week in France at all time high of 88,000 new infections on Thursday. And all the health minister says new cases are doubling every two days. For now, the government has no plans, new pandemic restrictions, but other parts of Europe are under lockdown. Governments have issued new guidelines for the vaccinated and unvaccinated and mask mandates are back. All this as new data from the U.K. shows the chances of a hospitalization with an Omicron infection are 40% lower compared to Delta. But that doesn't necessarily mean lower hospital admissions in the coming weeks because the overall number of new infections is expected to surge. The very latest now on Europe's COVID outbreak from CNN's Cyril Vanier reporting in from Paris.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Germany's health minister is warning that protection from booster shots is "not too durable" and that a fourth dose of the vaccine will be needed, a vaccine designed specifically to protect against Omicron, he says. They says.

[01:05:11]

European countries are racing to deliver boosters, cases are sky high in the U.K. almost 120,000 new infections on Thursday. They've also hit a new record high in France and the Omicron variant is ripping through European nations already dominant in Portugal, the U.K. and Denmark. It's expected to become the majority strain here in France before the end of the year.

A cascade of restrictions has been announced some already in place, many kicking in just after Christmas. In Spain, Italy, and Greece, facemasks will once again be mandated. In Portugal, schools, bars and clubs will shut down. Belgium is cancelling indoor events and strict contact restrictions are on the horizon in Germany, where hard lockdown has not been ruled out. The World Health Organization has warned of a storm coming due to Omicron. And European countries are once again battening down the hatches. Cyril Vanier, CNN Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Dr. Ashish Jha is the Dean of Brown University School of Public Health. He joins me now from Providence, Rhode Island. It's good to see you. It's been a while.

DR. ASHISH JHA, BROWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Thanks for having me back, John.

VAUSE: OK, so now there seems to be sort of more specific data coming in on the severity of Omicron compared to Delta, it comes from the U.K. And it says that the risk of hospital admissions alone with Omicron infection, approximately two fifths of that for Delta. In other words, the risk of that 40% lower, or the risk of needing emergency, or hospital admission, approximately three fifths compared to Delta, about 60% lower.

But researchers added this warning, it is important to highlight that these low risks do not necessarily imply reduce hospital burden over the epidemic wave given the high growth, higher growth rate, I should say, and immune evasion observed with Omicron. So, if that becomes a little more clearer with this numbers game, right, will the reduce severity be enough to compensate for the increased level of contagion? Some say, you know, it could be doubly as contagious as Delta, maybe even more.

JHA: Yeah, so the data so far is I actually think it's probably three to four times as contagious as Delta. These that's what the preliminary evidence suggests that, you know, it's nice that it's 40 to 60%, less severe, it will not make up for the three-to-four-fold increase in contagion. So, you're going to see a big pressure on hospitals, you're going to see massive numbers of infections. I've already seen that in the U.K., we're breaking all the records. I think we're going to see that in the United States. The highest numbers in the U.S. were 260,000 infections in a day, we're going to blow past that and keep going. And the less severity is definitely helpful, John, but not good enough to not put pressure on our hospitals.

VAUSE: And one of the keys here to try and reduce the pressure on hospitals, it's all about the booster shots. Israel now recommending a fourth shot for the elderly and health workers. The assumption is that it's just a matter of time before we all need a fourth dose all around the world. But the White House Medical Adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, for that scenario right now is not entirely convinced, here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: I think it's too premature to be talking about a forced dose, one of the thing that we're going to be following very carefully is what the durability of the protection is following the third dose of mRNA vaccine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So how does the new date on the severity of Omicron play into this debate over a potential fourth dose of vaccine?

JHA: Yeah, I think Dr. Fauci is completely right. I am at this point, based on the very little data we have, I'm actually skeptical that we will need a fourth dose.

Look, the Israelis have done a very good job. So, I don't mean to criticize them, but I am skeptical. And the way that the Omicron wave plays into this, John, is my expectation at this point is that this will be a very large wave of infections. We're going to have 50, 60, 80 million Americans potentially get infected. If that's right, that adds a lot more immunity to the population. And even if you see waning antibodies, you still have a very, very high degree of population immunity. So, I think there's a lot to be sorted out here. I certainly would not be planning on a fourth dose right.

VAUSE: You know, in the viral world contagion is king. So long term, this data and severity holds up and we get this higher immune level within our communities. Does this all mean that COVID in a year or so could be a milder, less deadly version of what we've seen throughout the pandemic? Because even now, there are indications that Omicron symptoms are different to the other variants. Much more like every day common cold?

JHA: You know, what's really interesting is two things are happening at once. The virus is evolving as viruses do, but the human species is also changing. We're not evolving in this way, but we're changing in the sense that we are building up more and more immunity to this virus. So, I definitely expect over the next year that whatever the virus does, we will have a lot more immunity within a year and that means that our ability to manage whatever Mother Nature throws at us is going to be much, much better than it is right now.

[01:10:05]

VAUSE: That's good news. Now, what appears to be an important moment in the ongoing war of disinformation over the safety and efficacy of vaccines. And it comes from the former President Donald Trump pushing back against a right-wing vaccine sceptic, who was interviewing the president, she suggested that COVID vaccines were killing people. Here's Donald Trump. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Although the vaccine work, but some people aren't. I'll tell you, the ones that get very sick and go to the hospital are the ones that don't take that vaccine. But it's still their choice. And if you take the vaccine, you're protected. People aren't dying when they take the vaccine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So, is this too little too late or case of better late than never?

JHA: Oh, it's definitely better late than ever. I think it's terrific. Do I wish that he had said it nine months ago, of course, that would have been terrific, but doesn't matter. At this point, the President remains a very powerful spokesman for a lot of people. He's well trusted by a lot of Americans. I think, if as long as he keeps saying on that message, that was very, very good science communication. He's absolutely right. Vaccines forget -- prevent severe illness and death. And so, if he keeps reiterating that I think it'll make a difference.

VAUSE: OK, Dr. Ashish Jha, thanks so much for being with us.

JHA: Thank you.

VAUSE: Well, that is relief for the parents of Daunte Wright after Minnesota jury and the former police officer who shot him dead during a traffic stop guilty on two counts of manslaughter. Details in a moment. Also ahead, Vladimir Putin using his year and news conference to blame NATO and Ukraine up to the crisis on the border as well as the NATO allies, saying is all a threat to Russia security.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: South Korea has pardoned former President Park Geun-hye nearly five years after she was in prison for corruption. The pandemic it seems is why the justice minister says this act of clemency is meant to promote unity during a difficult time.

Park was the first democratically elected South Korean leader legally removed from office after being impeached in 2017.

Just this year, South Korea's top court upheld an earlier 20-year sentence on bribery convictions. Now Park's lawyer says, the former president apologizes for causing concern. After her pardon, Park was hospitalized in November and her lawyer says she will stay there to focus on her health.

Former Minnesota Police Officer Kim Potter is now behind bars and faces years in prison after a jury found her guilty of all charges in the shooting death of a 20-year-old, Daunte Wright. CNN's Adrienne Broaddus has the story now and reaction from the community. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We, the jury on the charge of manslaughter in the first degree find the defendant guilty.

ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Former Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kimberly Potter guilty on both counts of manslaughter tonight in Minnesota. Daunte Wright's parents relieved by the verdict.

While Potter's husband could be hurt yelling, I love you, Kim after her bail was revoked as she was escorted from the court in handcuffs.

[01:15:09]

Potter said, she intended to deploy her taser during a traffic stop in April but fired her gun instead, killing 20-year-old Daunte Wright almost instantly.

Surely after the verdict crowds outside the courthouse chanted Wright's. Well, the state pushed to reassure Potter's police family.

KEITH ELLISON, MINNESOTA ATTORNEY GENERAL: When a member of your profession is held accountable, it does not diminish you. In fact, it shows, it shows the whole world that those of you who enforce the law are also willing to live by it.

BROADDUS: The jury took nearly 27 hours to deliberate whether Potter's actions were criminal. Over eight days in Minneapolis, jurors heard from 33 witnesses, including tearful testimony from Potter herself.

KIM POTTER, EX-POLICE OFFICER: I don't want to hurt anybody.

BROADDUS: The defense aimed to prove the 26-year police veteran was protecting her fellow officers during a risky traffic stop.

EARL GRAY, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: She didn't cause this and she had a right to use deadly force.

BROADDUS: In closing arguments, they faulted Wright for not cooperating with law enforcement.

GRAY: She says taser, taser, taser, and he should have, OK. Stop. I give up, no, no. Daunte Wright causes on death unfortunately.

BROADDUS: The state pushed back.

ERIN ELDRIDGE, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL: Carrying a badge and a gun is not a license to kill.

BROADDUS: The state as jurors not to focus on Potter's intention. But on the consequences of her actions.

ELDRIDGE: This was a colossal screw up, a blunder of epic proportions. It was irreversible. And it was fatal.

BROADDUS: Wright's family reacting to the news outside core. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We got one thing to say.

CROWD: We love you, Daunte.

BROADDUS: Adrienne Broaddus, CNN, Minneapolis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Russia appears to have increased its military presence along its border with Ukraine. Satellite images show a buildup of additional personnel and equipment, including tanks, artillery, and other troop carriers. All this stoking fears and invasion could be imminent. And during his traditional end of year news conference, Vladimir Putin did little to calm those fears, refusing to rule out a possible invasion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): Now here, war, war, war. One gets the impression that maybe a third military operation is being prepared in Donbass and we are warned in advance. Do not interfere, do not protect these people. If you intervene and defend them such and such new sanctions will follow, are they preparing perhaps for war?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The Kremlin has been pushing for immediate talks with the West. The White House has indicated it's willing to negotiate with Moscow in the New Year but only if U.S. allies are present.

(Inaudible) statues commemorating the victims of the Tiananmen Square crackdown have been taken down in Hong Kong. The goddess of democracy statue was removed from the Chinese University of Hong Kong on Friday morning local time, along with a separate memorial at the city's Lingnan University. This comes a day after workers dismantle the famous Pillar of Shame sculpture at Hong Kong University. The monuments were among the last remaining Tiananmen Square memorials in the city.

Japan will not be sending government officials to the Beijing Winter Olympics. The country's Chief Cabinet Secretary made the announcement Friday but stopped short of calling it an actual boycott. He says Japan believes that respect for human rights is important.

Still to come, a group of inspiring young women are making a fresh start in a new country. After the break, we'll hear about their harrowing escape from Afghanistan and as well as their dreams now for the future.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:20:38]

VAUSE: The former President of Afghanistan who was imposed, put into office by the United States is lashing out at the U.S. over the way it pulled out of the country. During an exclusive interview with CNN Becky Anderson, Hamid Karzai said the scenes that played out at Kabul's Airport in August were both a disaster and an insult.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAMID KARZAI, FORMER AFGHAN PRESIDENT: Had that role being played properly and I should also say, honestly, had that role been played properly. And honestly, Afghanistan would not have been where it is now in seeking assistance for our daily lives, from the international community. And what happened at the Kabul airport from 15th of August onwards for about 15, 20 days was a disaster for us, an insult to the Afghan people that could have been avoided by so many different ways. The fact that we suffered like that, the fact that our people rushed to the airport like that is itself an indication of how things went wrong. I don't think I need to explain on that. We all saw it. We saw the misery that unfolded there.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST "Connect the World": You talked about should the Americans -- and you talk about should the Americans have acted properly and honestly. I just want you to be a little bit more explicit about those two terms, properly and honestly.

KARZAI: We are very grateful to the American people for their taxpayers money coming to Afghanistan, rebuilding the country roads, education, in some form, electricity and lots of other assistance to Afghanistan that did provide help and long-term betterment to Afghan lives. But in terms of their conduct militarily in Afghanistan, in the name of war against terrorism and all that, it was a disaster for us. And we are suffering the consequences of that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Karzai also urge world leaders to work with the Taliban despite its history of atrocities and draconian rule. He said cooperation is the only way to deliver food aid that millions of Afghans desperately need right now.

Although, it was a symbol of progress and a reason for hope in Afghanistan both of the Taliban rose to power earlier this year, members of the Afghan girls robotics team were forced to flee. Several have found a safe haven in Mexico. And there they spoke with CNN's Matt Rivers about everything they left behind what they hope for now with the future.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just four years ago, the half dozen girls from Afghanistan strode confidently into competition waving their country's flag. The global robotics competition held in the U.S. was a chance to show what so many in their country doubted that girls can accomplish anything.

And accomplish they did winning an award for "courageous achievement" given to teams who persevere through trying circumstances. So much has changed since then.

In a matter of months, this year, the Taliban swept back across Afghanistan, toppling city after city, a mortal threat to girls like those on the robotics team, educated progressive, the exact opposite of how the Taliban believe women should be. And so, five of the original team made the decision to flee in a harrowing journey.

They went from Herat, Afghanistan to Kabul. There, they managed to get on one of the last commercial flights before the Taliban took the city. From there, Islam by Pakistan was next, eventually followed by Doha, Qatar, then Frankfurt, Germany and then to Mexico City.

Landing in the Mexican capital, where the government here has allowed them to stay while they figure out what's next. It's here in the city that we got a chance to meet in person.

Safe in Mexico, their first thoughts are of course about home and the cruelty of the Taliban regime.

FATEMAH QADERYAN, CAPTAIN, AFGHAN GIRLS ROBOTIC TEAM: The role of their government is just mockery and insult to Islam while Islam is the religion of kindness. We kindly request not only the United States, but the entire international community to eradicate the Taliban generation from Afghanistan.

[01:25:16]

RIVERS: They know that the U.S. has limited options in that regard afterwards withdrawal, a terrible situation for those opposed to the Taliban. They also know how lucky they were to get out.

SAGHAR SALEH, AFGHAN GIRLS ROBOTIC TEAM: It was really hard to, you know, leave our beloved ones in Afghanistan. But we are happy that today we are safe, not only because of ourselves. But here we can be the voice of 1000s of girls who want to be safe in Afghanistan and who want to continue their education and make their dreams come true.

RIVERS: A dwindling reality for girls in that country. In the weeks and months after the Taliban took over their subsequent actions have reaffirmed a return to a society where women are treated as wholly unequal to men. Still, the team has a message for those left behind.

KAWSAR ROSHAN, AFGHAN GIRLS ROBOTIC TEAM : So, my message and my message to my generation is that to, please don't lose your hope, your spirit wherever in Afghanistan you are. I know it's difficult because I'm an Afghan girl too. And I fully understand you. But please don't lose your spread. There's always light in the height of darkness. And just make your dream and follow your dream and believe that one day your dream will come true, because I experienced that.

RIVERS (on camera): And we asked all the girls, what do you want to do next, both in the near future and in the long-term future. All four girls that we spoke to tell us they do plan on going to college somewhere, hopefully in the United States, they say. As for the long- term future, they all have hopes to return to Afghanistan someday. Matt Rivers CNN, Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE) VAUSE: With Queen Elizabeth not spending Christmas at her Sandringham country of state. We now know that she'll spend the day with his son, Prince Charles, and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall at Windsor Castle, where she is now staying for the holidays.

Meantime Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, are sharing the first photo of their six-month-old daughter, Lilibet Diana. Little girl was seen on their holiday card which they released on Thursday. Pretty happy. Thank you for watching CNN Newsroom. I'm John Vause. Please stay with us, coming up next, (inaudible), protectors of the planet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)