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CDC Cuts Isolation Time After COVID From 10 Days To Five; COVID Cases Rise In China Amid Outbreak In Xi'an; LAPD Release Video In Fatal Shooting Of 14-Year-Old Girl; Judge Sets Hearing To Reconsider 110-Year Sentence Of Driver Rogel Aguilera-Mederos; Thousands Of Flights Canceled, Delayed Amid Crew Shortage. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired December 28, 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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ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. Live from Hong Kong, I'm Anna Coren and this is CNN NEWSROOM.
All brand new COVID guidance from the CDC, why the suggested quarantine period has been slashed in half.
A 14-year-old girl killed by police while shopping for a birthday dress. See the moments that led up to the heartbreaking shooting.
And we'll count down the top 10 business moments of the year. How number one changed everyday life for minutes (PH).
Despite a surge in COVID cases in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control is issuing new guidelines to shorten the isolation time for people who test positive for the virus.
The CDC now recommends people can stop isolating after five days rather than 10 if they don't have symptoms and wear a mask for another five days.
Experts say transmission usually happens early in the course of the illness a day or two prior to symptoms and two to three days after.
Well, the number of children admitted to hospitals with COVID is up 35 percent in the past week. New York City has seen a fivefold increase this month.
Meanwhile, sick outs from COVID have forced airlines to cancel or delay thousands of flights worldwide. The job infectious disease expert in the U.S. says the administration is working hard to increase access to testing across the country.
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DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: It's a combination of people concerned appropriately, about Omicron which is spreading so rapidly, as well as the fact that we're in the holiday season. And people want to get tested before they start mingling with their family and their friends and traveling.
So, it really has made a major upsurge in demand for the tests when we already are in a situation where quite frankly, we don't have enough test at this particular point in time.
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COREN: Dr. Anthony Fauci speaking there. Well, we're getting reports from our correspondents around the globe on all the coronavirus developments.
We begin this hour with CNN's Alexandra Field in New York.
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ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): New guidance from the CDC, people infected with COVID who are asymptomatic can shorten their isolation from 10 days to five and then, wear a mask around others for five more. Those who are exposed and are vaccinated should quarantine for five days while those who are boosted may not need to quarantine at all after an exposure. All this as the country feels the strain of an Omicron surge.
FAUCI: We're certainly going to continue to see a surge for a while. I hope we peak and come down quickly.
FIELD: As infections spread rapidly. Health officials still believe those who are vaccinated and boosted should remain well protected from severe disease. But there are consequences affecting everyone.
DIANA RICHARDSON, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, TUFTS MEDICAL CENTER: We have as of this morning 115 staff members out ill with COVID who have tested positive.
FIELD: Federal emergency response teams are already working to ease the burden on health care workers in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, Vermont, New Hampshire and New Mexico. As COVID-related staffing shortages cripple even more industries.
New York City now running fewer subway trains with too many workers out sick and airlines are at their busiest time of year leaving even more passengers stranded just about everywhere. Domestically, a thousand more flights canceled today, more than 2,500 globally.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The reason that our flight was canceled was because of lack of flight attendants. So, yes, on Delta. So, I guess it's sad. It's just really sad.
FIELD: Four cruise ships with reported cases of COVID were turned away from their ports of call. In all too familiar reminder of when it all started.
Sports are not immune either. The Military Bowl and the Fenway Bowl among the latest games canceled. As more holiday plans get scrapped this year, the struggle to get COVID tests just too real. At a busy site in Miami, the wait is more than two hours.
Alexandra Field, CNN, New York.
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COREN: Well, Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider is an Internal Medicine Physician at California Pacific Medical Center, and the founder of EndWellProject.org. She joins me now from California. Doctor, great to have you with us.
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COREN: Let's start with the CDC reducing isolation period from 10 to five days. Why are they doing this at a time when cases are surging across the United States?
SHOSHANA UNGERLEIDER, INTERNAL MEDICINE PHYSICIAN, ACALIFORNIA PACIFIC MEDICAL CENTER: You know, this change in recommendation for both isolation and quarantine was made really by looking at the science, which indicates that while Omicron is certainly more contagious, the majority of transmission of the virus happens early in the course of illness, usually in the one to two days before the onset of symptoms, and in the two to three days after.
So, regardless of vaccination status, people who test positive should isolate for five days as we heard, and then, if they don't have any symptoms at that time, they can leave isolation if they can continue to wear a mask for five more days to minimize the risk of infecting other people.
So, you know, a big shift here from CDC based on the science in an effort to minimize interruption of work of school and really of our daily lives.
COREN: For sure, it's based on the science, but isn't there a risk of spreading the virus considering that the infectious period can vary, as you say, mainly, it's a few days, but it can go up to a few weeks?
UNGERLEIDER: You know, it certainly can. But that's not the majority of cases, of course. And you know, one thing that I would say is if you have access to a rapid antigen test, and you are in fact in isolation five days in or so, by all means, use it.
You know, this is extra information, so people can make the best decisions to stop the spread of the virus to others. Of course, if you have symptoms, plan to continue to stay home.
But the fact is, of course, these tests are in short supply in many parts of the country. Expect there to be many more available later in January. But that doesn't help the people who are infected right now.
And so, that's why the current recommendation is to leave isolation only if you do not have symptoms, and then continue to wear a mask for five more days to lower that risk of infecting other people.
COREN: Yes, let's talk about that rapid antigen test because there are doctors out there calling on people who are released from the that five-day isolation period to get one of those tests. This is something that has not been recommended by the CDC. Why not?
UNGERLEIDER: You know, it's a great question. I certainly can't speak for the CDC. I suspect it's because there is a shortage of tests.
As I mentioned, we do think that come first and second week of January, as President Biden has spoken to this last week, there will be many, many more tests available.
Again, that doesn't help the people who are infected right now. And so, that's why we all have to proceed with caution and with the current recommendation of leaving isolation, again, only if you are asymptomatic, and of course, continuing to wear a mask for five more days to lower that risk of getting other people sick.
COREN: Doctor, one health official said that people should brace themselves for a tough January. We know that cases are at near record levels with the spread of the Omicron variant. What are you predicting in the weeks ahead?
UNGERLEIDER: You know, Anna, it's hard to make predictions, right? We are often wrong but because Omicron's spread is so transmissible, it's spreading like wildfire. There are some optimistic signs coming from Europe and South Africa that it may cause less severe illness.
But the very real concern here is that Omicron spreads so fast, that our hospitals could still be overwhelmed. You know, here's the thing, if there are massive numbers of people who are suddenly infected all at once, and just a small percentage require hospitalization, that's still a really large number of people. And that could collapse hospital systems, especially in areas with low vaccination rates.
We do expect that every healthcare worker will be essential in the coming weeks. But what I'm really worried about is what happens when more of us get sick and need to isolate at home.
20 percent of healthcare workers during South Africa's Omicron surge fell ill and that's already starting to happen here. You know, you can only receive high quality medical care if there's enough beds and hands and supplies to go around. And so, we need everyone's help. And we truly are all still in this together.
COREN: And doctors, nurses, health officials are burnt out considering they've been fighting this for the past two years.
There is a clear evidence that a booster or a third shot will lift your immunity to about 75 percent. And now, the Israel is studying the effectiveness of fourth vaccine dose, what are your thoughts about this?
UNGERLEIDER: Well, Anna, to date, we know that immunity wanes over a period of months and a third shot or a booster dose as we're calling it is the best way to protect yourself from having a severe case.
I'm certainly among the highest risk people. Another booster may prove to be the right call, you know, the whole world is watching Israel. And we'll see what the data show.
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UNGERLEIDER: You know, here in the U.S. though, the fact remains that tens of millions of may prove to be the right call, you know, the whole world is watching Israel and we'll see what the data show.
You know, here in the U.S. though, the fact remains that tens of millions of people are unvaccinated, and only 30 percent or so of eligible Americans have received a booster dose. And this is a real problem, given everything I've said and that we know that boosters are really the best way to reduce severe illness from Omicron. So, we have a lot of work to do.
COREN: Well, Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider, great to get your perspective, your insight, and we thank you for everything you're doing.
UNGERLEIDER: Thank you for having me.
COREN: Well, let's now go to CNN's Steven Jiang live from Beijing with the latest on China's efforts to stamp out a growing outbreak in the city of Xi'an.
Steven, this is a city of 13 million people as you well know, cases there are rising. What's the latest in the authorities' efforts to battle this outbreak?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Anna, you know, the authorities are doing what they have always been doing in all previous cases of local outbreaks as they continue to stick to their zero COVID policy, that is mass testing, mass quarantine and extensive contact tracing.
Now, at least publicly, officials are putting on a very brave face right now saying the situation in Xi'an is very much under control despite the alarming numbers we are seeing in the city for the past few days, triple digits including on Monday, they recorded 175 locally transmitted cases in Xi'an, a record for a Chinese city since March of 2020.
But they say this is only to be expected as they continue to conduct these city-wide testing. But they say this is also very much a part of the plan as the city remains under a strict lockdown for all 13 million residents.
So, as they do more testing, more cases will be uncovered but most of them according to some experts are close contacts of previous cases.
And since the city is under strict lockdown, there is no danger of this virus spreading to other parts of the country because remember, not only travel in and out of Xi'an has been suspended, within the city public transportation has been halted and most public venues have been closed.
The city's top officials actually are saying the city -- what the city needs right now is to come to a complete standstill as the government focuses on containing this virus in this sprawling metropolis.
Now, this is obviously the kind of draconian measures we see they have taken time and again, in this top-down power structure, you know, in this one party political system, but they say this is effective.
And you know, we've been talking about flight cancellations in many other parts of the world but in this country, flight cancellations very sudden and a massive flight cancellations having a new normal for quite some time because whenever new local cases emerge in a city, that city is, you know, airport almost immediately shuts down and no matter how big or small that airport is, and that is certainly true for Xi'an, which hosts a major aviation hub that the city's airport is among the top 10 busiest in this country.
Even last year amid the pandemic, they handled more than 31 million passengers but right now, Xi'an's airport, completely shut down, Anna.
COREN: There's a million people coming to a standstill, that is a big ask Steven Jiang joining us from Beijing. Thank you for the update.
Well, investigations are underway in California after a police officer's stray bullet killed a teenage girl and now, LAPD have released video leading up to the tragic incident.
And the Colorado judge is scheduling a hearing to reconsider the 110- year sentence for a truck driver convicted in a fatal crash. We'll have those details in just ahead.
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COREN: A week of mourning is underway in South Africa for the late Archbishop and Nobel Prize winner Desmond Tutu.
The bells will be ringing all week at St. George's Cathedral in his former Cape Town parish. Tutu will lie in state there on Friday ahead of his funeral on New Year's Day, only a hundred people can attend due to COVID restrictions.
Tutu an Anglican cleric, an anti-apartheid activist has been called the country's moral conscience. Cape Town City Hall is now bathed in purple light, the color of his robes.
The foundation of Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first Black president wrote, he was larger than life and for so many in South Africa and around the world. His life has been a blessing. His contributions to struggles against injustice locally and globally are matched only by the depth of his thinking.
Desmond Tutu was 90 years old.
A warning, our next story contains images that may be hard to watch. They show the moments leading up to the deadly shooting of a teenage girl by Los Angeles police.
The 14-year-old was trying on clothes in a store dressing room with her mother when a stray bullet passed through the wall and killed her.
Police were aiming at an assault suspect who had been attacking women at the store.
CNN's Kyung Lah has the details.
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This video is from the perspective of the Los Angeles Police Department. It was released so that people in the community can understand what responding officers were arriving to.
There were reports of multiple reports of a possible shooting happening inside a store, so the LAPD released 911 call, store surveillance video and body cam footage video.
We want to warn you, the video you're about to see may be upsetting. In the store surveillance video, you see a man acting erratically carrying a solid bike lock and then attacking three random women. One of the women, he strikes her multiple times. pulling her by her hair and then, strikes her until she his bloody.
Officers entered the store. They see the injured woman as well as the attacker and then, they fired.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Victim down. victim down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, hold on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, slow down, slow down, let me take point with the rifle.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, back up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out. Out, out, out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's got -- he's got a tube.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, get her out, get her out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, on you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's hitting her now on the right-hand side.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Slow down. Slow down. Slow down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Slow it down. Slow it down. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Slow it down. Slow it down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, she's bleeding. She's bleeding.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold up. Hold up, Jones. Hold up. Hold up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shots fired. Shots fired. Shots fired.
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LAH: One of the bullets fired by one of the officers skipped off the floor and went through the dry wall into a dressing room where 14- year-old Valentina Orellana-Peralta was there. She was hiding with her mother, hugging her mother and praying. According to her family, the LAPD did not recover a gun from this attacker.
Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.
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COREN: A Colorado judge has now set a hearing for next month to reconsider the 110-year sentence for truck driver convicted in a 2019 crash that killed four people.
CNN's Lucy Kafanov is following developments from Denver.
LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The judge on Monday scheduled a resentencing hearing for January 13th. District Attorney Alexis King had asked the court to reconsider that lengthy 110-year prison sentence for Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, potentially reducing it to 20 or 30 years.
She said this was based on the facts of the case as well as conversations with the victims and their families.
Now, when the court reconvenes next month, it will be an in-person hearing, the judge said he does not want the defendant to testify.
Mederos was driving 85 miles an hour in a semi-tractor trailer in 2019 when his brakes failed, causing that crash. Four people died. Others were injured.
He was found guilty on 27 charges including several counts of vehicular homicide and vehicular assault. But because Colorado's mandatory minimum sentencing laws require sentences for each of those counts to be served consecutively rather than concurrently, he is facing more than a century behind bars, his attorney calling for legal reforms. Take a look.
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JAMES COLGAN, ROGEL AGUILERA-MEDEROS' LAWYER: The law doesn't really distinguish between people like Mr. Mederos who is not a danger to society and other people that are sentenced to life that are a danger to society, and I think the law needs to make those kind of exceptions and understand that there is a difference between Mr. Mederos and those other kinds of people.
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KAFANOV: This case sparking nationwide attention, nearly five million people signing a petition asking the Colorado governor to reduce the driver's sentence or to grant him clemency.
The governor's office meanwhile telling CNN that it is reviewing the clemency request.
Lucy Kafanov, CNN, Denver.
COREN: Still to come, Israel is leading the way in studying whether a second COVID-19 booster will help contain the Omicron variant.
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COREN: The coronavirus pandemic seems to be finding a new target across the U.S., children. Pediatric hospital admissions are up 35 percent in the past week.
New York City has seen a five-fold increase this month, and admissions in Washington have doubled.
Well meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is revising its guidelines for people recovering from COVID. It now says five days of isolation is enough, as long as a person has no symptoms and continues to wear a mask for the next five days.
The top infectious disease expert in the U.S. Dr. Anthony Fauci says he expects COVID cases will continue to surge, but he's dismissing the need for a vaccine mandate for air travel, at least for now.
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FAUCI: Right now, I don't think people should expect that we're going to have a requirement in domestic flights for people to be vaccinated. When I was asked that question, I gave an honest answer. It's on the table and we consider it, but that doesn't mean it's going to happen. I doubt if we're going to see something like that in the reasonably foreseeable future.
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COREN: Well, more than 2,800 flights worldwide were canceled Monday according to tracking website FlightAware.
And with COVID cases surging, the travel chaos is threatening to extend through the New Year.
CNN's Richard Quest has the latest.
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RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: It is not a surprise that the largest number of cancellations are in the United States and China.
China is locked down to outsiders, therefore, the domestic industry has managed to continue, whilst in the United States there's been a huge upswing in travel demand as things get back to normal.
However, the airlines are working on very thin margins in terms of staffing shortages. So, when the staff started calling in sick with COVID, or isolating or in quarantine, well, that's when the effects were truly felt.
In Europe, not so many cancellations, but that's because the industry isn't fully back on its feet. So now, you've got airlines like Lufthansa that are already announcing cancellations for the winter schedule. Not because they don't have the staff but because bookings are down as a result of Omicron.
Overall, the airline industry is once again trying to do its best, trying to keep things going and essentially trying not to lose more money, but it's flying into some very heavy weather and it doesn't seem like that's going to change anytime soon.
Richard Quest, CNN, London.
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COREN: The cruise industry has also been hit hard by a surge of new COVID cases, at least four cruise ships returned to way from ports or couldn't let passengers disembark due to outbreaks onboard.
One passenger who sailed on Carnival Freedom ship says the company kept travelers in the dark about the outbreak. Here's part of her conversation with my colleague, Kaitlan Collins.
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ASHLEY PETERSON, SAILED ON SHIP THAT JUST RETURNED WITH NEW COVID CASES: The cruise started off kind of normal, and then, day after day, more and more people were testing positive. And, obviously, when you're at sea you can't go anywhere and get off the ship. So, it kind of felt like we were kind of trapped not knowing how many people had COVID.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And how did you find out that other passengers had tested positive? Did the crews tell you, or how did you guys learn about that?
PETERSON: So, initially the cruise refused to tell us anything. We heard news reports from the news in Curacao that there was COVID on the ship. It wasn't until the next day, when we were denied entry into Bonaire that the captain did say that there was a small number of COVID case. But pretty much, the passengers that we know that had COVID were basically posting on Facebook that they were COVID positive.
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KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: Wow, so you found out from -- not just from the ship directly, initially. And so what happened once you found out that people had tested positive? You weren't able to go to some of the ports, but were people in their rooms on board, or were they still acting, you know, kind of going about their business?
PETERSON: I mean, I think it definitely was split. There was definitely plenty of people who were continuing their cruise like normal. I know for me, personally, I was spending a lot more time in my state room, and staying in the outside areas of the ship.
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ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: A trial study on the effectiveness of a second round of COVID boosters is under way in Israel. Health workers at an Israeli hospital are getting the fourth shot to see if it is going to help to contain the spread of the Omicron variant.
A panel of experts recommended the second booster last week, but final approval is still pending.
CNN's Elliott Gotkine has the details.
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JACOB LAVEE, FORMER DIRECTOR, HEART TRANSPLANT UNIT, SHEBA MEDICAL CENTER: Let's do it.
ELLIOTT GOTKINE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's another shot in the arm. This, says the Sheba Medical Center, is the first time in the world healthy subjects are receiving a fourth shot of COVID vaccine.
LAVEE: Well, I don't feel much as a guinea pig. My own immunity has dropped below the threshold, and therefore, not only am I, myself, exposed, potentially exposed to the Omicron, but more importantly, I might be a potential hazard to my heart transplant patients that I'm taking care of.
GOTKINE: His colleagues, all of whose antibody levels have also dropped, were lining up to play their part in this trial, designed to show if a fourth shot of the Pfizer vaccine is safe and effective.
(on camera): Saif (ph) here is among the first of 150 health workers at the Sheba Medical Center just outside Tel Aviv to receive the fourth dose of the vaccine. It's not the most publicized rollout of the fourth shot campaign, but it could be a step in that direction.
(voice-over): That, at least, is what Prime Minister Naftali Bennett seems to want. Last week he welcomed the decision by a panel of experts to recommend the additional booster for over 60s, health workers, and people with suppressed immune systems, but the health ministry's director general has yet to sign it off.
Some health experts remain convinced.
GILI-REGEV YOCHAY, DIRECTOR, INFECTION PREVENTION CONTROL UNIT, SHEBA MEDICAL CENTER: I do not know that it's right, right now, at this moment. It may change in a week. You know, it depends on what we see is happening in England, what's happening right now here. If we see that there is more severe disease, maybe it will be correct. I think that's why it's so important to start research as soon as possible.
GOTKINE: Initial reports from the study are expected by the end of the week, by which time Israel's rising COVID caseload will likely be even heavier.
Elliott Gotkine, CNN, Ramat Gan, Israel.
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COREN: Coming up on CNN, already traumatized by what they went through in Afghanistan, more than 1,000 Afghan children are now living in limbo and desperate to know whether they'll ever see their parents again.
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COREN: Welcome back.
Well, U.S. President Joe Biden has signed a massive defense bill passed by Congress. The law allocates a whopping $770 billion for the U.S. Defense Department and military.
The bill also includes a nearly 3 percent pay increase for military service members and civilian employees.
This year, there are several changes to the military justice system, to overhaul how the military handles sexual assault and harassment. It also provides $300 million in military aid to Ukraine. And the defense bill established a multi-year independent Afghanistan war commission to examine the war in Afghanistan in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal.
We're learning new details about the chaotic evacuations in the final days of the U.S. war in Afghanistan. New data from the Office of Refugee Resettlement shows some 1,400 children were evacuated to the U.S. without their parents.
Many of the children tried to flee with their families but got separated in the chaos. U.S. officials say the majority of the children were quickly released to live with sponsors, including other family members, but about 250 remain in government custody.
Advocates say that most of them have no family to live with in the U.S., and for those with relatives stuck in Afghanistan, it's unclear when, how or even if they'll ever be able to be reunited.
Well, joining me now to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan is Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov. He is the U.N. secretary-general's deputy special representative for Afghanistan, and he is a U.N. resident and humanitarian coordinator.
Dr. Ramiz, great to have you with us.
The situation in Afghanistan is bleak. The U.N. has been sounding the alarm for months. As someone living in Kabul, dealing with the humanitarian crisis every single day, please explain to us how bad the situation is on the ground right now.
DR. RAMIZ ALAKBAROV, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL'S DEPUTY SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR AFGHANISTAN: Thank you very much.
The situation indeed continues to be bad, and more than half of the population of the country is in severe malnutrition or in some sort of malnutrition, or having limited access to food.
What that means in practical terms, also that the children are -- in the winter months do not have access to food. And then, if they're brought in the hospital, then there is no heating, and then there's measles or an infection. And the outcomes of that situation are very, very pessimistic.
So what we're looking at is a very harsh winter situation on the ground. We're seeing that the people have not been paid salaries in many sectors. We're doing our best to provide the assistance and distribute food and winterization items, but winter has been hitting Afghan people harsh.
COREN: Last week, the U.N. Security Council passed emergency exemptions to the sanctions against the Taliban. What does this mean for your efforts and other NGOs who have been struggling to provide aid for those who most need it since the Taliban takeover on the 15th of August?
ALAKBAROV: The adoption of the new licenses and flexibilities they provide is definitely a good move into the right direction.
Now, we have the good access, and this will help us, the new licenses. Now, let's also remember that humanitarian action aid is going to substitute the economy of Afghanistan; aid going to substitute the need for the country to go back to work, to be able to maintain economic transactions for the banks to work.
[00:40:09]
So as far as humanitarian action is concerned, I think we are in a better place. We still need to resolve a larger picture. Humanitarian aid is not a substitute for the country's economy.
COREN: Recently, I did a story on Afghan children facing starvation, and we documented a number of acutely malnourished children receiving treatment in a hospital. As we know, so many children are not treated. The U.N. estimates one million children under the age of 5 could starve to death. What time frame are we talking about?
ALAKBAROV: We don't have much time, I'm afraid. This is a life-and- death situation. And the people need aid now. They don't need it tomorrow or the day after.
Every day hospital goes without heating or a child is not getting food means nothing good, I have to be very honest. And you have covered it extensively, and you have seen it with my colleagues who work in the food sector.
We're doing our best. We're very grateful for flexibilities. The aid is flowing, but keeping the country of 40 million people supported with aid and in harsh winter months, with the roads being covered by the snow, the airports having limited accessibility, is not an easy task. We have heroic teams on the ground, including NGOs and humanitarians, and we really appreciate what they're doing right now.
COREN: International Crisis Group warns that famine in Afghanistan could kill more people than the last two decades of fighting in the country. I've also spoken to an expert who believes that the number will be in the tens of thousands who die. Do you share the same fears?
ALAKBAROV: I share the -- I can't confirm the numbers, because I don't have it in front of my eyes, but I do believe this is a large crisis. There is also part of the truth is, for a long time, we didn't have an access to the entire territory of the country, because of the ongoing military hostilities, because of the access issues.
And now that we have an access to the entire territory of the country, including those areas who are controlled by the Taliban, we're seeing far greater needs, because in those villages and remote areas, high in the mountains and in hard-to-reach places where we were not able to reach before, and what we have there is a total lack of services.
In general, Afghanistan's current situation, the problems they're facing in Afghanistan, are the problems of all of us collectively not being able, for the last 50 years, to address the issue of development of rural areas of Afghanistan. It is what stares at us through all this news, is lack of development, lack of capacity, lack of basic livelihoods in the rural areas of Afghanistan. Afghanistan village is poor, impoverished, and that's fundamental issue.
COREN: Well, the international community certainly has an obligation, a duty of care to help the people of Afghanistan in their time of need.
Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov, we thank you and your team for the amazing work that you are doing. Thank you for joining us.
ALAKBAROV: And thank you for inviting us and keeping the focus on Afghanistan. Thank you.
COREN: Our pleasure.
Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, a review of the top ten business stories of 2021.
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COREN: The S&P 500 closed on a record high Monday, marking a fourth straight session of gains. Strong U.S. holiday sales boosted the retailing index. The S&P was up 1.4 percent. The Dow and the NASDAQ also finished higher as investor tension appeared to ease over the Omicron variant.
Well, Omicron is having its impact as airlines cancel thousands of flights, Broadway shuts down shows, and offices are closed once again. Nevertheless, financial experts are cautiously optimistic about 2022 after a solid economic recovery this year.
Christine Romans reviews the other top business stories as the year ends.
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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: The billionaire space race, Facebook's biggest crisis, cyberattacks held industries hostage while the economy dashed to reopen. These are the top business stories of 2021.
No. 10, a Reddit rebellion sparked a stock frenzy, enraging Wall Street pros.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A David versus Goliath story. Amateur traders taking on hedge fund managers.
ROMANS: In January, an army of Reddit day traders bought up shares in retailers GameStop.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: GameStop shares up nearly 2,000 percent so far this year.
ROMANS: Now, this wasn't due to GameStop's value as a business. The Redditers drove up prices to score profits and hurt establishment investors who bet against struggling companies.
(on camera): A populist uprising armed with no-fee brokerage accounts. Then, trading app Robinhood crashed the party.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: Robinhood announced trading restrictions. It cited recent volatility. GameStop trades are now blocked.
ROMANS (voice-over): That infuriated traders, and Robinhood's CEO later apologized before Congress.
VLAD TENEV, ROBINHOOD CEO: I'm sorry for what happened, but what I commit to is making sure that we improve from this.
ROMANS (on camera): No. 9, billionaires raced into space, triggering a space tourism boom.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: The new space race, the battle of the billionaires.
ROMANS (voice-over): The modern space race is not between countries, but ultra-rich men: Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk all funneled their immense wealth into space travel and innovation. And this year, Branson's and Bezos' rivalry took center stage.
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RICHARD BRANSON, FOUNDER, VIRGIN GROUP: Yay.
ROMANS: Branson took flight on July 11.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Becoming the first person to ride into space aboard a rocket that he helped fund.
ROMANS: Edging out Bezos' own launch by nine days. What followed were several high-profile private space flights, sending both celebs --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Captain Kirk himself, the great William Shatner.
ROMANS: -- and wealthy thrill-seekers into space.
(on camera): No. 8, cyberattacks held industries for ransom, unless they paid up.
(voice-over): Like meat supplier JBS USA in June.
JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST/ANCHOR: JBS USA is revealing that it paid an $11 million ransom after a cyberattack shut down its entire beef-processing operation.
ROMANS: A July attack on software vendor Kaseya compromised hundreds of companies. And in May, hackers forced one of the largest U.S. gas pipelines offline.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: The Colonial Pipeline, target of a massive cyberattack.
ROMANS: Fuel distribution shuttered across the East Coast, sparking panic buying and widespread gas shortages.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are still seeing these lines that are building up as people are trying to get gas.
ROMANS: The attacks drew the White House's attention, which urged the private sector to do more to address cybersecurity.
(on camera): No. 7, as the Delta variant spread over the summer, Corporate America needed a vaccinated workforce, so it took action.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: United Airlines just announced a vaccine mandate for all of its workers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Disney and Walmart are two of the latest to force the issue.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Tyson Foods announced it will require all its workers to be fully vaccinated.
ROMANS (voice-over): Companies also pushed back return-to-the-office date to 2022. Despite warnings of employee revolt, most workers complied.
(on camera): As cases continued to rise, the federal government stepped in, announcing vaccine mandates for all large employers.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated. We've been patient, but our patience is wearing thin.
ROMANS (voice-over): But the Biden administration's efforts have met significant legal challenges.
(on camera): No. 6, Facebook's biggest crisis: confronting wide- ranging scrutiny for real world harm. Whistleblower Frances Haugen leaked hundreds of internal documents before heading to Capitol Hill.
FRANCES HAUGEN, FACEBOOK WHISTLEBLOWER: Facebook when faced with conflicts of interest between its own profits and the common good, Facebook consistently chose to prioritize its profits.
ROMANS (voice-over): There were many damning revelations for Facebook, including that the company allowed misinformation and extremist groups to flourish.
Another bombshell proved Facebook and its platforms harmed the mental health of teens.
Facebook pushed back, claiming the documents were cherry-picked, and they present a misleading view, then hosted a flashy rebranding.
MARK ZUCKERBERG, META/FACEBOOK CEO/FOUNDER: Starting today, our company is now Meta.
ROMANS: A distraction from the P.R. nightmare.
(on camera): No. 5, the pandemic economy roared back to life but proved hard to predict. The sudden restart causing wild swings in economic data.
QUEST: The U.S. is finally recovered to pre-pandemic levels. GDP 6.5 percent in Q2.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: GDP rising at a weaker than expected 2 percent rate in the third quarter.
ROMANS: Or reports that were difficult to forecast.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Job numbers were a big disappointment: only 235,000 jobs were added.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Economists had predicted a gain of some 728,000 jobs or more.
ROMANS (voice-over): But overall, the economy bounced back, sending stocks to record highs, helped along by the Federal Reserve's unprecedented financial stimulus.
(on camera): Then, in November --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Federal Reserve will start to tap the brakes now and also slow down its bond purchases.
ROMANS (voice-over): Soon after Biden renominated Fed Chair Jerome Powell for a second term, citing his steady leadership during the pandemic.
(on camera): No. 4, a labor shortage left businesses struggling and workers in a position of power. This year saw the great resignation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Millions quitting the workforce in recent months. A record 4.4 million quits in September.
ROMANS (voice-over): Many looking for better jobs. There were also health concerns, and older Americans retired, while lack of child care pushed many women to the sidelines.
Still, the shortage left employers scrambling to find workers.
(on camera): All of these companies raising wages, just announced in recent weeks. Under Armour, Amazon, Chipotle, Walmart.
(voice-over): Staffing issues meant shorter business hours and thousands of canceled flights.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: American Airlines has now canceled another 250 flights this morning as the company deals with staffing shortages.
(on camera): It also gave the American worker leverage --
(voice-over): -- leading to several high-profile strikes on Hollywood sets, at Kellogg and John Deere, all looking for better pay and benefits.
(on camera): No. 3, historic government aid helped millions struggling from the pandemic. In March, Congress passed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan.
BIDEN: This historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of the country.
ROMANS (voice-over): The scope of the relief was vast. Stimulus checks, an expanded child tax credit, and enhanced unemployment benefits through September. However, many GOP-led states ended those early, citing labor shortages.
(on camera): About half the states have stopped giving those extra unemployment benefits. They think that was a disincentive.
That was not the only issue. Restaurant aid ran out fast. Live venue relief was delayed for months. And the eviction moratorium ended before most people received any rental assistance.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ninety percent of the $46 billion allotted for this program has not been spent. ROMANS: Still, the unprecedented relief proved a vital lifeline for
many Americans.
No. 2, a supply chain nightmare upended the U.S. economy. During the pandemic, the global economy ground to a halt, but this year, Americans, flushed with stimulus cash, skyrocketed demand, leaving the supply chain trying and failing to catch up. That meant port congestion.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This bottleneck of container ships as far as the eye can see.
ROMANS: Slowing down the flow of goods amplified by a trucker shortage. That led to items absent from shelves, missing critical parts, halting production.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: General Motors says it will stop production on two of its pickup trucks next week.
ROMANS (on camera): And higher costs for the American consumer.
(voice-over): Speaking of higher prices, No. 1, inflation explodes, raising costs for everything Americans buy. This year, consumer prices spiked.
BERMAN: Inflation at levels not seen in 30 years.
ROMANS (on camera): The downside of an economy bouncing back from the pandemic crash. Americans paid more for clothes, cars, electronics, toys. A red-hot housing market triggered record prices. But for many, the most noticeable pinch was at the grocery store.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I normally just went to the grocery store to pick up whatever, but now I tend to price shop.
ROMANS (voice-over): Or at the pump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you want to eat steak or do you want to fill up your tank?
ROMANS: Government officials kept assuring Americans the price hike was temporary, but still, there was one upside: fatter pay checks. Wages are rising the most in years. So if higher prices do fade away, it could set American consumers up well for 2022.
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COREN: Well, thanks so much for watching. I'm Anna Coren, live from Hong Kong. I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM after this short break.
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