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CDC Cuts Isolation Time After Covid From 10 Days to 5; Omicron Spread Outpacing Testing Resources in U.S.; Airlines Scramble to Staff Flights Amid Covid Shortages; Covid Cases Rise in China Amid Outbreak in Xi'an; Israeli Hospital Begins Study of Fourth Covid Shot; LAPD Releases Video in Fatal Shooting of 14-Year -Old Girl. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired December 28, 2021 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Max Foster in London. Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: January is going to be a really, really hard month. And the people should brace themselves.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think that any of us would have predicted that we are in the position that we're in now, which is entering year three.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's clearly not enough. If we had known we would have gone harder, quicker.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The virus just keep playing games with us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Amid an Omicron surge, the CDC updates its guidance, shortening the recommended COVID isolation time. But is it the right decision?

With more Americans flocking to testing sites across the country, President Biden reassures state officials more COVID tests are coming.

And police officers are under scrutiny after body cam footage shows the moments before a 14-year-old girl was killed while shopping.

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster.

FOSTER: It is Tuesday, December the 28th. Despite a surge in COVID cases in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control is issuing a new set of 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 ten. If they don't have symptoms and they 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.

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DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, U.S. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: It just makes sense if you keep them out for five days, keep them isolated for five days, then get them back doing their job, doing their work, keeping a mask on to protecting themselves from infecting other individuals.

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FOSTER: Well, the guidance comes as the number of COVID cases continues to rise quickly. The U.S. is now averaging nearly 200,000 new infections every day, and the new guidelines for recovery apply to both the vaccinated and the unvaccinated.

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DR. MEGAN RANNEY, ASSOCIATE DEAN OF PUBLIC HEALTH, BROWN UNIVERSITY: The thing that concerns me, as you said, is that this covers not just the vaccinated and asymptomatic, but also the unvaccinated. And I feel like we already saw in May what happens when we see, hey, the vaccinated can go without a mask, but the unvaccinated need to wear it. Well, nobody wore masks after that point. And my worry here is that we're going to be having a bunch of folks who are still infectious out and about unmasked, spreading the virus further.

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FOSTER: Experts agree that access to testing is one of the keys to keeping the spread of COVID in check, and the Biden administration admits it has work to do in making more tests and testing sites available.

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BIDEN: Seeing how tough it was for some folks to get a test this weekend shows that we have more work to do. It's not enough. It's clearly not enough. If we had known we would have gone harder quicker if we could have. We have to do more. We have to do better, and we will.

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FOSTER: Testing has been in much greater demand as people are traveling for the holidays and spending time with their families. You can see the long line of cars here at the site in Dallas, Texas. Miami sites were also overwhelmed. One official says his health care system is seeing more than 50,000 daily tests across the state of Florida.

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RON GONCALVES, GENERAL MANAGER, NOMI HEALTH FLORIDA: What we're seeing is just the volumes are coming through and it's a higher degree of volume, so that is volume that would have happened anyway because of the holidays. I just think with the rapid spread of Omicron, it's also created a little bit of panic. So, but people are doing the right thing. They're at least going out and seeking a test.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: The Omicron variant is also causing big problems for the airline industry. More than 1,000 U.S. flights were canceled on Monday following a wave of cancellations over the weekend. Many passengers find themselves stranded after Christmas, just wanting to get home. CNN's Shimon Prokupecz has more from New York.

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[04:05:00]

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: More than 1,300 flights canceled on Monday and hundreds more expected on Tuesday as airlines try to keep up with crew members and pilots calling out sick because of the coronavirus. They're moving crews around trying to get passengers home after the holiday weekend, which saw thousands more cancellations. Of course, all of this coming as the Omicron virus continues to spread through the country. The big question that was asked of Dr. Fauci, if passengers should be vaccinated, should there be a mandate for passengers to be vaccinated? Here's what he said.

FAUCI: Everything that comes up as a possibility, we put it on the table and we consider it. That does not mean that it is going to be likely to happen. 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.

PROKUPECZ: With the new CDC guidelines, shortening the amount of time people need to quarantine or isolate because of the coronavirus, that could potentially help airlines ease some of the staffing shortages they now have.

Shimon Prokupecz, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Dr. Fauci's thoughts on airline vaccine mandates came just after the appeared on another network and seemed to express a different opinion. Here he is saying it might be a wise thing to do on U.S. flights.

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FAUCI: When you make vaccination a requirement, that's another incentive to get more people vaccinated. If you want to do that with domestic flights, I think that's something that seriously should be considered.

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FOSTER: Meanwhile, the Association of Flight Attendants is criticizing the CDC's new guidance to reduce isolation and quarantine times for people with asymptomatic cases. The great worry is that airlines are more concerned about keeping passengers happy than keeping employees safe. Here's what their president had to say about the new guidance.

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SARA NELSON, INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FLIGHT ATTENDANTS: We want to know that the airlines are then, and the rest of corporate America, is focused on public health and safety, and make sure that they have very supportive policies that help workers understand that they have the right not to have to come back to work if the airline is calling them.

Delta Airlines announced right away after the CDC guidance they didn't. herald any kind of public health measure. What they said is this is going to give Delta more flexibility to schedule crews. And we're concerned that's going to put workers in a bad position of choosing whether to stay home and be safe and take good measures for public health or be forced to come to work and feel like they're going to lose their job if they don't.

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FOSTER: She said sick travelers are getting flight crews sick and airline vaccine mandates would help them stay safe.

Traveling during the pandemic means plans could be disrupted at any point, of course. CNN has gathered some expert travel tips put you at ease if you hit unexpected delays.

First, avoid getting trapped at the airport. Check your flight status from your home or hotel. So, you don't have to wait at the airport. If you're already at the airport, speak with the agent as soon as you find out your flight's being rescheduled. Representatives often operate on a first-come first-served basis.

Next, ask for hotel accommodation if your flight is delayed overnight and you're out of town. However, airlines may have different policies on this.

And finally, be open to rescheduling your trip because you may be eligible for free flight changes without penalty. You can find these tips and more on our website, CNN.com.

The U.S. national football league says 106 players have tested positive for COVID-19 since Christmas. The NFL reported ten positive tests over the weekend. A whopping 96 additional cases on Monday.

Meanwhile, the National Basketball Association shortened its required quarantine time for vaccinated players and coaches who test positive. They will only spend six days in isolation, down from the previous ten days.

And in the National Hockey League, at least three more games have been called off due to COVID issues. That brings a total to 70 games postponed this season because of the pandemic.

And in American college football, the Arizona Bowl has been canceled after COVID-19 issues forced Boise State to withdraw. Boise's scheduled opponent Central Michigan will now play in the Sun Bowl, taking the place of the University of Miami who also had to withdraw because of COVID issues.

Bulls running meanwhile on Wall Street and the S&P 500 has hit a new record high. The Dow climbed to 352 points on nearly 1 percent on Monday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq and broader S&P gained 1.4 percent. A report from Muscat (ph) shows U.S. retail sales soared over the past two months. U.S. futures have been in and out of positive territory overnight, trading in Europe about an hour ago in Asia-Pacific markets moved into positive territory as well.

In Europe, authorities -- China, rather, authorities are racing to contain a growing outbreak in the city of Xi'an.

[04:10:00]

150 military medics have been deployed to help local hospitals in the city which recorded 175 new infections on Monday. While small compared to other countries, that's the highest daily count in any Chinese city since March 2020.

CNN's Steven Jiang joins us now from Beijing. Are they trying different methods to contain the virus in Xi'an?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN, BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Well, they are sticking to what they know. The fast spread of Omicron variant outside the Chinese borders really have further convinced the authorities here the effectiveness of their zero COVID policy. So, in Xi'an, they were sticking to the familiar playbook of mass testing, mass quarantine, extensive contact tracing. And at least publicly officials there are putting on very brave face saying the kind of alarming numbers, you just mentioned, is only to be expected as they continue to conduct multiple rounds of city-wide testing for 13 million residents.

But state media has quoted experts here as saying these numbers will soon stabilize and start decreasing, and this outbreak could be over in a month because the spread of the virus is being stopped as the city continues to be placed under a strict lockdown. With local officials saying that what the city needs right now is to come to a complete stand still with most residents confined to their homes, that's actually the best form of protection.

And as you mentioned, flight disruptions around the world has come under a spotlight. But here in this country that has become quite part of the new normal for travelers. In Xi'an, for example, that airport is actually a major aviation hub handling more than 31 million passengers last year. But since last week, all domestic flights have been canceled, and the airports -- terminals have been largely abandoned since then -- Max.

FOSTER: Steven, thank you.

One method being carried out there, of course, other methods elsewhere. A trial study on the effectiveness of a second round of COVID boosters is underway in Israel. Healthcare workers at an Israeli hospital are getting a fourth shot to see if it'll help contain the spread of the Omicron variant there. A panel of experts recommended the second booster last week. The final approval is still pending. Elliott Gotkine has the details.

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ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST (voice-over): Yet another shot in the arm. This, says the chief of medical center, is the first time in the world healthy subjects are receiving a fourth shot of COVID vaccine.

JACOB LAVEE, FORMER DIRECTOR HEART TRANSPLANT UNIT, SHEBA MEDICAL CENTER: 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 patient that I'm taking care of.

GOTKINE (voice-over): 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.

GOTKINE: 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 been much publicized rollout of the fourth shot campaign, but it could be a step in that direction.

GOTKINE (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 recommended the additional booster for over 60s, health workers and people with suppressed immune systems. But the health ministry's director general has yet to scientific it off. Some health experts remain unconvinced.

GILI REGEV-YOCHAY, DIRECTOR INFECTION PREVENTION CONTROL UNIT, SHEBA MEDICAL CENTER: I didn't think 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's more severe disease, maybe it will be correct. I think that's why it's so important to start a research as soon as possible.

GOTKINE (voice-over): Initial results from the study are expected by the end of the week, by which time Israel's rising COVID caseload will likely be even heavier.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Elliott joins me now from Jerusalem. It doesn't seem to be the same sort of vaccine hesitancy in Israel as there are in other countries. Is that a fact? Is that helpful to the authorities there?

GOTKINE (on camera): Well, we're talking there in that report about health workers, so I guess they're probably among the keenest to be vaccinated. Along with other high-risk groups, which we were discussing just last week. When the panel of coronavirus experts recommended, this second booster, this fourth shot of the COVID vaccine for over 60s, health workers and people with suppressed immune systems.

There is still a degree of vaccine hesitancy. And if you look at the overall figures for the number of people in Israel, out of the total population that have received their third shot, which is what is required to be deemed to be, you know, properly vaccinated here, we're still talking about half the population. When it comes to two shots, about two-thirds. So, Israel is no longer a world leader in terms of overall shots.

[04:15:00]

But if you look at the amount of population that's had three shots, then it is a leader. So, I guess there is a bit of less hesitancy maybe in terms of the booster, but overall, I think vaccine hesitancy is probably as much of an issue here as it is in other countries. And there's still especially with regards to children, only about 15 percent or so of children have been vaccinated so far, and the government very keen to boost that number as well as the number overall of adults who are unvaccinated or who have yet to have their booster shots -- Max.

FOSTER: OK, Elliott in Jerusalem, thank you very much indeed.

Still to come, California authorities are investigating after a police officer's stray bullet killed a teenage girl. Ahead, body cam footage of the moments leading up to that tragedy.

And a Colorado judge is scheduling a hearing to reconsider the 110- year sentence for a truck driver convicted in a fatal crash. We'll have the details ahead.

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FOSTER: This is the scene after a Learjet crashed into a fiery heap east of San Diego, California. Firefighters say they haven't found any survivors. It's unclear how many people were on board.

[04:20:00]

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are handling the investigation.

In Colorado, at least five people are dead including a suspect after a killing spree across the city of Denver. Police say the suspected shooter opened fire at four different locations on Monday evening. Three people were killed before police identified the suspect's vehicle and pursued him. The suspect opened fire on police, and then tried to run away on foot. After shooting an officer, the suspect was killed at the scene by officers. So far, the motive for the shootings is unknown.

Now 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 in a store dressing room when her mother -- with her mother when a stray bullet passed through the wall. Police were aiming at an assault suspect who had been attacking women at the store. CNN's Kyung Lah picks up the story.

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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 could 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 calls, store surveillance video and body cam footage video. We want to warn you the video you are 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 is bloody. Officers enter the store. They see the injured woman as well as the attacker, and then they fired.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, hold on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, slow down, slow down, let me take point with the rifle. Hey, back up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get out. Out, out, out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's got -- he's got a tube.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey get her out, get her out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got it? You got it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, on you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's hitting her now on the right-hand side.

UNIDENTIFIED FE who MALE: Slows down, slow down, slow 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. I got you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shots fired, shots fired, shots fired.

LAH: One of the bullets fired by one of the officers skipped off the floor and went through the drywall 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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: That teen victim was reportedly from Chile. Her family members were told there -- told local media that she was in the U.S. learning English and studying to become a resident. The uncle says he feels dead inside.

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RODRIGO ORELLANA, VICTIM'S UNCLE (through translator): They took away her American dream. They took this girl's American dream away. Everyone fled the dressing rooms and unfortunately, the bullet caught her while she was hugging her mum and praying. They killed her. They killed her. They're supposed to be the best police department in the world, and they shot her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Earlier CNN spoke with a former captain of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Ron Johnson weighed in on whether the Los Angeles police officers acted appropriately.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAPT. RON JOHNSON (RET.), MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL: What I can see they did actually to the best of their ability, the rifle was in the front. And I think that officer wanted to be in the front. You hear a supervisor I believe or someone say put the rifle in the front to be more accurate in your encounter with the suspect. You didn't see a bunch of officers firing. I think we see a total of two or three shots. And so, I think once they neutralized the subject, they stopped. And so, they were using their training. They were working as a team.

And it is tragic, you know. When I hear that the young lady died in her mother's arms, and I have kids, and so, it is tragic. I think after incidents like this, they'll go back and look at everything and see what could have been done different, if something should have been done different. I do like they were transparent in releasing this video.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Well, the victim's family expected to hold a news conference later today. We'll bring you updates.

Jury deliberations will resume in the coming hours in the sex trafficking charge of Ghislaine Maxwell, the long-time companion of Jeffrey Epstein. Jurors have now asked for more transcripts of witness testimonies and the legal definition of enticement, which is part of two of the six charges. The jury had earlier asked for transcripts of testimonies from all four women whose claims form the core of the case against Maxwell.

[04:25:00]

CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson weighs in on what this could mean for the case.

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JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I think what the jury wants to do is they want to get it right. One of the notes saying, hey, can we have supplies? We want highlighters. We want a chalk pad. We wanted so many things because I think they're looking at the timeline. They're looking at any consistencies or inconsistencies. They're looking at any corroboration with respect to Jane, with respect to Kate, with respect to Ms. Farmer, with respect to all of the women -- right now women -- with regard to those allegations and what they were. And do those allegations make up enough of a crime which would constitute Ms. Maxwell being guilty. Not Mr. Epstein, Ms. Maxwell being guilty. So, I think it's a massive responsibility they have. But if I'm the defense, I'm feeling not so bad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Joey Jackson there. Maxwell faces up to 70 years in prison if convicted on all six counts including sex trafficking of a minor. She's pleaded not guilty.

A Colorado judge has now set a hearing for next month to reconsider the 110-year sentence for a truck driver. He was convicted in 2019. A crash that killed four people, CNN's Lucy Kafanov is following developments from Denver.

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LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The judge on Monday scheduled a resentencing hearing for January 13. The 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 requires 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.

JAMES COGAN, 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.

KAFANOV: This case sparking nationwide attention. Nearly 5 million people signing the 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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Well, 350 lawsuits relating the AstroWorld Festival tragedy have been filed In Harris County, Texas. Headliner Travis Scott was performing during the November outdoor music concert when a packed crowd charged towards the stage. Ten people were killed and hundreds of others were injured there.

You are watching CNN NEWSROOM live from London. Just ahead, COVID testing isn't keeping pace with the Omicron variant in the U.S., but President Biden has plans to fix that.

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BIDEN: This is not like March of 2020, the beginning of the pandemic. We're prepared and we know what it takes to save lives, protect people and keep schools and businesses open.

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