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CDC Defends New Guideline; People Let Their Guard Down; France Hit Another Record-High COVID Cases; Mourners Pay Respect To Archbishop Desmond Tutu; China Reports 156 New Locally Transmitted COVID-19 Cases; Parliamentary Debate Turns Into Melee; Coronavirus Pandemic Year-End Review; Coronavirus Pandemic, A Return To Office, Some Office Delaying Return To Offices As Cases Surge; CDC Shortens Recommended Isolation And Quarantine Periods; Extreme Cold Weather In Sierra Nevada. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired December 30, 2021 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

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PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): A warm welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world, I'm Paula Newton.

Ahead right here on CNN Newsroom, the CDC is defending its decision to reduce isolation times amid record high case counts in the United States.

Ghislaine Maxwell is found guilty on five counts including sex trafficking of a minor for her longtime associate Jeffrey Epstein.

And mourners are gathering in South Africa to pay their respects to the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, whose body is now lying in estate.

So, medical experts call 2021 the year of the vaccine. You know, a chance for people worldwide to protect themselves against the coronavirus pandemic. But according to Johns Hopkins University, the year is coming to a close with an average of more than a million new infections a day, right around the globe, that is an all-time high.

The U.S. is also breaking records for the first time, averaging more than 300,000 new cases a day, Johns Hopkins reports as well that close to 490,000 cases were reported on Wednesday alone. We should point out, of course, that number is a result of a lag in reporting during the Christmas holidays. But it is a staggering toll nonetheless.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now forecasting 44,000 new COVID deaths over next month. Now the CDC also projects that those fatalities will rise most quickly in early January than tapering off later in the month.

Now more U.S. states are deploying the National Guard in fact to support health care workers, especially the testing and vaccination efforts.

Tom Foreman has the day's other headlines from Washington.

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TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Schools in D.C. will require all students and staff to have negative COVID test to come back to class. New York City will require rigorous testing too. All that as the White House says it expects to sign a contract for a half billion at-home COVID tests next week. And as the Centers for Disease Control faces sharp questioning over new guidelines for COVID weary Americans.

ROCHELLE WALENSKY, DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: It really had a lot to do with what we thought people would be able to tolerate.

FOREMAN: The recommendation of five instead of 10 isolation days for those testing positive but showing no symptoms and then five days of masking is aimed at keeping people working, but it's raising alarms too.

ERIN BROMAGE, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS DARTMOUTH: There is absolutely no data that I'm aware of with the Omicron variant, that halts people coming out of isolation five days after they were first diagnosed with the virus.

FOREMAN: Nothing in the guideline mandates testing for these people, and the administration has been harshly criticized for the current shortage of tests. So, the lack of testing and the new recommendations is also drawing fire even as top health officials pushed back.

WALENSKY: We actually don't know how our rapid test perform and how well they predict whether you're transmissible during the end of disease.

FOREMAN: And a new question about the effectiveness of some at-home tests in detecting the Omicron variant, and it is all becoming a model at a terrible time.

LARRY KOCIOLEK, ATTENDING PHYSICIAN, INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST, LURIE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL CHICAGO: We are right now seeing more cases per day than at any point in the pandemic.

FOREMAN: Infections among children are rising rapidly in many places.

CHRIS PERNELL, FELLOW, AMERICAN COLLEGE OF PREVENTIVE MEDICINE: We are seeing here even in New Jersey a fourfold increase in pediatric hospitalizations, we are seeing our daily case rates skyrocket.

FOREMAN: In Connecticut, the National Guard has been called up to help with testing. In New York City, 17 percent of the police departments uniformed officers called in sick yesterday. In Washington, the Pentagon is tightening its COVID safety protocols, and all along the coast, the authorities are now investigating at least 86 cruise ships for COVID outbreaks.

(END VIDEO CLIP) FOREMAN (on camera): Simply put, the pandemic is just raging all around causing confusion and concern everywhere. But the CDC wants you to be clear about this, especially if you have children heading back toward school. If they are five or older, they can and should get vaccinated and the FDA is considering booster shots for 12 to 15-year- olds. So, stay tuned.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

[03:05:02]

NEWTON: Joining me now from Birmingham, England is Lawrence Young, he's a virologist and professor of molecular oncology. And I want to thank you for joining us.

You know, these numbers are just breathtaking, in four short weeks they are just so much higher than anyone could've imagined. What do you see in the data, in terms of how and when this could start to turn around for us?

LAWRENCE YOUNG, VIROLOGIST: Well, as you said, this is the most transmissible variant of the coronavirus we've seen. And it is spreading like wildfire all over the place, we're seeing record levels in Europe and across the U.K. at the moment. I think we're still in that steep rise.

If we look to South Africa, and if we can extrapolate from what we see there in the South Africa there was a very sharp rise and then a precipitous fall. We think we're still on that, certainly in Europe, we're still on that rising side of the graph. And the hope is, that we'll peak very soon, and then we'll see a fall in cases.

The important thing, of course, is to see what impact all these infections are having on hospitalizations and severe disease.

NEWTON: I know the data has been mixed on that, what do you take from the data that we have so far?

YOUNG: Well, I'm just looking at what's happening in the U.K. I think the general consensus of course is that the infection with Omicron is milder than Delta. But when you have such very high levels of infection, it's quite clear that you are going to get a small but significant proportion of people severely ill.

What we're seeing at the moment is a slight increase in the number of cases in the U.K. being hospitalized. That's increasing day by day. The big concern we have now is the spread of Omicron from younger people, where there is a concentration of infection a few weeks ago into, the older populations, particularly during sort of mixing of population intergenerational mixing over Christmas.

And the worry then is we'll start to see even more of infections. What we're seeing is less people in intensive care, less people requiring ventilation, but the majority of people that do require ventilation are those who have not had booster jabs. So again, this testifies to the importance of vaccination. NEWTON: Yes, and that aggressive booster campaign that's on right now

in the U.K. Now, I have to ask you, and leaning on your expertise as a virologist, can you tell us if you believe the Omicron has the possibility of taking over from Delta eventually. And is that a good thing?

YOUNG: Well, you know, there's lots of speculation, particularly amongst biologists about this idea of the virus that starts to become more transmissible, would become less disease causing less pathogenic overall. And this could be early signs of coronavirus weakening, I'm not sure we're there yet, but certainly if Omicron is taking over from Delta.

We're seeing that across the U.K. at the moment, and there are reports now that the majority of infections that we're seeing are actually Omicron and not Delta. Although we still have significant levels of Delta, I have to say, but there is this interesting competition going on at the moment. And it is likely that Omicron will very shortly become the dominant virus, whether that's a useful thing or not, I really don't know.

I think with such high levels of infections, with all the uncertainty about what this means for severe disease, particularly in the elderly and the vulnerable. And with all the uncertainty also whether the degree to which Omicron itself can result in long COVID in long haul disease. But there are so many uncertainties at the moment that I just don't think we can be complacent.

NEWTON: Yes, complacency is not something that has really served as well for nearly two years now. I want to talk to you about something that I'll call project 2022, right. And that's about trying to stop the next variant. When you see the fact that we have the virus replicating so often all around the world, what are the dangers of that?

YOUNG: Well, clearly, the dangers are that you'll throw out more variants. So I think Omicron has been a real wakeup call actually, because I think we were complacent. And I think I have to say, I think with some of the restrictions that vary around the world in terms of human behavior, I think we are still being a bit complacent about this virus.

And yet, we should learn the lesson, and the big lesson of course is that as long as the virus continues to spread around the world and is not suppressed by vaccinations, the longer the more chance it has of throwing out variants. And it comes back to that mantra, that slogan we keep hearing, which is nobody is safe until all of us are safe.

And I think it's in all our interest, it's in our self-interest, in countries like the U.S. and the U.K. to make sure that vaccines are being distributed all around the world. Omicron has taught us that, and it's a tough lesson but one we're going to have to learn.

NEWTON: Yes, and as well as trying to get that access to vaccines, is trying to convince people to actually get the vaccine. But yes, we'll go ahead and hope for better things in the year coming, and hope that there is more coordination across that goal.

[03:10:03]

Lawrence Young for us in Birmingham, England. I really appreciate it.

YOUNG: Thank you.

NEWTON: Now several European countries are seeing unprecedented numbers of COVID infections as the Omicron variant continues its spread. France reported 208,000 cases in just 24 hours. Now that's the highest number of daily infections for any country in Europe this the pandemic began. The U.K. set a record of its own Wednesday with more than 183,000 new daily cases.

According to public health officials, the Omicron variant now accounts for more than 90 percent of all infections in England. And for the first time, Spain surpassed 100,000 COVID-19 cases in a single day. And despite that surge, the Spanish government has decided to reduce the quarantine period for those who test positive from 10 to seven days.

Following all of this is our Melissa Bell, she is live for us in Paris now. And we just heard from Dr. Young, Melissa, just talking to us about the dangers by allowing this virus to continue to replicate.

You know, I was really struck by the health minister there in France. He seemed definitely panicked by the surge in France. Do they believe that will be accompanied by severe disease? By increased hospitalizations?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They certainly believe, Paula, this is what we heard from Olivier Veran yesterday speaking to that committee of the national assembly, that the pressure on the hospitals will continue to grow.

For the time being here, in France, Delta remains, the Delta variant remains the main problem, and that is already causing pressure on the hospital system. You are seeing operations being canceled, patients being turned away in order to keep those crucial ICU beds available.

And when you look at those French figures, I mean, that record that was set yesterday, two -- more than 208,000 new contamination in a single day. That is an astonishing rise on the previous day even, and the record that was set there or the record that was set on Christmas Day when we reached 100,000 contaminations in a single day for the first time since the pandemic began.

That's how fast this is changing, and how fast it's progressing. And what he also did was look across the channel to the United Kingdom, where the Omicron variant is already the one that is in the majority, and said this is going to happen in France as well.

And he said look, even if Omicron is three times less dangerous than previous variants, it is contaminating six to seven times more people. And of course, that will itself bring a natural pressure to bear on the hospital system. So, Olivier Veran very much warning that the massive rises that we're

seeing at the moment. Here in France, but in other European countries as well, Paula, following a similar trajectory, also seeing records smashed day after day.

That is inevitably going to lead to huge pressure on the health care system, and that's the World Health Organization warned about earlier this week, that Europe is heading towards another scenario where their health care systems again are going to be threatened. This time by an Omicron variant that is not as dangerous, but it certainly contaminating a lot more people, and a lot faster, Paula.

NEWTON: Yes, it is really difficult to fathom the rate of infection right now on so many continents. Melissa will continue to follow it there for us from Europe. I appreciate it.

Now with Russian forces keeping up military pressure on Ukraine, Presidents Putin and Biden are just hours away from their second high stakes phone call in less than a month. Details ahead.

And jurors at a sex trafficking trial reach a verdict after five days of deliberations. What's ahead for Ghislaine Maxwell.

[03:15:00]

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NEWTON (on camera): For the second time in just weeks, U.S. President Biden and Russian President Putin will speak by phone today, presumably about Ukraine, and apparently at the Russian leader's request. Now relations between the two global powers have reached a new low and are just getting worse over Russia's military buildup along Ukraine's eastern border.

Now what the White House warns could be a prelude to an invasion. Now today's call is expected to set the stage for next month's senior level negotiations in Geneva that is of course aimed at trying to defuse the Ukraine crisis.

We get the latest now from CNN's Jeremy Diamond.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Just weeks after U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin sat down for a video conference. The two leaders set to speak once again. On Thursday afternoon Eastern Time here in the United States, the two leaders will get on the phone to talk in particular about the tense situation at the Russian Ukrainian border.

We're told that this call came at the Russian president's request, and crucially it comes less than two weeks before U.S. and Russian officials are set to meet for security talks beginning the week of January 10th. So now the question is, what exactly can President Biden accomplish with this.

First of all, we're told that U.S. officials saw no reason to decline the invitation from the Russian president. Seeing no downside, particularly at what a senior administration official called a moment of crisis. Of course, the focus of this call is expected to be those tensions at the Russian-Ukrainian border.

And senior U.S. officials tell us that President Biden is going to try to and make clear to President Putin that U.S., first of all, is committed to meaningful diplomacy. To try and de-escalate tensions in that region. But also, to make clear what the costs for Russia will be, if indeed the Russian president decides to move forward with an invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. officials have made very clear that those costs will be severe financial and economic sanctions, that will go much further than anything the U.S. did in 2014 after Russia invaded and annexed Crimea from the Ukraine.

Ultimately, though, this phone conversation will also be about trying to determine what exactly can be accomplished during those security talks, set to begin the week of January 10th. The clear goal for U.S. officials from their perspective is de-escalating, and crucially having Russia drawdown its forces on the Ukrainian border.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, traveling with the president in Wilmington, Delaware.

NEWTON: British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell now faces the rest of her life in prison. A jury in New York convicted her of recruiting and grooming teenage girls so her late associate and former boyfriend, Jeffrey Epstein could sexually abuse them.

[03:20:08]

Her family had no comment as they left the courthouse but later said they firmly believe in her innocence.

Sonia Moghe now has reaction to the verdict.

SONIA MOGHE, CNN REPORTER: It was a momentous day for survivors of abuse by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. After she was found guilty for five of the six counts that she faces, including the most serious count, sex trafficking a minor.

Now many of these survivors felt a devastating blow after Epstein died by suicide in 2019 shortly after he was arrested on those federal sex trafficking charges. And this trial was a second chance for them to try to seek some sort of justice.

One woman who testified at the trial against Maxwell named Annie Farmer said that she was relieved and grateful to the jurors for finding her guilty of five of these counts. Saying in a statement, quote, "she has caused hurt to many more women than the few of us who had the chance to testify in the courtroom. I hope that this verdict brings solace to all who need it and demonstrates that no one is above the law. Even those with great power and privilege will be held accountable when they sexually abuse and exploit the young."

Meanwhile, Maxwell's family released a statement of their own saying that they are already working on an appeal, and believe that she will ultimately be vindicated. Maxwell's attorneys spoke to journalists outside of court shortly after the verdict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOBBI STERNHEIM, GHISLAINE MAXWELL'S LAWYER: We firmly believe in Ghislaine's innocence. Obviously, we are very disappointed with the verdict, we have already started working on the appeal and we are confident that she will be vindicated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOGHE (on camera): Maxwell faces up to 65 years in prison for these counts and she'll be sentenced at a later date. She also faces two separate perjury charges in a separate case.

NEWTON: Elie Honig is a CNN senior legal analyst and former assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. And he joins me now from New Jersey.

You worked in the office that prosecuted this case, why is this verdict significant, do you think?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: I did work there, and I'm proud of the work that the Southern District of New York has done here, because justice is far too long coming in this case. It took over a decade.

Let's remember, over a decade ago other federal prosecutors down in Florida they had a case against Jeffrey Epstein, they had a very strong case against Jeffrey Epstein but they decided to basically give him a free pass.

That came back to light when the prosecutor there, Alexander Acosta became one of Donald Trump's cabinet members and resigned over this. So, these victims, dozens of victims have waited well over a decade. Today is really the first moment where they've got to feel some true sense of justice.

NEWTON: And I'm glad that you mentioned the victims because you have to think about how difficult it was for them to come forward. You know, this case will surely be appealed, they've already indicated that it would be. In terms of the times that the jury took with this verdict, and the fact that she was not convicted on all charges, how might that impact the appeal do you think?

HONIG: As a prosecutor, you love that for appeal, because one thing you want to be able to say to your appellate panel your three judges who will hear the appeal is, this jury was not overly inflamed. They didn't just sort of rule in the heat of passion.

They were careful, they were meticulous. They spent dozens of hours, days upon days deliberating and they were careful the way they gave this verdict. They parse it out. They didn't just say guilty across the board, not guilty across the board. They said guilty of five of the six counts but not the six. You know, juries can be really unpredictable. I've had juries come

back for verdicts in one hour, I've had juries out for two weeks. Here, we fell somewhere in the middle, but I like that if I'm a prosecutor because I think it helps me on appeal.

NEWTON: You know, some have suggested that, perhaps, Ghislaine Maxwell was a scapegoat for Jeffrey Epstein, who is the real person who should've been prosecuted here.

HONIG: Yes, I think that's really hard to swallow, really hard to believe. I mean, look, a person can be a co-conspirator, can be a subordinate, can be the number two, that doesn't mean they're a scapegoat. And I think the jury firmly rejected that.

I mean, in order to buy that scapegoat argument, you'd, a, have to disbelieve basically all the evidence that the prosecution put on, including testimony from four different victims. And you'd have to just disbelieve your own common sense. I mean, jurors are allowed to use common sense here in our system, every judge tells every jury, you can use your common sense.

And I don't know how it will be plausible or believable that a person in Ghislaine Maxwell's position, a, had nothing to do with the sex trafficking network, and b, had no idea what Jeffrey Epstein was doing right in front of her face.

NEWTON: And like you said, a very deliberative jury decided that she was guilty on most of the charges. You know, Elie, many are disappointed here that there are many rich and powerful people who perhaps enabled Epstein, right? That they will face no consequences.

[03:24:58]

How difficult would it be for prosecutors to try and continue to pursue this case in any scope, given that perhaps what some of these people did may have been despicable, immoral, but the prosecutors have to prove that it was illegal.

HONIG: Exactly. So, I understand the frustration that a lot of people feel. I understand why a lot of the victims feel like this was an important victory today, but only a partial victory. Because this was more than a two- person operation. This was more than Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

Now, in order to bring other people to justice you would need a couple of other things. First of all, you would need a law that you could charge. Under federal law in the United States generally doesn't cover simply sexual. So, you need some sort of interstate transportation, or interstate enticement aspect of it.

Now that was present as for Maxwell, but it might not be present for men who had sex with underage women. So, you need to start looking at state laws. You also need to make sure that those state laws have not expired. We have statute of limitations here which say prosecutors only have a certain amount of time to charge these cases. So, something happened way back in the 90s, it could be out of time.

And the third thing, and really the most important thing you would need is prosecutors who are committed and willing to do this. You know, you would need a commitment from a state prosecutor, federal prosecutors, that we are going to go after these people and try to hold them accountable.

Now could Maxwell flip? Maybe. She could try, I mean, it's hard now that she's been convicted by a jury, but I worked at the Southern District of New York, I have cooperated with people after jury verdicts. But it has to go both ways, she has to be willing to come fully clean, and the Southern District of New York has to be willing to let her do that to believe that she's come fully clean and to cut her a deal.

NEWTON: Yes, so interesting, especially given the fact that she is facing a lot of years in prison right now. Elie Honig, thank you so much for your perspective on this. I appreciate it.

HONIG: Thanks for having me.

NEWTON: Still to come here on CNN Newsroom, rule breakers could fare embarrassing punishment in China if they're caught not towing the line when it comes to strict COVID protocols. Details from Beijing straight ahead.

And in Cape Town right now, you are looking at live pictures, mourners are gathering to honor the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, whose body you see it there is now lying in state. We will have a live report coming up.

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[03:30:00]

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PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): The body of revered South African archbishop Desmond Tutu is now lying in state. And you are seeing live pictures there from St. George's Cathedral in Cape Town where mourners, as you can see them are being allowed to pay their respects. Now Tutu's coffin was brought inside just a short time ago and his foundation says he asked for the simplest of coffins.

You see it there and he also wanted that donations be made to charities in lieu of flowers. Now the public viewing will be held today and on Friday. CNN's Larry Madowo is following all the events for us. And Larry, obviously a very dignified look both the coffin and the scene there at the cathedral. What kind of outpouring has there been for Desmond Tutu?

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, I have seen such diversity, the people coming to pay their respects to the arch as he was known using black and white, and brown people, Indians. People of the every age race and creed are coming, there are some are observing (inaudible) others are making the sign of the cross, others have been sobbing as they come and walk past that coffin.

He, according to his foundation wanted the cheapest available coffin and he asked that only a bouquet of carnations from his family to be only flowers at the cathedral. And I think he would be really proud of the kind of people who come by, at least in this past few hours to pay respects to him.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu crowned -- came up with a term the rainbow nation. This was his way of describing a post-apartheid South Africa where the different races all got along. And you see that in the people that are coming to pay their respects to him, he wasn't just an icon for black South Africa. He was an icon for all South Africa. A national treasure. But also revered well beyond the country, the continent and around the world.

And that's why you see even though the cathedral, the foundation, the government of South Africa encourage people not to travel to Cape Town because of current COVID restrictions. I am sure there people who had traveled from across the nation to be there to say goodbye to this anti- apartheid hero, who was considered a moral compass of South Africa.

NEWTON: Yeah, I'm sure some just feel absolutely compelled and think that they have to be there. You know, Larry, just as you are speaking about the diversity of the mourners, we can see it. We've just seen in the last few seconds, just in the few people that have passed in front of the coffin.

You know, can you give us some insight into what he would have wanted for post-apartheid South Africa because it is not been an easy few years in South Africa. And it's all just been exacerbated by the pandemic which might give rise to really -- to some pessimism there in the country despite the message of Desmond Tutu which was to really be hopeful.

MADOWO: He never stopped talking even after apartheid fell in South Africa, he was critical sometimes, even of his old friend, Nelson Mandela, when the African National Congress Party came to power in those early years he did criticize them for having this graded train mentality.

And more recently, he was critical of the president of Jacob -- the administration of Jacob Zuma and at the time I remember him saying that one day we will be praying for you to fell the way we prayed for apartheid to fell. And there were some within the ANC party would think both party should not be saying that.

In fact one head of the police at the time was now minister of South Africa said that Desmond Tutu should remember he's not voice of Jesus Christ. That's -- the fact that somebody who fought against apartheid but also was speaking out against any of the injustice he saw beyond the fall of apartheid.

He spoke to the kind of character and the clarity, the moral clarity that this man had. And that is why so many people have been devastated by his death. He is really the last of the generation of Nelson Medulla those who really sought that apartheid according to him was an unjust evil and un-Christian enterprise.

NEWTON: Yes, he was the platitudes everything that's been said about him certainly rings true even in those comments that you just explain for us there. I really appreciate you updating us with those certainly with those mourners coming to pay their respects their in Cape Town. I appreciate it.

Now the Chinese city of Xi'an is now on its eight day of lockdown. The COVID-19 cases there continue to rise. China reportedly -- reported 156 new locally transmitted infections on Wednesday and those are significant because are locally reported and not from travel.

[03:35:08]

And despite everyone being ordered to stay home, all but one of those infections were from Xi'an. Now China is taking drastic measures meantime, trying to stop further spread. We want to bring in our Steven Jiang now who is in Beijing has been following all this for us. We have been tracking some really disturbing video that shows authorities shaming people who are breaking those quarantine rules.

STEVEN JIANG, CNN PRODUCER (on camera): That's right Paula. These disturbing videos you mentioned depict an incident on Tuesday in the, a border town in Southern China where four people in full hazmat suits with placard showing their photos hang around their necks being paraded, being marched through the streets for allegedly helping others illegally crossing borders into China from neighboring Vietnam.

Now that is considered to be a heinous crime by local police because of China's continued border closure and increasingly tightened COVID rules. Now, you know, there were some recent local outbreaks blamed on illegal immigrants. So officials in those parts of the country are facing mounting pressure from Beijing especially ahead of the Winter Olympics.

But still these kind of disturbing images and videos have stirred strong public reactions because many people say it reminded them of one of the most repressive periods in recent Chinese history that is the culture revolution, you know, political fanatics during that period in the 1960s and 1970s where humiliating there so called enemies of the revolution in this manner.

So the local officials so far have very much defended their decision saying they need to do this to act as a deterrent but others including state media outlets have said this is in serious violation of the rule of law and should never happen again where critics really pointing out this is really exposing the dark and repressive side of China's zero- COVID policy, especially at the local level, Paula.

NEWTON: Yeah, and that video certainly disturbing and interesting to see that even state media has a different take on it. Steven Jiang for us in Beijing. I appreciate it.

Political fighting takes on a whole new meaning. Still ahead, anger gets the better of some lawmakers and a legislative debate turns into a slugfest. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:40:00]

NEWTON: 2021 has been a year that many Brazilians would have liked to have skipped. The pandemic took a heavy toll on the nation which also saw fires devastate parts of the Amazon and many critics are blaming President Jair Bolsonaro for mismanaging the situation.

CNN's Isa Soares has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Little Sara Gois (ph) was born this January in Brazil in the midst of a ravaging pandemic. But even an abundance of love wasn't enough to stop her daughter from contracting COVID-19. And despite all her pleas little Sarah died. She was only five months old.

SAMEQUE GOIS, LOST CHILD TO COVID-19 (through translator): When she died, when they gave us the news, I was able to hold her. I was able to feel her one last time.

SOARES: Loss and grief like the one experienced by Sameque Gois became all too common sight this year across Brazil. More so than many other countries.

ANA LUIZA BIERRENBACK, EPIDEMIOLOGIST: Kids have been dying more in Brazil since the original variant was here.

SOARES: One research group says misconception about COVID's impact on children, as well as inequality and access to health care made Brazil a COVID hot spot for the young. But other age groups suffered as well. Almost two years since Matthew lost his son to the virus, the pain continues to bring him to his knees.

His 25-year-old son, Uwu (ph), one in a sea of more than 600,000 lives lost in Brazil. His indignation and anger became harrowing testimony. One of many witnesses informing a parliamentary report on how the Brazilian government handled the pandemic.

The parliamentary committee blamed President Jair Bolsonaro directly for Brazil's massive death toll and recommended he be charged with crimes against humanity. As well as other charges for reckless leadership. Bolsonaro dismissed the parliamentary report as politically motivated and having no credibility.

Throughout the pandemic the Brazilian president continued to promote alternative treatments refusing the vaccine and forging ahead.

Bolsonaro was also criticized for his alleged attacks on the Amazon rainforest. CNN flew over some of this year's hardest hit areas to see the devastation for ourselves. From above, our cameras captured the damage of these increasing fires. The demarcated lines is a sign of human destruction at work, and the forest is cleared for agriculture or mining. There have been nearly 30,000 fires in the same area roughly a 50

percent increase from 2020 to 2021. Now compare these images with these over a five-year period.

UNKNOWN: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

SOARES: (Inaudible), is a spokesman for Greenpeace Brazil. He and other activist say the blame falls squarely on Bolsonaro.

Back in Brasilia, the president's policy also (inaudible) some of the key populous support that got him elected. Anna (inaudible) thought the right-wing leader would be Brazil's savior. But 2.5 years after Bolsonaro swept to power, this former fan is full of regret.

UNKNOWN: It was a mistake. It was the biggest mistake of my life.

SOARES: (Inaudible) is one of many to lose faith in the country's leader putting pressure on Bolsonaro ahead of presidential elections in 2022. With less than a year until the presidential election, Bolsonaro, who has been called the trump of the tropics got a re- election boost from the man himself.

In a recent statement, Former U.S. President Donald Trump calls him a great president who will never let the people of his great country down. And taking a cue from the Trump playbook --

UNKNOWN: Bolsonaro will win unless it's stolen by guess what? The machine.

UNKNOWN: The machines.

SOARES: Bolsonaro has been sewing doubt on the integrity of Brazil's entire electronic voting system calling for printed ballots to supplement electronically cast votes. And in doing so he had his eyes fully on the presidential prize.

[03:45:08]

JAIR BOLSONARO, PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL (through translator): I have three alternatives for my future. Being arrested, killed, or victory.

SOARES: A fight for political survival that t may indeed continue into the New Year.

Isa Soares, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Jordanian lawmakers took trading political blows to a whole new level getting into a fistfight on the parliament floor. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(BRAWL ON THE PARLIAMENT FLOOR)

(END VIDEO CLIP) NEWTON: The brawl broke out during a debate over constitutional

reforms Tuesday that would give more rights to women. With one conservative lawmaker calling the proposed changes as going quote, against morality and motherhood.

Now fists also did the talking in Kenya's parliament where one lawmaker suffered an eye injury during this brawl on Wednesday. He was attacked by the minority leader who was later suspended for five days. That was according to state media. Even after that other M.P.'s continued to scream and pound on table tops, ironically it all happened while they were voting on a law that regulates political party's conduct.

Now the U.S. is now seeing another surge in COVID cases fueled by that fast moving variant. What that could mean for plans to return to the offices in 2022. That's next.

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[03:50:00]

NEWTON: The World Health Organization is reacting to the CDC's decision to shorten the isolation period for people infected with COVID-19 and it's a move, of course, that's drawn criticism from some in the United States where cases right now are surging. WHO leaders say shortened isolation periods show the need to take the science of transmission seriously while also balancing the needs of society and the workforce required to keep it moving.

Juliette Kayyem is a CNN national security analyst, former assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and a Harvard professor. And she joins me now from Cambridge Massachusetts. OK. We're going to go way back now 2020 do you even remember, in May, the headline was never go back to the office.

And you posed the question, right? You said you might be thinking you might need to go back. But you pose the question when should you go back to the office? You shouldn't. So we are here right the end of 2021. We have this terrible variant, this virus, just rampaging through the world essentially. What is your take now for 2022 and what does it look like that return to work?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST (on camera): I feel like in 2020 I was like 17 years old, right. It feels like, you know, a lifetime ago. So the way I think about 2022 in particular for countries that are having sort of success with vaccination rates may not be perfect but are able to manage the worst consequences of COVID.

Because remember that success, we don't need to get to COVID zero, we just to get it in to a place where you get it or I get it, it may be like a little flu or something. And so we're in a much better place than we are now with treatments and everything else.

So if you view it that way, then 2022 is what I call, sort of adaptive recovery year. And so that should be good. In other words we have the tools to recover. But it's going to be different every day. That's why I called it adaptive recovery because it's going to depend on what is out there in the world. Are you having high infection rate? Does your entire workforce get sick?

And so what is happening, what you are seeing happening is first the delays and the return that we are (inaudible) to work that were anticipated in early 2020 or getting extended out a little bit. And then you're likely to see openings and then closings depending on what's happening with the workforce.

We have to be very adaptive in 2022 but remember that's towards a pretty good finish line. I mean, in other words it's going to be really dark days ahead but part of that is because, you know, basically we are now learning to live with a virus, hard to imagine and not simply die by it which was the only option we had in 2020.

NEWTON: Yeah and I understand and I hear in your voice, there's a lot of optimism there. I think there was a lot of yo-yo, you know, we are going back to the office, we are not going back to the office. OK. We're going back to the office but not just yet.

KAYYEM: Yeah.

NEWTON: There has been not just a lost to that corporate culture, right? But we have to talk about learning loss, right? You're a mother, you're also an instructor. At what point do we have to make that critical shift? And I know the way you analyze these things to say look it's now worth the risk. We need to get back to a more normal life.

KAYYEM: Exactly. That is exactly right. I just -- you know, the idea that people still talk about risk elimination is just ridiculous because it just assumes that there's no consequences for deciding to, you know, have the most aggressive public health policy.

And I think what you're seeing now in a number of country is sort of a recognition that they're making a risk calculation and because getting COVID does not necessarily mean death any more. It was a lot worse in 2020, of course. And so you're making those tradeoffs. So just call it risk minimization. Just trying to minimize the risks and the tradeoff in schools or of closing schools are too great at this stage.

We need to treat schools and education like critical infrastructure. You don't turn off the water. You don't turn off the electricity. You do not close down the school as a first measure. Maybe as a last measure if things are particularly bad at that school, in of itself, or a classroom. But the sweeping school district closures are not necessary.

NEWTON: And a good way to put it, right. To say that schools are critical infrastructure, like electricity and heat, that's the way we should we should look at. You know, before I let you go, the CDC, of course, shortening the time for isolation and quarantine. There is going to be some hefty disruption in many, many different spheres of work and life over the next few weeks. Do you fear that there could be risk to critical infrastructure if so many essential employees are kept home for too long? KAYYEM: I do. And I think, I actually applaud the CDC decision.

However, it came out whether they need to communicate it better. I think it's important that we do not view the tools that we had in 2020 and 2021 relevant for the future. We know that vaccinated and boosted people who get infected are only having flu-like symptoms.

[03:55:15]

So we need to begin to push the envelope a little bit to see, to not focus on what is the best public health advice. But what is the best public health advice in a society that needs to start moving forward. I recognize things are dark now but it is going to be much better next year.

NEWTON: And on that optimistic note we'll leave it there. Juliette Kayyem, thanks so much. I appreciate it.

KAYYEM: Thank you so much.

NEWTON: Really good to get her perspective there.

Now, California's Sierra Nevada Mountains are seeing record snows. The numbers are hard to believe. Oh my gosh, look at that. The area around Lake Tahoe has gotten more than 17 feet of snow so far this month, making it the snowiest December on record. And that's saying something. Officials actually hope the snow continues as the region we will remind you has been suffering from drought and melting snow will certainly help.

And speaking of snow, check out these remarkable images from South lake City, Utah. A series of small but intense storms known as snow squalls hit the city featuring strong wind gusts. The snow squalls are both beautiful and dangerous. Being Canadian you do not have to remind me of that.

I'm Paula Newton. Thanks for your company. Max Foster picks things up from here with "CNN Newsroom." He'll be here with you in just a moment.

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