Return to Transcripts main page
Connect the World
Biden-Putin Phone Call Today; India Sees 43 Percent Increase in New COVID-19 Cases; Mourners Pay Respects to Desmond Tutu; Declaration Drafted to End Korean War; Dubai Gears Up for New Year's Eve. Aired 10-10:40a ET
Aired December 30, 2021 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN HOST: On a war footing: England's National Health Service races to build capacity to handle an onslaught of Omicron cases.
And some good news may be coming down the pipeline for developing nations. We'll speak to the makers of a newly authorized vaccine in India.
Plus, it's complicated: U.S. President Joe Biden and his counterpart, Vladimir Putin, set to hold another call in just a few hours after months
of tension.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
GIOKOS: Hello, welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD live in Abu Dhabi. I'm Eleni Giokos.
Now the data from Europe tells a frightening tale. The coronavirus pandemic is far from over. France reported 208,000 cases positive in just the last
24 hours. That's not only the highest daily number in France but also in all of Europe.
Spain is also hitting a daily high, 100,000 cases in a single day. This as health officials reduce the number of days for COVID patients to quarantine
from 10 to 7. The head of the World Health Organization is calling for better cooperation to fight the virus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: This virus will continue to evolve and threaten our health system if we don't improve the
collective response.
Right now, Omicron and Delta are twin threats. I'm highly concerned that Omicron, being more transmissible, circulating at the same time as Delta,
is leading to a tsunami of cases.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: And here's that tsunami. The world is seeing a record high in the seven-day average of daily cases. The previous peak was back on April the
21st.
However, look at the dates from that day until now, there's a 50 percent drop. That's encouraging. But the number deaths globally has been flat
since mid October when the current wave of cases began.
The U.K. has been struggling to keep up with the staggering number of new cases, setting yet another new daily high on Wednesday with 183,000
infections. Hospitalizations are also rising sharply. The NHS is setting up temporary structures outside some hospitals, called surge hubs.
Salma Abdelaziz joins us from London.
These numbers are extraordinary.
When you hear messages like "we're on a war footing," what does this mean in terms of hospitalizations?
How are the cases translating into admissions?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We know over the course of the last two weeks, they've reported record breaking so many times I think I've lost
count how many times Omicron has broken records in this country.
Yesterday, yet again, more than 180,000 positive cases. You can imagine, if you are an NHS chief, a boss at the National Health Service, you are
looking at those numbers, you are extremely worried.
You simply don't know how many positive cases will translate into people winding up in hospitals in a few days' or a few weeks' time. We do know
Omicron is milder. But when you look at such huge numbers, the proportion of people that do get extremely sick might still be a high number of
people.
What does National Health Service do?
They say they have been preparing for a potential wave of Omicron patients. Eight hospitals around England will set up temporary structures. Each of
these structures will be able to provide support for up to 100 patients. So that's 800 extra capacity.
We know DHS is working on 4,000 surge beds across England. So really big numbers here that we're looking at. Very serious plans in place for
potentially a very large wave of Omicron patients that, of course, these NHS bosses are worried about.
Another indication of their worry is they're reopening potentially the Nightingale Hospital, this temporary structure, where patients can be seen.
[10:05:00]
ABDELAZIZ: All of this comes as we see a rise in hospitalizations across England. So a rise of 65 percent over the course of the last week,
according to latest figures from the government on Monday.
Just to give you a marker of where we're at right now, there is more than 10,000 COVID patients in hospital. The last time we saw a number that high,
it was March of this year during a very serious wave.
GIOKOS: Yes, exactly. When you hear the WHO saying Delta and Omicron together poses a risk, that is the big fear in the next few weeks. Thank
you so much for the update.
For a second day in a row, India is seeing an enormous increase in new COVID cases. It's reported more than 13,000 new infections Thursday, a more
than 40 percent jump over the day before.
But Indian political parties are in full campaign mode, holding big rallies ahead of legislative elections in five states early next near. Ivan Watson
says there is a concern they could make the COVID situation a whole lot worse.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NARENDRA MODI, INDIAN PRIME MINISTER: (Speaking foreign language).
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): India's prime minister on the campaign trail, addressing packed crowds in Uttar
Pradesh, a key political battleground.
With elections due to start here early next year, Narendra Modi has made seven trips to India's most populous state in December alone. At these
rallies, most, including the nation's leader, are not wearing masks. And little mention from Modi's ruling BJP of the COVID-19 pandemic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GILLES VERNIERS, POLITICAL ANALYST: And it seems unlikely that the BJP would want to take the risk to conduct the election in the aftermath of
another wave. On the other hand, they are reckless enough to push for holding an election during a COVID wave.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON (voice-over): But there are fears of a repeat of recent tragic history. This was the scene in New Delhi in spring 2021, crematoriums
working overtime, death tolls from COVID skyrocketing, hospital beds and oxygen in short supply.
With the health care system overwhelmed, critics accused Modi of putting politics before public health, after encouraging election rallies and large
religion gatherings, which would later be declared superspreader events by some experts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON (voice-over): Fast forward to today.
MODI (through translator): Omicron is a concern. Please don't panic but be careful and stay alert. Use masks as much as possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON (voice-over): Some Indian states have imposed measures to curb the spread of the new Omicron variant. But despite urging caution, the national
government has yet to announce any restrictions on large public gatherings.
As cases rise, only 41 percent of India's population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19. As the nation's political parties come out to campaign,
public health officials are sounding the alarm.
V.K. PAUL, INDIAN COVID-19 TASK FORCE HEAD (through translator): If India observes the same pattern as the U.K. and if you compare the same
population of both countries, 80,000 daily cases in the U.K. would mean around 1.4 million daily COVID cases in India.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON (voice-over): They worry the election cycle could fuel a fresh wave of new infections.
DR. DHIREN GUPTA, SIR GANGA RAM HOSPITAL (through translator): People might not get tested if the symptoms of this variant are not visible. So
there are more chances of the election rallies becoming superspreader events.
But there is no doubt that we should postpone these rallies for the at least two months. Prevention is the best cure for India.
WATSON (voice-over): In the spring of 2021, India's health care system buckled under the pressure of its second coronavirus wave, which peaked at
some 400,000 recorded daily cases.
Since then, the government has increased the number of ICU beds and bolstered oxygen supplies. But it's still an open question how hospitals
will cope if there's a new wave of Omicron infections.
MODI: (Speaking foreign language).
WATSON (voice-over): For now, prime minister Modi's message is clear: when it comes to casting ballots, the show must go on -- Ivan Watson, CNN,
Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: CNN has reached out to the ruling BJP Party regarding the decision to allow live political events to continue. We've not received a response
and India's political parties have said elections should take place as scheduled, with more polling booths and more distancing while abiding by
current COVID protocol states have in place.
The election commission said today that state health officials have been told enough people have been vaccinated and more are vaccinated each day.
[10:10:00]
GIOKOS: It said it will issue guidelines on rallies once formal election dates are announced.
Some COVID-19 vaccines may help -- sorry -- help may be on the way for the world's lower income nations. Scientists in Texas have deployed what they
say is an inexpensive and easy-to-make vaccine. And it's just been authorized in India for emergency use.
It's called Corbevax. It was tested in 3,000 people in two trials. It's highly effective at preventing sympathetic illness and there were no
serious adverse reactions.
All right, the designers of the vaccine join me now, Drs. Peter Hotez and Maria Elena Bottazzi of the Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine
Development.
Great to have you both on. I'm sure you're elated with the emergency use in India. But just so the viewers understand, we're talking about technology
that uses a live virus in a difference to what we've seen with the mRNA vaccines. Give us a sense of how this differs to what we see from Johnson &
Johnson and a newer vaccine, Novavax.
DR. MARIA ELENA BOTTAZZI, TEXAS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL CENTER FOR VACCINE DEVELOPMENT: Yes, good morning. Hi, Eleni.
Nice to be with you, Peter.
So our technologies are common and protein technologies doesn't use the live virus. It differs because it's a very conventional mode of producing
vaccines that is very well known amongst many manufacturers around the world, including biological E, because it mimics the process of how you
make the hepatitis B vaccine.
So that makes it very highly scalable. We already have a lot of knowledge about safety of these recombinant proteins. And with the correct
formulation, we are now seeing really good results in its efficacy against COVID-19.
GIOKOS: So Dr. Hotez, I want you to jump in here. You've said it is inexpensive and it's a lot easier than what you see from an mRNA vaccine.
Why then did we see the introduction of a harder-to-make, more complicated technologically and more expensive at the start of the pandemic?
Why didn't pharmaceutical companies just rely on older technology?
DR. PETER HOTEZ, PROFESSOR AND DEAN OF TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: I think because the -- a lot of the incentive funding was coming
for speed and innovation. And the idea was, you can make a piece of mRNA very quickly and then immunize populations in the United States and Western
Europe.
The problem with technologies like mRNAs, it's brand-new technology, never been scaled before. And there was never that situational awareness to
realize we need 9 billion doses for the Southern Hemisphere or South Asia, subsaharan Africa and Latin America.
So all the attention was on speed and innovation and vaccinating the global north without due consideration for the world. Now we're paying the price
for that. That's why Delta has arisen in India, among an unvaccinated population; Omicron out of southern Africa.
In contrast, what always we've done in our group at Texas Children's Hospital is make vaccines that can be produced locally and at large scale
and inexpensively and has a great safety record.
So as Maria Elena points out, older recombinant protein technology and now we can vaccinate the world. We have licensed it to India, Indonesia,
Bangladesh, Botswana, and India is the furthest along. Now they have 150 million doses, ready to roll and are going up from there.
GIOKOS: Doctor, I want to touch on that, you are talking about a patent- free vaccine, licensing, when you said you are working with certain countries already.
Are you saying, as you come in with no IP whatsoever, that it hasn't been patented?
Or are you going the licensing route?
If you haven't got an IP on this, that also opens the risk for counterfeits and creates a lot more issues.
HOTEZ: Well, what we do is we will provide the production cell bank to the organization if our due diligence shows they have the capacity to develop
it.
So -- and what we do is we help in the co-development. So it's not just licensing; it's we provide the production cell bank. We help them in the
assays and the code development. We are on calls with all of these developers weekly. So that's the way you do it, if you are really committed
to vaccinating the world's poorest countries.
GIOKOS: Maria Elena, I want you to jump in here. What I find fascinating is, you know, the efficacy and safety guidelines that you put out based on
your trials.
In terms of efficacy, the trial shows it has 90 percent efficacy against the ancestral strain found in Wuhan and again 80 percent on Delta.
[10:15:00]
GIOKOS: Do we have any information on how it responds to Omicron?
BOTTAZZI: Very good question. I think, like every other group is trying to address that, you know, indeed, in that situation, we are currently in our
laboratories. As you know, we do a lot of the preclinical evaluations. We are arduously not only producing now a protein that mimics the Omicron
version of the variant, we're also working with these technologies called pseudovirus technologies to evaluate responses from the sera from patients.
The companies working on that so I think in the next two, three weeks, we will have a very specific answer toward that question. But seeing a little
bit of how it's behaving against the other variants, how a broad immune response is against Delta and Beta, we are very confident that not only
antibody responses but the cellular responses are going to hold.
And I think that's very good news for all the vaccines.
GIOKOS: Yes. Also, in terms of the immune response, it only drops by 30 percent after six months, by comparison an 80 percent drop in terms of
other vaccines.
Are you thinking about a booster shot right now down the line?
Can you give me a sense of what your trials are showing you?
BOTTAZZI: Absolutely. In fact, I think, paired with the announcement of the emergency use in India, Biological E did get a nod from the agencies to
be able to pursue a booster study, which is probably going to really address what you are just saying.
Can we take individuals that were previously infected or that had received a prior vaccine scheme?
If you can use the recombinant protein technology as additional booster strategy. I think the other thing that is exciting is they are almost
getting ready to complete the pediatric studies. You know the authorization is for 18 years and older. But they already have under their belt a study
for 5-year olds above.
And I think by the end of February, we're going to start seeing some of that data, too.
GIOKOS: That's encouraging.
Dr. Hotez, the U.S. CDC came out with a cautionary against vaccines -- Johnson & Johnson vaccines in terms of contraindications and gave a rubber
stamp for the preference for mRNA.
Then, of course, you know, scientists on the African continent that preferred the Johnson & Johnson say this could actually impact their
rollout on the continent.
What is your view in terms of getting a rubber stamp from your vaccine from the FDA?
Is that going to be an important step for you down the line, given the fact you've seen the CDC taking preference for certain vaccine manufacturers?
HOTEZ: Well, this is the point, right?
I mean these, Moderna, Pfizer, BioNTech, Novavax, J&J were heavily subsidized by the U.S. government. We were not beneficiaries of that. So we
were on our own having to raise the money from other sources.
And that was a real struggle. And so right now we do not have a U.S. partner, even though we think it has a lot of attractive features for the
U.S. So we focus on our strengths and where we can make the biggest contributions and that's focusing on the world's low and middle income
countries right now.
GIOKOS: So you are not going to ask the FDA for emergency use in the U.S. right now?
That's not on the cards for you?
HOTEZ: If we find a U.S. partner that's interested in taking it through, then, yes, we'd be very interested. But right now, we don't have that.
GIOKOS: You called this the world vaccine that's going to fill the gap that's left so many emerging markets and poorer countries with a vaccine
deficit. But this means you need knowhow, sterile labs, we're talking hundreds of millions of dollars of investment for a single piece of
infrastructure.
How are you going to play a role in executing this?
It's great you are aligned in licensing but there is so much infrastructure that needs to come as well.
HOTEZ: You are absolutely right. What we are doing is we are partnering with organizations in lower and middle income countries that already have
the know-how to produce things like the Hep B vaccine because we use similar technologies.
That's why it started in India, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Botswana. But now Vietnam has this technology, Brazil has it.
And also, we build capacity. We invite scientists from all over the world to teach them how to make a vaccine. You can't walk into Merck or GSK and
say, teach me how to make a vaccine. But you can with us. So that's another very important role we've built.
GIOKOS: Well, we look forward to seeing how the rollout goes. Dr. Hotez, Dr. Bottazzi, thank you very much for all the time and all the best.
Just ahead, remembering the conscience of a nation.
[10:20:00]
GIOKOS: We'll take you live to Cape Town, where a hero of South Africa and an icon of human rights is lying in state.
And later, a parliamentary brawl in Jordan; we will explain that touchy topic pushed these politicians to resort to hand-to-hand combat. We'll
explain in just a moment.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
GIOKOS: A simple pine coffin and social distancing to keep mourners safe, the body of Archbishop Desmond Tutu is lying in state in Cape Town, where
South Africans are paying their last respects to the anti-apartheid leader. His casket will remain there until his funeral on New Year's Day.
He is being honored by a week of memorials and tributes after he spent decades fighting apartheid. Back in 1994, when South Africa held its first
democratic election, its first president Nelson Mandela described him as "the voice of the voiceless."
The world lost the human rights campaigner on Sunday when he died at the age of 90. David McKenzie is in Cape Town. He joins us live.
Thank you so much for joining us. This is one of many days of remembering the Arch, remembering what Desmond Tutu stood for. And his wishes are being
adhered to; he picked his hymns and he also wanted the cheapest coffin.
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Eleni, he was deeply involved in his own planning and had that poignant moment on Thursday might in Cape Town, with
the simple coffin at his request, proceeding down into St. George's Cathedral, where, for two days, the public can go and pay their respects to
this anti-apartheid icon.
Really it is, he was one of the few great icons. He will be in the pantheon of names like Nelson (INAUDIBLE) and Steve Biko. Desmond Tutu is there with
those anti-apartheid icons. And it is a closing chapter for South Africa; still, two days of paying respects.
Our team witnessed families coming to say that, really, he was the conscience of the nation. He always, one woman said, told it like it was.
He never tried to skirt away from the truth. And he has deep respect for that in this country, even if sometimes he grated against the rulers of
this nation.
On Saturday there will be a funeral at St. George's Cathedral. It will be reduced in number because of COVID regulations.
[10:25:00]
MCKENZIE: And it will be in keeping with his humble nature. A bouquet of carnations from the family will adorn the casket and that is really the
only decoration as far as I can tell that will be there. And it will be a moment for people to reflect what this man meant to the country, in a city
that was defined by him and defined his actions during apartheid.
GIOKOS: David, you know, South Africa, as you said, is sort of closing a chapter on some of the Freedom Fighters. We've lost so many over the last
few years. Yet their lessons and messages resonate quite deeply.
It's quite an interesting time in the country, where you've got low economic growth. You've got a political situation, where many people are
feeling unhappy.
What do you think his death will symbolize in terms of the younger generation and his legacy will be absolutely vital for people going
forward?
MCKENZIE: Well, Desmond Tutu was deeply involved in politics. But he was never a politician. He was a clergyman. And his activism, he always said,
was rooted in his faith, the Anglican Christian faith. So he, as I said, told it like it was.
During the apartheid, anti-apartheid, struggles, he was often in the church, leading sermons, heavily criticizing particularly the police of the
apartheid state.
But then when democracy came -- and he called it the rainbow nation of the world, this country -- he was ready to criticize the government, where he
saw it go astray, particularly during the years of former president Jacob Zuma.
Famously, he wasn't invited to speak at Nelson Mandela's funeral, seen as a snub and a sign that the critics, even those seen as real stalwarts of
anti-apartheid struggle, weren't welcomed in the fold of politics.
There has been a change with the new president, Cyril Ramaphosa, who has really lauded him as the icon that he is, visiting his widow and saying
that South Africans should celebrate this man, who did so much to keep everyone in this country on the right path, as he saw it.
What does it mean for the country going forward?
Well, it is a sad passing. And that moral voice will be lost, even though he has been out of the public eye for many a decade. You always felt that
he was there in the background, ready to chime in with some blunt words and some voice of reason. That, now, will be lost forever.
GIOKOS: Absolutely, Just knowing he was around in the background, watching, there was a bit of comfort in that. David McKenzie, thank you
very much.
Still ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD, why did the Russian president ask for a call with the U.S. president?
We'll talk about that up next.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:30:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
GIOKOS: Welcome back. I'm Eleni Giokos. This is CONNECT THE WORLD in Abu Dhabi.
As tensions between Moscow and Washington intensify, presidents Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden are scheduled to talk by telephone later on Thursday.
This comes one day after President Putin met with the Belarusian leader, Alexander Lukashenko.
The U.S. and NATO allies fear Moscow are preparing to invade Ukraine again. We have Nic Robertson live from Moscow.
Do we know what this call could be about?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: From the Russian perspective, it's because the negotiations will be complicated, according
to the Kremlin. And from the Kremlin's point of view, when President Biden and Putin talked a few weeks ago in early December, the Russian president
said he would come back to Biden with a set of, you know, issues.
And they did. They came back with a long document, a couple pages long, with about 8 points on it and some very contentious points that NATO should
not allow Ukraine to become a member, that NATO should refrain from basing troops and military hardware inside Ukraine, that NATO should roll back its
eastward expansion.
So these will be tough issues to negotiate, come January 10th, very tough. I don't think we can underestimate that.
But from the view of the Kremlin, it was important for Presidents Putin and Biden to have this call in a few hours' time to rehash, go over and perhaps
lay out some more ground rules.
The U.S. has said clearly, they don't think the Russians are doing the right things to have talks that will be productive. They say Russia is not
deescalating tensions and an atmosphere of deescalation is the way to, you know, is the way to at least get the talks off to a good start.
So perhaps there can be a discussion about that as well. President Biden said he is willing to take the call because it's good to have leader to
leadership calls and here in Moscow, President Putin will take a call if President Biden asked for it.
The Russians still say they think all of this can be done through talks, they have no intention of invading Ukraine, they want to have a
conversation.
So yes, they're going to go over that. We've talked about it a lot. This is them, the leadership, talking point to point. Talks are still almost 1.5
weeks away themselves, the main talks. A lot can happen in that time.
GIOKOS: It's interesting, because a U.S. official has said that there has been no real effort that they can see of Russia trying to lower tensions,
to deescalate. The Russians say they don't agree with this. So clearly, they're going into these conversations with very different views and
perspectives.
Is this an effort by the Russians to try and show them they do want to cooperate?
ROBERTSON: Well, at one level, yes. What the Russians have done here is create the conditions whereby United States and NATO have to address what
Russia says are long-running security concerns by NATO's eastward expansion.
This is something that's been going on for decades, since the end of the Cold War, when the Iron Curtain came down and the Soviet Union ended. And
countries like Ukraine, a part of the Soviet Union, and countries like Poland, that have been on the eastern side of the Iron Curtain, all had the
opportunity to say, you know, as independent states, that whether or not they wanted a joint NATO.
Russia has watched this happening over the decades and has felt increasingly threatened by it. And this is the moment where Putin has
created the conditions and the momentum and the imperative to have this conversation.
Is he going to get what he wants?
If you ask European diplomats at the moment, there is no way he can reach some of his demands.
GIOKOS: Nic, thank you very much for that update.
Let's get you up to speed on other stories on our radar right now.
South Korea's prime minister says Washington and Seoul have agreed on a draft declaration ending the Korean War.
[10:35:00]
GIOKOS: North Korea has yet to respond but recently dismissed such a declaration is seen as premature and slams U.S. policies as hostile.
An armistice in 1953 brought fighting to a halt but didn't formally end the conflict.
A fist fight erupted in Kenya's parliament, leaving one lawmaker with an eye injury. He was attacked by the minority leader, who was later suspended
for five days. Ironically, it happened while they were voting on a law that regulates political parties' conduct.
And different nations, same spectacle: earlier this week, some politicians in Jordan threw physical and verbal punches during a debate on women's
rights. Gender equality has been a contentious topic. CNN's Arwa Damon explains what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was quite a chaotic scene inside Jordan's parliament during what should have been a debate
about a proposed constitutional amendment.
This constitutional amendment would have seen Jordanian citizens referred to not just in the masculine but in the feminine as well. It's part of a
package of reforms aimed at modernizing Jordan, reforms backed by the Jordanian king.
But instead of talking about the issue, parliamentarians instead ended up trading insults and exchanging blows.
So what is the key issue?
It boils down to women's rights. There are concerns, fears among some parliamentarians, that this change could end up leading to changes in
Jordan's citizenship law and in its inheritance law.
Right now as it stands, Jordanian women are not allowed to pass on citizenship to their children. When it comes to inheritance, that is based
on the sharia law and quite often does see a larger share given to a man than to a woman.
Jordan's religious conservatives fear any movement toward full equality for women could lead to more freedom over women's own bodies and that could
then end up damaging certain societal and family norms and traditions and lead to "shameful" behavior.
Women's rights activists say there is one objective only: that is to ensure that Jordan's female population has the same rights as its male one
-- Arwa Damon, CNN, Istanbul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: COVID cases are rising across the UAE. Still, Dubai is moving ahead with its New Year's Eve spectacular. Hear why after the break.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:40:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
GIOKOS: So Dubai is going full steam ahead for New Year's Eve celebrations. The vaccination rate is high, tourism is thriving and Dubai
is planning to ring in the new year in style.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS (voice-over): From bustling restaurants, to packed beaches ...
KENNETH, SWISS TOURIST: It looks like it's not even in a pandemic, although everyone is wearing a mask. But I feel like it's really like we
are getting back to normal.
GIOKOS (voice-over): While the Omicron variant is shutting down countries around the world, record numbers of tourists and visitors are flocking to
Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
At the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, teams prepare for the over the top fireworks and laser light show. Dubai does nothing small. This
year, New Year's Eve revelers will need to register via an app to view the show in downtown Dubai.
Spurred by one of the highest vaccination rates and strict government mandates, Dubai has become a tourist's go-to hot spot.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are here in the pandemic. It's a lot of people here. But we are masked. We have a COVID-19 passport and all of that.
GIOKOS (voice-over): According to the Dubai department of tourism, international visitors reached over 1 million in October. Hotels in Dubai
recorded a 16.8 percent surge in occupancy in the first 10 months of 2021. The UAE has reported that 99 percent of all those eligible for vaccines,
anyone over 12, has received at least one dose.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are surprised because (INAUDIBLE) people here, so I'm a little bit afraid (ph) to test positive here. Let's hope not.
GIOKOS (voice-over): Hosting the World Expo has also been a draw to Dubai this year; visits crossed the 6.3 million mark as of mid-December. But as
the party continues in Dubai, with the world hunkering down, this luxury travel destination will keep pushing forward and, as they say, the show
must go on.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: That looks like a lot of fun.
(WORLD SPORT)
END
