>> more than four days into one of the worst holiday storms on record. make no mistake, it is not over yet. the weather outside is still frightful and

in places, still potentially deadly. pamela brown here in for anderson tonight. it is hard to imagine that some parts of western new york could see another foot or more of snow on top of the nearly four feet you see in these pictures on your screen. winter storm warnings there and else well, still in effect. buffalo's airport, still closed. the entire eastern part of the country, still in a deep freeze. almost 4000 flights canceled today. nearly 2600 tomorrow. nationwide, at least 49 people have lost their lives in this massive storm. 27 and in the buffalo area alone. we have live reporting from cnn's polo sandoval and lucy kavanaugh and denver international airport. let's start tonight with polo sandoval who has been right there in the worst of it from day one. paula, what is the latest on the ground? >> today, those rescues also continued. in fact, governor kathy saying that police officers carried

out some 550 rescues at least over the weekend. but we also learned about this, one of the most dramatic once. this one happened 12 miles north of buffalo in the town of towaloondah. it took -- they came upon a bus transporting some 60 d. c. bound tourists. that bus, it was stuck in the snow. those officers would later find out that that bus was only a foot away from potentially slipping into a ditch. they had to quickly, essentially leading those 60 tourists through knee-deep snow to a nearby warming center. those 60 tourists potentially making it there -- on the right to their final destination. it really is, pamela, just one of many examples of first responders scrambling through the snow to help people during the height of the storm. >> this is the worst it has been. >> in buffalo, new york, it is being called the most devastating storm ever. >> we

are in a war. this is a war with mother nature. she has been beating us with everything she has. >> in a region that is used to harsh winter weather, this is worse. >> we deal with snow all the time. the conditions were different because with the gusts of wind, i could tell you, firsthand, zero visibility. i can see two feet in front of my vehicle. >> up to 43 inches of snow, hurricane-force winds, and hundreds of vehicles stuck. >> there was fires everywhere. >> buffaloes roads still impassable in most areas. >> it is been crazy, the snowbank is taller than me on my front lawn. >> more than 500 rescues, some people were trapped in cars for days before they were found by rescue workers. >> going into homes, going into vehicles and too many tragic times, find people who did not survive the experience. >> in the western york region, power substations are frozen and elections he's out. thousands of people left without heat. >>

conditions were deteriorating so bad, maybe about two degrees every ten minutes. >> one family trying to get their children to a hotel, they were rescued from the car by the airport fire department. >> he open his window, he said please don't leave us. i said don't worry, i promise i will leave you. >> elsewhere in the city, looters were taking advantage of the crisis. >> people who were out leading when people are losing their lives in this harsh winter storm, it is absolutely re-apprehensible. >> as buffalo tries to dig out, more snow is in the forecast. >> it is just been two days, it feels like it's been two weeks. >> so polo, you say there is more snow in the forecast, tell us more about any potential severe weather that is coming there in the coming days? >> the forecasters here expecting another brisk and cold day tomorrow. obviously, less snow, roughly 3 to 6 inches expected tomorrow. also that persistent

snow band coming in off the lake, is expected to shift south. then eventually in -- it will be back over buffalo. there is hope that when it returns, it will be in a week in state. you there is some, light at the end of the tunnel. forecast calling for temperatures in the 50s come this weekend. something that many people are waiting for after this weekend. >> i'm sure it will be welcome, polo sandoval, thank you so much. for a closer look at what it is still on the front lines. we're joined now by nate martin, commissioner of public works for the city of buffalo. commissioner moncton, what is the situation like on the ground in buffalo now and where did the search and rescue efforts stand? [laughs] -- >> thank you, good evening, i appreciate the opportunity to update buffalo. the conditions are exactly what you just heard, we have been hit with a blizzard, none the likes that buffalo seeing. with those high winds and snow amounts, it has devastated the city. from that standpoint, the storm, the main part of the storm has come

through and now we have some closing snow of the storm that we are still trying to deal with. overall, we have taken a really big hit from a search and rescue standpoint. we are continuing to undergo those operations in cooperation with state police. and the emergency operation center here in the area. those are ongoing still to this day. our dp w and all the first responders are collaborating on trying to get to everybody who still might be out. >> it's been amazing to see how they can overcome so many challenges in this weather. those first responders, and we have heard from so many officials that they expect the death toll to climb. is that still the current thinking, do you have any expectations about how high it could reach? >> we don't have an expectation of a number at this point in time, we do expect it to rise as we continue to dig out some of those cars. the drifts of snow or multiple feet high over top of cars. driving around the city, as i've been, certainly these last few days as the

storm subsided, the drifts of snow that enveloped cars were really wreaking havoc around the city. the search and rescue will continue and we anticipate to find more, i don't have a number on that but one is too many. to say the least. >> absolutely, at what point -- there were more than 20,000 people without power in buffalo, so where does that stand now and when you expect electricity to be fully restored? >> you are right, at one point we had a little over 21, 000, we've been working very closely with national grid, our streets and plow team. certainly working with resources from the county in the state involved, but through our efforts, right now the latest number we have is 7500, still without power. that

is a lot of people still to be restored. but, we are working on that. there has been substantial damage to a number of the substations, pulls down, wires down. it is been, across our entire area, all parts of the city were affected with the storm. the power outages are scattered throughout the city. >> what is your message in closing to people of buffalo tonight about what they should and should not be doing right now? >> well, from a standpoint, we are focused on getting each and everybody who has a need. emergency personnel, our search and rescue teams across the city, state, and county resources, and our first responders. we are still coming to those who are in need. if you are in need, we want you to call that in and we will work our way towards you. importantly, anyone who is here

and is safe, we need you to stay home and stay off the roads. from a standpoint, we need to get in, get our equipment, we have a lot of resources coming in to clear the streets and get the snow out. it is not just the snow plowing operation, it is a lift and haul operation. there's a lot of work to do, we have seen a lot of people out on the roads, there are cars that we're dealing with because of the storm. we have to clear the road, we've cars, it is helpful if we have everybody to stay off the roads to allow our equipment to do that work and to get to those. that is most critical part still this time. >> commissioning martin, we don't have as you are, thank you for your time tonight. >> thank you very much. >> and more now on flight delays and cancellations which have been nearly as bad today as they were on day one of this mess. especially for southwest airlines, which is now canceled about two thirds of its entire schedule today. and more than 2400 flights tomorrow. lucy kavanaugh joins us now from denver international airport which is as we know a big destination for southwest as well as a major hub for united. so many frustrated passengers there today, how is it looking right now? >> not great, pamela. that is because denver

is leading the nation in terms of cancellations. 480 flights canceled today out of this airport southwest making up the large majority of those 460 flights. coming from southwest. this line of folks behind me is people trying to re-book, trying to get new flights out, trying to get compensation. it was sneaking on the corner for much of the day. a lot of folks went home because just a few moments ago, we heard an announcement on the pa system announcing that there will be no southwest rebooking seville-able until december 30th if you can believe it. and no new bookings available until at least january 3rd. people were told to leave this airport, some people did. the initially also said on the announcement that there would be no compensation for travel disruptions caused by weather and crew shortages. they then went back onto the pa to announce that people will be compensated at 100 percent. but

by then, this line grew a lot smaller. people have been walking around here. southwest crews or staff i should say handing out pretzels and water to make things a little bit more comfortable for people. but you can imagine, this is just awful. and of course, denver is not the only airport affected. the same delays taking place across the nation. the bulk of those cancellations coming from southwest. >> what a mess. lucy kavanaugh, thank you for bringing us the latest there. well, it goes without saying that in addition to all the airline workers putting in extra hours tonight, there are thousands of first responders to thank for their tireless work, saving flies throughout the storm. these next to the, they are firefighters, police officers, or until a cruise. yet, andrea and alex did more than just bring in a group of south korean tourists after the van they were in got stranded outside their buffalo area home, they also provided the kind of warmth that none of their visitors could have imagined when they knocked on their door. >> when she both did for

that group is just incredible. alex, walk us through what happened when you heard that knock on the door surely it wasn't what you expected. but is an understatement. pamela. the storm had already been raging for about two hours when we got a knock on the door and i assumed it was either stranded neighbor or perhaps my father in law, who lives close by, maybe he was coming home from a quick, last-minute trip to the store. they open the door and it was people unfamiliar to me, saying we are part of a tour and we need shovels to try and take out her vehicle i thought, oh no, this could be very serious and deadly. >> and you knew probably where it was heading right? that you would become, essentially an innkeeper for these guests. and andrea, i love this detail of

the story, that you and your husband, coincidently were both big fans of green food and you even had your first date at a korean restaurant. so already had a lot of staples stop to your house, what was your guests reaction when you started pulling out things like kimchi and been paced? >> i think they, it helped them to feel at home and comfortable, because when all of them started coming through the door, at first it was two people, and then the said we have several other people here with us. and then soon ten people were in our home, three of those people spoke english. and so i think when they saw my asian rice cooker and all of the various spices that we had and we all started to cook in the kitchen together, i think they quickly became comfortable. >> and you had enough food for everyone right? because you had been preparing for the blizzard, right alex, tell us a bit more about some of the dinners you all put together and what that was like when you all sat down have a meal. >> i think early

on, when our guests entered our house, there was, the belief that maybe the storm was about to blow over and they would just jump back in their vehicle and get on the way to towards niagara falls, which is in the best weather about a 30-minute drive from our home. so with the blizzard, it may as well have been in another galaxy. so once they kind of came in the house and saw that they might be here for a while, i pulled out from her freezer, all of our frozen chicken and a large pork shoulder that i had purchased on special a couple of weeks ago and all of a sudden that came in extreme handy and we had some natural born cooks in the group who were happy to prepare some exquisite korean entrées. >> so will you stay in touch with our guests do? you have any plans to visit them in south korea andrea?

>> absolutely. several of the guests said that we are more than welcome to come visit them. and, we may take them up on that offer. we really connected with them. they became like family to us. and we love to travel, we travel internationally and i think it would be wonderful to visit them in south korea. >> and you love korean food as well, so it seems like that would be the perfect trip and know you would have wonderful hosts there as well given your generosity over the christmas holiday. thank you so much andrea and alex company, thank you. >> miss brown, we are so appreciative for gusts but also of the emergency services personnel the police, the firefighters, and the volunteers that spent day and night taking care of people trapped in their vehicles in the freezing cold day and night. those are the real heroes in this blizzard of -- demonstrating why buffalo is called the city of the neighbors.

>> thank you for that. you are absolutely right. [speaking french] >> our pleasure. thank you. >> and much more ahead tonight, including breaking news. the first public comment from a congressman elect -- that probably over stated in his admission about it, which is arguably understated. details on that up next. later, on top of all the storm related power outages, there has been more sabotage at paris stations. still no answers yet as to who is behind it. we will be right back.

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>> it is not breaking news that polish and sometimes stretched the truth a bit or burnish their credentials. slightly, it is certainly unusual though for an elected official or anyone for that matter to have a resume like that of new york republican congressman elect george santos today. for the first time, he actually addressed the many questions about it. and that is breaking news. >> i want to make sure that if i disappointed anyone by resume embellishments, i am sorry. >> in addition to being his first public comments about his embellished resume, that could also be his first understatement about just how embellished it apparently is.

cnn's milley's noah joins us. what more did congressman-elect santos have to say about these questions over his history? >> this is the first time that santos admitted that he lied about key details in his resume. he said in an interview with the new york post and a local radio station that he did not actually work for citi group or for goldman sachs, even though previously on the campaign trail he said that he did. now santos is saying that he only worked for them through his company and so he called it a poor choice awards to suggest that he worked directly for those firms. but he also admitted that he never graduated from any college or university after previously claiming that he received degrees from both and what you, and through college. he said he was embarrassed and that essentially he just talked chalked up to embellishing his resume and everyone did it. essentially, he was trying to downplay this entire controversy. he said, while he is guilty of twisting the truth, he is not guilty of committing any crimes, take a listen. >> i'm not a criminal. not here,

not abroad, not in any jurisdiction, never have i committed any crimes. to get down to the needy gritty, i'm not a fraud, i'm not a criminal who defrauded the entire country and made up this fictitious character and run for congress. i have been around a long time, a lot of people know me. they know who i am, they have had business dealings with me. i'm not going to make excuses for this, but a lot of people overstated the resumes or twist a little bit or ingratiate themselves. i'm not saying i'm not guilty of that. >> now, santos did not answer questions about his charities, claims that he made about his heritage and questions about his financial disclosures and whether he followed proper protocols. there is still a lot there that we do not know that is unanswered for us. i suspect this will not quell the calls for him to not serve in congress. so far however, gop leaders are silent. >> well, we have to wait and see if it stays that way after this interview. did he say why he

made those statements in the first place? what was his reasoning for example saying that he graduated from these two colleges, and yet he never had a college degree. >> he didn't really give a reason other than trying to suggest that is a common trait to lie on your resume or to embellish a little bit. but pam, this is a big deal. he's about to serve as a member of congress, he misrepresented who he was. in normal circumstances, if someone lied on the resume, they probably would be fired. but in this case, is up to the voters to decide. if he chooses to stick around, there is not much anyone can do unless congress decides not to see him. but that is a decision of two gop leader kevin mccarthy and as of right now, like i said, he is silent. he probably needs every speaker vote he can get next week. >> yes, he does. i wonder if that's a factor in all this. melanie, thank you so much. perspective from scott jennings, former special assistant to george w. bush. also cnn political analyst and axios managing editor margaret. starting with you, congressman-elect santos has admitted to essentially fabricating his entire resume.

top to bottom. he downplayed it as resume embellishment, something we all do, we all embellish our residents. is that all this is? >> you can't believe anything he says. it is not just, not just job history, not just his educational history. even down to his claim that one of his company's lost for employees in a nightclub shooting six years ago, it turns out that is not actually true. there are people who were going to work for him. there are questions about his background in brazil, there is a myriad of questions, but the bottom line is, what could block him from being seated, probably nothing. there are age requirements and citizenship requirements to be seated in congress. as far as we know, he is still 34 and he's old enough to serve in that job. and then of course, remember kevin mccarthy does need his vote, he

needs every vote in the republican caucus to get his speakership. this really maybe an instance where the question is about ethics. again, the answer to that question right now may well be -- the attorney general has said that her office is going to look into investigating his background, but again this really may be an issue for voters two years from now. it's an astonishing story. the congressional district is one of the wealthiest in the country. these are very engaged voters. >> they were voting for someone based on a resume that was false, right? santos scott has vowed to be sworn into congress and serve his term. now as margaret laid out, there really is not a whole lot you can do to prevent that from

happening. do you think he should bow out or do you think that he should still move forward as he has said that he will do? >> honestly, if he had a shred of self integrity, he would not. he made up a whole story, sold to the voters and he got elected. if you really meant what he said in his interviews today, he would resign and then bring out his actual resume. and see what the voters had to say at that point. that would be the honest and honorable way to handle it, he's obviously not going to do that. you want to play cards with this guy. i do you think you want to see this guy put before the ethics committee. it strikes me that he may have financial disclosure issues. it also has the smell, the with of other issues that are about to drop. i don't know anything, we have reporters working on it, but you just get the feeling that even after all we learned today, there could be more. look, he's obviously not an honorable person, i doubt he

resigns. if the voters get a chance to deal with it in ten years, i'm sure they will. >> reporters are looking at everything, the financial disclosure is so much more because he has not addressed other issues that have come up as melanie said, even the charities that were listed on his resume. house republican leader kevin mccarthy so far hasn't addressed this controversy as we have laid out, more could come out. now that santos has admitted this, margaret, what do you think? can he continue to ignore this? >> i mean, he's certainly gonna be asked about this. every place he goes. what committee was this person on? if you are constituent and you are with him -- [inaudible] the real credibility side, in terms of what is going to happen, it certainly seems like he is going to be seated in the congress. >> margaret scott, great to see you, thanks for coming on tonight. and much

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to some extent, law

enforcement. two and, this latest incident, vandals, hit for substations near tacoma and they followed several other attacks over the last several weeks in washington and oregon as well as similar ones in mid carolinas earlier this month. authorities in washington state tells cnn that they have identified no motive or suspects. here to talk about these incidents and the larger threat that they could signify, cnn senior law enforcement analyst and former fbi deputy director andrew mccabe. so, andrew, what do you make of these most recent attacks in washington on christmas day and the fact that four different substations were targeted what. is the significance of this? >> pam, it is a really disturbing

elevation of a threat that we have been watching since really 2013. that was the year that there was this notorious attack on a pacific gaffes and electric substation near san jose, california. it was for all indicators a well-planned and a highly organized, structured attack committed by multiple individuals in which they cut the fiber optic cables to a substation and then fired numerous high powered military and rifle rounds at the transformers there. they did i think $50 million of damage and shut down 17 transformers. that case and still unsolved. it became in the domestic violent extremist circles that we follow online and in the chat rooms and things like that, it became under toria's attack, one that is famous for being highly effective, easy to do. and easy to get away with. and so now, we are looking at domestic violence extremists community that is considering attacks on substations as a way to strike back against the government, just right back against corporate america and

really anything they harbor grievance for. and with the goal to kind of, generate civil unrest. that is what many of our domestic violence extremists are looking to do. >> if this is the work of violent domestic extremists, why isn't this label domestic terrorism? especially considering the national, the potential national security implications. right now we just keep hearing that these were vandals that played a role in this and we know how hard it is for law enforcement to investigate this, they haven't i've done to fight any groups or suspects. what do you make of that? >> well, it is really tough pam, for law enforcement to come out and it and find something as a terrorist related attack, whether that is domestic or international terrorism, until they have some

sort of connection to a terrorist purpose let's say. if they know that an individual or group that has conducted this activity because it is in pursuit of some sort of ideological or political or social gain, then they will be able to do that. right now we just don't have any indicators on any of these recent attacks. they don't have suspects that we are aware of, they don't know they have any claims of responsibility or even online kind of credible claims of why these things are taking place. so right now they are really at ground zero in terms of the investigation. >> right. many of these areas, as we heard from the official -- on washington, they didn't have cameras so clearly a big tool that law enforcement could've used to help track down who was behind this, they don't have that. in terms of securing these types of facilities, there are thousands of these sites around the country. in this latest case in washington, authorities say the culprit just broke a lock to gain access. you described the other case where it was just very, sort of a mature the way they were able to break in. how

challenging is it to stop an attack like this one is there anything power companies and law enforcement can do? >> incredibly challenging, these places are by definition remote. in the middle of nowhere, no one is watching them. the sort of infrastructure, security infrastructure is not in place. the federal government can mandate changes, but that only applies to the big interstate carriers, not to the state and local level carriers. so it is a very tough situation for any government entity to put inconsistency charity requirements. >> andrew mccabe, thank you for helping us better understand this. we appreciate it. up next, christmas in kyiv in the remarkable way some of the trees were lit. also, a live report on the drone strike, deep inside russian territory. ukrainian president zelenskyy

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ukrainian president zelenskyy today again acknowledged how difficult the front line battle is against russian invaders. and he also thanked those working during the holiday to restore power after weeks of russian strikes in kyiv they defied the odds, lighting the city's christmas tree with generators even as millions remain without power. separately, russians defense ministry says three defense -- ukrainian drone was shot down deep inside russian territory. details on that now from cnn's will ripley. >> pam, the

ukrainian air force tonight is following just short of claiming official responsibility for yet another drone strike deep inside russian territory but they are certainly not denying it either. a spokesperson for the air force saying quote, this is just a consequence of what russia is doing, the relentless bombardment of civilian infrastructure targets that caused rolling blackouts affecting millions of people across this country in the dead of winter. now as far as this latest rhoden strike in their western port city of angle, along the vulgar river -- miles east of moscow, we know at least three servicemen were killed on monday. we also know this is a second don't attack on this area which includes a strategic bomber airbase. now russian -- stock down, we

cannot independently verify that claim. meanwhile in moscow, president putin is, well he is certainly getting a lot of skepticism not just here in ukraine but around the world for his offer, believed here in ukraine to be just ingenue as, to negotiate to an end to this war. talk about acceptable solutions in his words. adviser to president zelenskyy says that moscow doesn't really want to negotiate, they should want to avoid responsibility for their continuing attacks on civilians that ukraine says warrants them being kicked out of the united nations and the united nations security council where they are a permanent member with veto power. one of five. there's actually no mechanism written the u. n. charter to remove them so that is more of a political statement than an actual possibility at this stage. although, the ukrainians would certainly like to see some consequences at the u. n. for russia, because essentially they the power to veto any resolutions against them. meanwhile, here in kyiv, president zelenskyy calling for patients in -- from the ukrainian people and warning there will be some difficult and dark days ahead. when he

gave his christmas address he warned for the potential of russian retaliation. of course he didn't mention the drone strike but in general the ukrainians are worried that there could be some sort of make sure russian attack before the end of the year, after a bee pause over christmas. and dimitri medvedev, former president of ukraine, he is saying that russia will engage in this war until quote, the disgusting, almost fascist receive in kyiv is both removed and demilitarize which is certainly very different from putin saying he's going to negotiate. >> will ripley, thank you so much. more perspective now from senior military analyst, retired army lieutenant general mark hertling. hartling, you have heard that report there from will ripley. what is your reaction to the new strike on an air pace deep inside russian territory? >> let's call it what it is pam. angles to airbase near the city of sakharov, about 400 kilometers away from the front line, has several important factors regarding it. this is been an effective operational target now twice for the ukrainian military and it is important for multiple reasons. first, it shows russia they've no safe haven and they must defend their facility wherever they are. secondly it shows ukraine has a strike capability that russian didn't know about. third and most importantly, angles to his the base for the tee one 60 aircraft that. is

something called the back buyer bomber and that airplane has a standoff capability and it is able to launch multiple cruise missiles. these are the missiles that have been launched from outside the territory in ukraine to affect the infrastructure within ukraine and that is why ukraine is targeting. but finally the most important part, there are reports tonight that this aircraft has now been moved further to the east in russia, 4000 miles away from the ukrainian border. that is three time zones and if so, it will require russia to launch those aircrafts using a lot more fuel and be able to be picked up. so it is all critically important. >> that is the practical military effect in the. meantime of putin saying on sunday, that he is ready to quote, negotiate with everyone involved in this process about acceptable solutions and quote with regards to the war in ukraine. you have actually,

shall we say, a negotiated with russians, what did that experience tell you about putin's intentions? i >> certainly haven't negotiated with mr. putin and himself. but i have negotiated with some of his military officers, his generals and some of his administrators and defense officials. what i will tell you is this. i learned valuable lessons pamela. first of all, they lie. second of all, they will never negotiate evenly and third of all, they do finally negotiate, you think they have a deal, they will reneged on that deal. and what is important about this, all of our european allies know this. and it seems the americans are slow to learn this. and it is just not a good thing to negotiate with putin because he lies, he detracts and he reneged on any deal that he makes. >> ukraine, as will pointed out, is calling for rusher to be excluded from the u. n.. what do you make of that? >> yeah. i'm not going to count on that pam comment on that pam, because that is something for the politicians to decide, i've also seen reports from cnn reporter saying that is going to be very difficult to do.

because the soviet union, not russia and, the soviet union, was one of the founding members of the u. n.. and because of that, was one of the five original members that make up that body. it is going to be tough to keep them off because they have a veto vote. they can just veto anybody that tries to kick them off that security council. >> all right, general mark hertling, thank you so much. and coming up, one of the first comments from china's president since the relaxation of its zero covid regulations, and a huge spike in covid cases. we have a live report from beijing up next. -- more compassion and more understanding. i am hoping --

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and one of the first public statements easing covid restrictions, china's -- protect against what he called a new covid outbreak situation. even as the country announced today that international travel regulations woodies soon, chinese hospitals are overwhelmed by the surge in cases and recently china's top health authorities top publishing daily covid numbers. cnn's selina wang joins us from beijing with the latest. so selina, in the face of the surge in china, which travel restrictions are being lifted and when? >> well pam, there is a whole slate of changes to covid restrictions and the biggest one is from january 8th, the country is dropping

quarantine requirements from all international arrivals. these are major changes and they make a big move towards the ending zero-covid and towards the end of china's easy -- while this is such a big deal, they have to look at what the reality is been four years. china has been severely limiting who can go in and out of china with strict border controls, flights have been very limited and expensive all arrivals have to go through quarantine in government facilities. i went through multiple quarantines myself, including 21 days earlier this year. and we are talking about harsh quarantines. you get sorted into a facility, no opening your door except for food pickups and covid tests. but a lot is still remaining unclear. we don't know how many flights will be allowed to enter the country or how easily chinese nationals will be able to travel out. officials said they will gradually restart outbound tourism in a quote, orderly manner, but they didn't give details on when or how overall these changes are huge sigh of relief for many people in china have been waiting years and years for a chance to travel abroad, to see loved

ones oversee. so this is an emotional moment. >> it certainly is. but i mean, as you laid out, quite the you turn for china. how and why are chinese authorities changing the way covid is classified as an illness? >> so these changes to the travel restrictions are just mentioned are actually part of this broader change to how china is mentioning covid. the country says it is downgrading's covid management to a class be disease. previously, covid was managed as a class a disease that, means it was on par with cholera or the bubonic plague. which was justification for the draconian zero covid measures. now china's even changing the name from covid pneumonia to covid infection. officials are saying omicron is less severe and only a small number of cases actually develop into pneumonia. but since china has banded zero-covid, information from the country has become even more opaque with how authorities no longer are

reporting daily covid cases and it's severely narrows the definition of covid deaths and it has only reported a small handful of deaths through the entirety of this month even, though covid is sweeping through the country. the health system, under major pressure, fever and cold medicine, are nearly impossible to get a church stores but in a big move, beijing has just announced it is going to start distributing paxlovid to community health centers in the coming days. this is a big deal because it has been very hard for people to access antivirals. finally this appears to be a relief for some people pam. a >> little bit of hope there are. thank you so much. cnn's selina wang in beijing. perspective now from cnn medical analysis and former health commissioner doctor lena wang, she is also the author of lifeline, doctor's journey in the fight for public health. she recently wrote about the covid surge in china for the washington post. the headline was we must prepare from the fall over china's covid uterine. doctor wen, as the rest of the world watches what is happening in china, how concerned are you about new variants forming and

spreading boldly and how do you think health officials should be preparing for that possible outcome? >> well, it is definitely possible that we are going to get new variants from china's surge. that is because, when viruses replicate, they mutate. when you see a lot of surge in this case, we could have hundreds of millions of people in china getting infected in a matter of weeks. so when you have that kind of search, you could definitely have new variants develop. the question is, are these new variants going to take hold, are they going to be more immunoevasive, are they going to cause more severe disease? so in terms of health, how the rest of the world should prepare, what we all need to do is to invest in better vaccines, in developing better treatments that. it's something that the u.s. urgently needs to take leadership and take ownership of. because what is starting in one start of the part of the world is not going to stay there. >> right. so what would the likelihood be that if it mutates into something else, that what it would mutate into could actually be more

dangerous. because as you know, the current strain for, example in the u.s., has been more immunoevasive but more mild. so what is the likelihood that more dangerous strain can emerge? >> we don't know. i mean, we just don't know what could happen. because in this case there are new variants emerge and sing all the time. every time, every day there are new variants emerging. but the vast majority of them never take hold. the ones to take hold, that displaced existing variants, art tend to be the one that are more transmissible. not necessarily ones that are more dangerous, but it could be one that is more severe? that could of course happen in the immune-o-vision that is very serious to? because already our vaccines don't look work as well against the new variants developing, and we don't even have any monochromone antibodies that work well against the variants that are here. >> right. that is a really important point. because that was going to be nine next question about the vaccine, to be a match for what is circulating. because right now,

look, it is a proposed holiday weekend, people up and gathering, are you concerned about another post-holiday search? >> it could certainly happen. because when people gab theater and there are a lot of viruses circulating, not just covid but also the flu, rsv, many other viruses, when people gather and come from all over the country in the world, of course we're going to see virus transmission. so i think at this point we need to focus on what is next. as an, if you did gather over the holidays or a gathering over new years, make sure that before you see vulnerable individuals after the holidays, that you take a rapid covid test. and of course if you are symptomatic, to not go into public indoor settings. >> yeah. as you point out, protect the elderly. because there are still very vulnerable. doctor lena wen, thank you. we will be right back.

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oh singlecare can actually beat your co-pay. singlecare can also beat the price of your medicare plan. you mean our medicare plan? damn you too much sun! check the singlecare price today! the news continues so lets hand it over to allison camera at cnn tonight. alison? >> thank you so much, really appreciated, hope you had a great holiday. and good evening everyone, this is cnn tonight, i'm alison kherrata. deadly winter weather still wreaking havoc across the country. tonight, travel is still a nightmare. with the lows of fights canceled and passenger stranded in airports. unless one of those threatened passengers gets a wildes heron