jim bittermann joins us from paris. kristie, let me start with you.ome of the cities including xi'an incredibly stringent. i can understand why this is taking a toll on the population. is the government doing anything given this growing outcry or are they sticking to their policy? >> reporter: for over two weeks now, 13 million residents in the northern chinese metropolis xi'an are under the lockdown. they are forbidden from leaving their homes. they are online vocally struggling to get food, basic essentials, even access to lifesaving medical care. officials will in xi'an have apologized. they have been punished. we know at least two local health officials have been suspended from their posts. the head of the xi'an cdc in a press conference stood up and bowed to apologize to an eight-month pregnant woman who had a miscarriage because she was not able to get help at the hospital. they claimed that she didn't have a valid covid-19 test. but despite the punishment, despite the apologies to many angry citizens across china, they say it's not enough. it's

cnn's jim bittermann is live for us in paris this hour. and, jim, cases are spiraling across europe, but it seems europe may not have hit a peak yet. is that forcing some european governments to rethink some of these restrictions, jim? >> reporter: that certainly is. and it is something that the french health minister said this morning basically. the peak has perhaps not been reached, and even when it is reached, it's going to take a while for it to plateau and then gradually come down. he said he saw that coming in the future. but the w.h.o. report is really dire news i think for most europeans. the french health minister also said, in fact, the true number of infections here could be as much as a half million a day. at that rate, of course, when you look at what the w.h.o. official said, it doesn't take too long, doesn't take too many days before you reach a point where half the population of western europe is infected with covid. so, yes, i think it's forcing governments to rethink what they're doing. the french government is scrambling

now to discuss all these developments, of course, cnn's blake essex joins us from tokyo and our jim bittermannnding by in paris. jim, let me start with you. in the last, say, 40 minutes or so, we've seen the record rise, worrying rise of covid infections in germany where i believe progress has been somewhat slow. >> reporter: it's been a little bit lagging behind the other three countries that we're looking at, germany, france and italy. nonetheless, the surges are across the board, all three of those countries, even though, for instance, france, for example, is doing a much better job of vaccinations. still, they had a record high number of cases as you mentioned, 460,000 cases in just 24 hours. so it's kind of in explicable, the relationship between the vaccinations and the surge that we're seeing, especially since all three countries were basically saying they thought the situation was headed toward stabilization in yesterday and today when those numbers, new numbers have come in. so it's an interesting situation here. and we don't have a lot of explanation for why those cases are surging.

jim bittermann from paris. let me ask you about the record covid cases out of germany.hat are lawmakers and government officials hoping to do here? because it does seem those numbers seem to be getting records almost on a daily basis. >> reporter: isa, germans have got the same problem as a lot of europeans have got. the numbers going up of daily infections are going up every day like here in france although france has come down slightly, but the lawmakers want to get as much as possible the restrictions lifted. in germany, however, they're saying they're going to resist and the same thing implies in sweden. in other countries like the netherlands, for example, some of the strongest restrictions are off. the prime minister said we are actively trying to see exactly what is possible in the way of lifting restrictions. in denmark, they bring denmark, all restrictions are off as of february 1st. here in france things will start to ease next wednesday when facemask restrictions in public areas will be lifted and the requirement for as many people as possible to work from ho

for more on that i'm joined by cnn's jim bittermann in paris. good to see you, jim.ce. i know this were several thousands there, but in the majority, does it seem despite covid fatigue, people in france understand that perhaps these are measures they have to accept? >> reporter: well, i think there's kind of an understanding of that, paula. if you can judge by the numbers that turn out at these demonstrations. yesterday's demonstration here was in fact somewhat smaller, comfortably smaller than the previous weeks. what's more, i think there's an inevitability about all this. the covid vaccination pass that you were talking about there has now passed both the assembly and the senate as of last night. they just have to reconcile some small differences between the two bills and then it goes to the constitutional court. in all likelihood, the government's going to succeed in its wish to get that vaccination pass in play by the end of this week. as a consequence, that will mean that people will have to show vaccination -- proof of vaccinations in order to do the smallest

we'll begin with jim bittermann in paris. we're seeing france grapple with rapid covid cases.eanwhile, macron seems to be battling the unvaccinated with some very unusual and colorful language. >> reporter: well, i would say colorful is kind of an understatement actually, isa. the fact is that president macron was speaking to editors from one of the widely circulated papers here, la parisian, last night. he's going on a war path against the unvaccinated. he said they are not great citizens. if they're not, they're irresponsible, and he said that his strategy now is to -- a french way of saying piss off, a little stronger than that, but in any case, to anger the various people that are not getting vaccinated. about 10% of the population still hasn't gotten vaccinated. and he's going to do that with these changes, the strategy, the changes in the health pass rules. the health pass will become a vaccination pass, and it will be required for all kinds of public activity including going to bars, restaurants, travel, that sort of thing. and people will be encouraged, if that's the r

. >>> cnn's jim bittermann standing by live in paris covering europe for us. we begin with phil black in essex. good morning to you, phil. as i was saying, we continue to see, phil, cases skyrocketing, but the prime minister we heard in the last 24 hours was pretty adamant that no new restrictions will come into place. the fear is it will get worse as children return to school this week. >> reporter: indeed, that's right, isa. tremendous uncertainty. we are entering a phase now where we are likely to get a sense of just how the omicron wave is going to play out here in the uk, specifically in england. school is about to come back. on top of that we are about to see the consequence of the surging record numbers of the christmas and new year period. while omicron results in lower infection rates, it is still vast, you are going to inevitably big numbers of people falling seriously ill, turning up at hospital, increasing pressure on the health system. now, the prime minister knows that his government has taken a very soft touch approach when it comes to restricti

jim bittermann is in paris with the latest restrictions in france.kristie lu stout with more on the covid cases ahead of the winter olympics. kristie, these cases will be of concern no doubt to authorities as we prepare now for the olympics in less than two weeks. >> reporter: yes, it was a matter of math these would be detected. it's just two weeks to go before the start of the beijing winter games and cases of covid-19 have been detected in recent arrivals heading into beijing for the games. we have a statement from the ioc and organizers tell us this. the positivity of arrivals testing is 1.53%. for regular screening testing inside the closed loop, 0.02%. the ioc adds and emphasizes there is no infection inside the closed loop. we know nearly 11,000 people, we're talking about athletes, officials, volunteers, media, they're all set to arrive in beijing for the winter games. the closed loop system we've been reporting about for the last few weeks, that is up and running. it covers all stadiums, venues and accommodation. and to get into the closed l

jim bittermann joins me now live from paris. what is the situation across europe?> reporter: rosemary, in fact, february is going to be a month where i think we're going to see a number of restrictions lifted here. sometimes with reason, sometimes without. in any case in france, for example, starting on wednesday there is going to be a reduction in rules here, restrictions that have been in place, for example outdoor masking no longer required when you're outdoors. the number of people allowed in certain venues will go up. there will be a number of changes that people will have, for example, you won't have to be required to work from home. employers aren't required to have their workers work from home. they still recommend it, but nonetheless. in austria, for example, there is going to be a lifting of restrictions on saturday. the bars and clubs and stuff will be able to open up a little longer during the day, and despite the fact they are seeing a record number of infection rates, but there are some countries that aren't reducing restrictions. one is germany, for

let's begin with jim bittermann in paris. hange, not so subtle change in the health pass law. it's going to change the health pass into a vaccination pass, making it essentially mandatory for any kind of access in the public activity like going to bars and restaurants, cafes, cinemas, theaters, taking long-distance trains. it comes as the report from the president's advisory council, in fact, the health pass has worked to increase the number of vaccinations in the country. the council estimates 4,000 french may have been saved because of the health pass. now, over to blake essex in tokyo. >> reporter: covid cases here in japan top 30,000 for the first time yesterday. that is an increase of 415% as a result of the rapid increase the japanese government has extended border restrictions. essentially banning all nonresidents through the end of february. exami and just about an hour ago, declared a quasi-state of emergency totaling 16. >> reporter: 419 covid deaths, the health ministry has recorded a 40% rise in fatalities, almost

. >> reporter: i'm jim bittermann in paris where president macron caused a stir last night with covidd his frustration with people pwhor stiwho are still n vaccinated and said his strategy is to piss them off. the president has been trying to get lawmakers to approve changes in the nation's health pass which would make it almost impossible for the nonvaccinated to engage in all activities like bars, restaurants and travel. parliament debating the changes and talks suspended until today. >> reporter: in tel aviv, a study found that a fourth shot- increases antibodies five-fold in the space of a week. the findings are preliminary and not yet peer reviewed. a second booster for those over 60, health care workers and those with suppressed immune systems. with cases soaring, naftali bennett held the findings as good news, saying the fourth dose is safe. the fourth dose works. >> reporter: i'm blake essig in tokyo. as covid-19 hospitalizations in australia continue to break records, australians responded with anger and skepticism. but it's not because of the surging number of cases. instead

. >> reporter: i'm jim bittermann in paris, where a stormy session in parliament last night may haveass must be displayed to access public places, bars, restaurants, and the like. it is proof that a person has either been vaccinated or recently tested negative for covid. but the government wants to eliminate that testing exception. in other words, a person would have to be vaccinated in order to engage in practically any public activity. after a noisy debate, the parliamentary session was suspended at midnight, but the government will try once again to push the legislation through, perhaps as early as today. >> reporter: i'm blake in tokyo. in japan, the daily case count remains relatively low. earlier this week, the southern most prefecture of okinawa reported its highest single day total since last september. okinawa's local government is blaming the u.s. military. earlier this week, the u.s. military reported nearly 3,700 cases across the prefecture. okinawa's governor says he is outraged because of the rise in the number of infected among u.s. military personnel, suggesting their

jim bittermann thank you very much. >> sure. >>> brand new video of novak djokovic back in his home countryver his vaccination status. a crowd greeted him waving flags and chanting "we love novak." he cannot be granted another visa for three years under australia's laws. >>> just in news out of china with just weeks to go until the olympics, what they're telling the public about attending the games. >>> and "america's funniest home videos" says good-bye to its original host. excuses happen. what? it's too windy. but with a huge selection of wellness support products for nutrition, sleep, immune systems and energy, cvs can help them happen a little less. at vanguard, you're more than just an investor, you're an owner with access to financial advice, tools and a personalized plan that helps you build a future for those you love. vanguard. become an owner. get your personal points plan! i'm james corden and i'm here to tell people that ww is getting even more personal. keep on shopping, ignore us. i've lost like 28 pounds. you look great! i love that my clothes fit better, but i just love ice