Return to Transcripts main page

Connect the World

WHO Warns of High-Risk Resurgence in Europe; The Netherlands Shuts Down; No Response from Kremlin on Navalny Poisoning; In Istanbul, the Psychological Toll of a Pandemic Pregnancy; Seoul Down to One COVID- Dedicated ICU Bed; Mexico Hospitals under Pressure with Latest COVID-19 Surge; Tom Cruise Erupts at Film Crew over COVID-19 Safety Breach. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired December 16, 2020 - 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)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): This hour, we are live in Berlin, in London and in Amsterdam, all crashing into hard lockdowns today as the

WHO warns it's going to get much worse across Europe.

Then we finally hear from Russia about CNN's investigation into the poisoning of the country's most well-known opposition leader.

And Cruise control: the iconic film star tells his crew to straighten up on COVID protocols.

Well, it's 4:00 in the afternoon in Amsterdam, it's 6:00 in the evening in Moscow and it's 7:00 pm here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson. Hello and

welcome to the program.

Right now, Europe far from out of the woods in this pandemic. Get this, in the last hour, the World Health Organization warning that transmission

remains, and I quote them here, "widespread and intense." There's a high risk of it getting worse and fast and that progress, so far, is only

fragile.

Parts of Germany, England, the Netherlands returning to that harshest of formulas, keeping people at home, severe lockdowns. Many other countries

having to do the same. The cold translation of that, Christmas, as many of us know it, looks to be all but canceled.

Let's connect you to the reality on the ground. Fred Pleitgen is in Berlin, Salma Abdelaziz is in London.

Fred, you are at a Christmas market. Those markets in Germany are normally abuzz with life at this time of year.

What's going on behind you?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Becky, I think when you said that Christmas has been essentially canceled, I think

you're absolutely right. If we look around here, you can see this is one of those places where they tried to salvage some of the Christmas markets in

Germany, there are stalls, little house that is they put up to sell Christmas items or sell Christmas food as well.

You can see, it's pretty much completely empty. I'm in one of the main shopping areas right now in Berlin, one of the main shopping streets. And

normally, you're absolutely right, this place would be teeming with people.

There is a large shopping mall over here, another large shopping mall over there. This place would be full of people. They've put everything up, the

Christmas lights are up, what was supposed to be the Christmas market is up.

And some of those folks are taking all of their Christmas things down already again because they will simply not be able to open up. If the

Germans needed any sort of reminder as to why this lockdown is necessary, they got it this morning from the German Center for Disease Control that

said that, within 24 hours, this country recorded more than 950 deaths related to COVID-19.

That's the equivalent of about 3,800 people dying in the United States in a single day. So the German government said these measures simply are

necessary and, of course, right now, again, if we look around, this place would be teeming with people and people would be buying things here.

This is the main shopping time before Christmas. And right now there's absolutely nothing going on. The shop owners here and elsewhere in Germany

are extremely concerned about that situation. German government has said there is going to be financial compensation.

But as you can see, it is a difficult time for shop owners, it is a difficult time for people in general, who are obviously looking forward to

Christmas, who now are not going to be able to go to any of these shops.

And, of course, that all reverberates into Christmas as well. No more than five people are allowed to be together from no more than two households.

For instance, even church services at Christmases will be highly regulated, have to be approved by authorities. And there is no singing and people have

to wear a mask.

You're absolutely right, that Christmas vibe, simply not happening right here, Becky.

ANDERSON: Depressing stuff. Thank you.

Salma, you are in London. Not since the 1600s and the days of Oliver Cromwell lording over where you are have we seen such a threat to

Christmas.

How are people taking it there?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN PRODUCER: Well, Becky, as you know, there's been a lot of yo-yoing between restrictions -- and this is what has people

confused, worried, concerned. That's because London was in a nationwide lockdown two weeks ago.

Now today it's entering tier 3 restrictions, England's toughest coronavirus measures. That means shutting down pubs and restaurants, closing all

nightlife, virtually banning households from mixing together indoors. But what it doesn't mean is closing the stores. So I'm here in central London

on Carnaby Street, one of the most popular shops.

[10:05:00]

ABDELAZIZ: And I want to give you a look because I'm sure it's going to contrast what you saw with Fred in Berlin. It's packed. I want to remind

our viewers it's 3 o'clock on a Wednesday. This is not rush hour here. This is going to get a lot busier over the weekend.

I want to point out those benches because this is one of the most common ways to bend the rules here in London. Yes, pubs and restaurants are

closed. But you can get a takeaway pint.

So if you want to grab a takeaway pint and meet your friends on the bench, that's technically still allowed as long as you deep your distance. This is

exactly what has so many people in the medical community worried. I just want to read you a few statistics and that's exactly why doctors are

concerned.

You have people testing positive, increasing by 30,000 people in the last seven days. That's a 28 percent rise that you're looking at, Becky. And

it's important to remember here that all of this is going to change in just one week's time because there is a special Christmastime dispensation

between December 23rd and December 27th.

Social restrictions will be eased to allow up to three households to come together and celebrate the holidays. That's what has two medical journals

here in Britain, saying, this is a rash plan. The prime minister needs to reexamine and reverse it.

We know there's talks today about that Christmas plan. No expectation that it's going to change. But the fear among experts and community is that,

quite simply, these restrictions are not enough, that this Christmastime dispensation is too relaxed and that the consequences we will see seeing

next January, when hospitals are flooding with patients from coronavirus -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Some of the statistics of those medical journals flagged on the potential for ICU capacity to get very, very, very difficult is shocking.

Thank you. That's the story in London, then, and in Berlin.

To the Netherlands now where millions of people are under their strictest lockdown so far. Take a listen to the Dutch prime minister.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK RUTTE, PRESIDENT, THE Netherlands (through translator): The Netherlands is closing down. This means that we will close all places where

people gather in groups, with a few exceptions that are necessary to keep society running or to protect vulnerable people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, what does that mean in practice?

Well, all schools closed. All so-called nonessential shops shut down. And there are new rules on how many people can drop by to see one another in

Holland at home.

Remember, this is Christmas, a time when people like to get together, show one another how much they care for them with gifts. Well, it seems, this

year, there will be few of those.

To see how it is impacting the day-to-day life of families in the Netherlands I want to bring in Jennine and Pim, along with one of their

daughters, Linde, they join us from Amsterdam.

Hello, guys. Thank you for joining us. I know things are pretty grim at present.

Jennine, let's start with you.

Do you agree with this lockdown?

JENNINE PANNEMAN, CORPORATE LAWYER: Yes, I do. Well, for me it's strict. But for me, there's not too much difference between very strict and the

strict rules that were there already. But I do agree. I think it's necessary.

ANDERSON: OK.

Pim, how do you think the country has handled not just what's going on now but kind of, you know, across the board, this entire year?

PIM VAN SCHAIK, BOOK PUBLISHER: Yes, I think we had to -- all the time, we have to have still some room to move outside and to do sports and so on,

which is very important for us. (INAUDIBLE) in France, they couldn't leave the houses. I think it was not too strict.

ANDERSON: OK.

Linde, you're 24; the pandemic, as I understand it, has forced you to come home early from your gap year. You are now studying a pre-master's degree

online, as I understand it.

Just how hard is it for you and people of your age that you speak to, to look toward the future at a time like this?

LINDE VAN SCHAIK, GRADUATE STUDENT: I mean, just these past weeks, I was very busy studying. So in that sense it was nice to have that distraction,

in a way, to not be confronted with it every time.

But, of course, studying online is definitely not ideal. And, you know, working on groups strictly online is -- you know, it's not the same as

doing things in person and also taking in the material.

And I think, for people my age, it's especially just missing that, you know, like connecting with other people and especially because not everyone

is like living with other people.

[10:10:00]

L. VAN SCHAIK: I mean, me, for example, I live alone. But some ,days I visit my parents of course. But you know, to have that like stay connected,

that makes it definitely harder.

ANDERSON: I'm sure it's good to be home for Christmas as it were. Jennine, I know that you have another daughter, Lisa, who lives in Greece. And as I

understand it she will be coming home for the holidays.

How will you be spending Christmas this year, given the lockdown?

PANNEMAN: Well, my mother is age 85 and I have a brother and two sisters. And for -- we wanted her -- my mother not to be alone for Christmas. So we

went together, we made a schedule for three days so that she can visit my sisters and we can visit her. So it's all according to the rules. Yes --

(CROSSTALK)

ANDERSON: It must feel very different this year, doesn't it?

P. VAN SCHAIK: Yes, that's right. I have -- my mother is age 91. And the rules are now that we can have three guests, which implies that we cannot

go to her because we have four (ph). But she can come to us. So I will get her and get her home at 50 miles and bring her back. So we have to be

creative in seeing each other.

ANDERSON: Listen, guys, stay safe and enjoy Christmas together. I know that you will be sensible about it, as will so many people across Europe.

Let's just cross our fingers that things get better in the months to come because, of course, the WHO suggesting, you know, we are by no means out of

the woods as yet. Thank you.

(CROSSTALK)

ANDERSON: Well, I want to give you a look at the U.S. now, where even as we've seen help arrive, of course, in the form of the vaccine this week,

the number of cases and deaths there is simply staggering, which means, once again, I am forced to bring you some pretty awful news today: 3,019

Americans lost their lives to the pandemic on Tuesday.

And that is as far, as the stats are concerned -- I know these are people behind these numbers -- but the stats show a pretty horrible line here.

Daily death toll there since the pandemic began is the third highest. Just look at the spike we are in now there, that surging red line. And it is

getting worse.

In California the governor activating what's known as its mass fatal program, which means it is buying 5,000 body bags and putting dozens of

refrigerated storage units on standby.

Now that is juxtaposed to this: tomorrow, health officials will meet to consider granting emergency use authorization for a second vaccine. This

one, made by Moderna, can be stored in a regular freezer, unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech version.

We are finally getting some details on the long-stalled stimulus package in the U.S. Congress to provide some desperately needed help, financial help,

in this pandemic. CNN has just learned that it will be split into two separate bills, one with the elements that have strong bipartisan support

like, for example, helping struggling businesses; the other, aid for state and local governments, which the Democrats wanted.

That had been a main sticking point. Now congressional leaders are expressing confidence that they will finally strike a deal before they go

home for the holidays. More on that as we get it.

After days of silence, Russia now responding to a joint CNN-Bellingcat investigation into the poisoning of the opposition leader there, Alexei

Navalny. We brought you this story earlier this week, showing you our chief international correspondent, Clarissa Ward, literally walking up to the

door of a Russian security service agent's apartment and asking him if his team was behind that poisoning.

The investigation found a secretive Russian unit tracked Navalny for years ahead of his poisoning in August with the nerve agent Novichok. Navalny,

you will remember, nearly died. The Kremlin canceled press briefings after we aired our report.

But today the Russian foreign minister delivering some very pointed comments about the investigation. Clarissa Ward is still in Russia, she is

in Moscow.

What did the foreign minister have to say today?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was kind of a -- he didn't really address the substance of our report at all; rather,

he seemed to just mock it essentially.

[10:15:00]

WARD: He said that it was funny to him. He said that he had come to expect this type of thing from the West. He seemed to dismiss it as

unethical and in contravention of international legal norms. Not exactly clear what is meant by that.

But his main point seemed to be that the world should not misinterpret the silence of Moscow; that silence, as you mentioned, Becky, over 48 hours,

has been deafening. He said that the idea that that silence was tantamount to an admission of guilt is, in fact, a flawed approach, obvious to any

sane person.

Well, I think what's obvious also to any sane person is that we have not yet heard anything meaningful in terms of a response from the Kremlin, from

the foreign ministry, from the FSB security services as to the substantial data of our report, that this team of operatives trailed Alexei Navalny for

more than three years and that they were very well versed in chemistry, had access to poisons and the expertise to use them.

Tomorrow is the big President Vladimir Putin press conference that's held every year. We will wait and see whether someone asks about this. As you

probably can imagine, it's difficult to ask a sort of candid question; they tend to sift through and choose the questions they want to answer.

But certainly we will keep putting the question to people in power here and waiting for a proper response -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Yes. OK. Because, let's be quite frank, that isn't a proper response.

What, if any, additional responses have you gotten from the international community on this?

I know this has been impactful, this reporting.

WARD: Yes, so we finally heard something from the U.S., from the White House, from secretary of state, Mike Pompeo. He came out and said we

recognize and we are among the first to call out this unbelievably malign activity and demanded that the Russians explain to us precisely how this

happened, who did it.

We are still waiting on those answers but we frankly, along with our European partners who have been good on this, too, have begun to impose

real costs on the Russians for this kind of activity.

Well, actually, what we've seen is very little reaction from the White House. President Trump simply said that they were looking into it; unlike

the U.K. and the E.U., who have called this an assassination attempt, who have levied sanctions at the FSB leadership and also individuals within the

Kremlin.

The U.S. has yet to issue any kind of sanctions or, frankly, any real stern rebuke.

ANDERSON: Clarissa Ward is in Moscow. Clarissa, thank you.

Our colleague, Christiane Amanpour, spoke to Navalny yesterday on her show. Take a listen to part of that conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN HOST: Why do you want to go back?

And, I guess, do you think you will be safe when you go back?

ALEXEI NAVALNY, RUSSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER: Well --

(LAUGHTER)

NAVALNY: -- well, I don't think that I can have such a privilege being safe in Russia.

But I have to go back, because I don't want these groups of killer exist in Russia. I don't want Putin be ruling of Russia. I don't want him being

president. I don't want him being czar of Russia, because, well, he's killing people. He's a reason why our -- the whole country is degrading.

He's the reason why people are so poor.

We have 25 million people living below the poverty line and the whole degradation of system, unfortunately for me, including system of

assassination of people. He's the reason for that. And I want to go back and try to change it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: That was Alexei Navalny, speaking to Christiane Amanpour.

Coming up, folks --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "I didn't believe it, that it could be this bad," she admits.

"I thought I would just get through it, even if I caught it."

ANDERSON (voice-over): Dealing with the pressures of pregnancy and COVID- 19 at the same time; we take you inside a COVID maternity ward in Istanbul.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ANDERSON (voice-over): Plus hospitals in the South Korean capital running out of intensive care beds. To be clear, as we understand it, there is only

one dedicated COVID bed left. More on that in a moment.

And breaching COVID rules is a "risky business" if you are working with Tom Cruise. Why the Hollywood superstar shouted the house down, actually his

film set, trying to protect jobs. I will explain what's going on there after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:20:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

As parts of Europe face a hard lockdown, if you've been watching the first part of this show, we've been bringing that story to you, Turkey also

grappling with a surge in coronavirus cases. On Tuesday, it saw more than 32,000 new infections and 235 deaths across the country.

Now it has been getting worse for weeks and the number of people in hospital also going up. Intensive care units are now at more than 73

percent capacity. That is the highest level since the start of this pandemic.

And that is impacting pregnant women at what is one of the most delicate times of their lives, just before they give birth. CNN's Arwa Damon takes

us inside a COVID maternity ward in Istanbul in this remarkable and, I have to say, at points, jarring report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's now 7 days old.

DAMON (voice-over): At 7 days old, all this baby knows is the touch of strangers through latex gloves and hazmat suits, not the feel of his

mother's skin or the warmth of her chest.

His mother is in the ICU, with a severe case of COVID-19. This is the coronavirus maternity ward at Istanbul's Basaksehir Cam and Sakura

Hospital, where the joy of bringing a child into this world is overshadowed by an illness we still know very little about.

Jerada Uzkan (ph) is seven months into her first pregnancy.

"I didn't believe it, that it could be this bad," she admits. "I thought I would just get through it, even if I caught it."

With the swelling of the belly that leads to the thorax getting smaller, trouble breathing is more common in pregnant women than other COVID-19

patients. Clotting is also a bigger issue.

When Jerada (ph) was at her worst, unable to talk, walk, breathe, she was terrified for herself, for her unborn child. Doctors say they can't give

pregnant women antivirals but they have other medications they can use.

If the mother is asymptomatic or has mild symptoms, like Mirnavac Kadadinaz (ph), she can breast-feed, have her baby in the room at a distance. It's

her fourth child but this time there is no loving family around her, no husband by her side. She didn't find out she was COVID positive until she

came in for her C-section.

Even now, even though she is OK, she's overcome with emotion.

"I thought, if something happens to me, what is going to happen to my kids?" she sobs.

COVID itself takes a psychological toll. Doctors say, coupled with pregnancy or with postpartum depression, it can take an even bigger one.

[10:25:00]

DAMON (voice-over): "There needs to be psychological support before and after birth," Dr. Ibrahim Polot says.

Even those that are able to go through a natural birth have an unnatural experience, with this plastic barrier lowered around them during the final

stage, the final push.

Siba Saupaul's (ph) baby, her third, was born prematurely. She was hit hard by the coronavirus, spending days in the ICU.

"There is a line between life and death. At a certain point, you cross that line and you start to pray for death," she tells us.

She clung to life for her children.

DAMON: She hasn't seen her baby yet. It's been -- (speaking foreign language) -- it's been 15 days since she gave birth and she hasn't seen her

baby yet, just these photographs that are on the phone.

DAMON (voice-over): Baby Lina is being cared for by relatives. Siba (ph) and her husband can hear other babies in the ward crying. It's agonizing

for them, that longing they have just to hug theirs.

DAMON: Oh, they just found out that she is PCR negative, that's amazing.

(Speaking foreign language).

DAMON (voice-over): If the pulmonologist signs off, they can finally go home -- Arwa Damon, CNN, Istanbul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, from Istanbul to Iran, to England, Germany, America, across the world, we've been connecting you to how health care systems are

coping or, rather, not coping with something they were never designed for, a global pandemic.

Up next, we're going to get you to Mexico City and to Seoul, two very different places, of course, with an uncomfortable connection: they are

running out of beds to save people's lives.

And --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN RAKOLTA JR., U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: It's like on the speed of light.

ANDERSON (voice-over): America's ambassador to the UAE tells me about the incredible speed at which things are changing in this region as well as the

impact of the pandemic and his post-election plans. That is all just ahead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ANDERSON: Well, as vaccine distribution begins across the globe, hospitals around the world are struggling under the pressure of the pandemic. They

are overwhelmed, at times, with the number of COVID-19 patients, a cruel juxtaposition, as vaccines, of course, become available to some.

But right now I want to connect you to Mexico City and to Seoul.

[10:30:00]

ANDERSON: Let's start in Seoul, which is facing a hospital capacity crisis with its third wave of infections. It says it has only one single COVID-19

dedicated intensive care bed left in the entire city.

Officials say smaller outbreaks during the third wave are making it even harder to contain than the first two. Until the country gets a vaccine, it

then is relying on testing and intensive contact tracing. CNN's Paula Hancocks got a look inside one CCTV unit tracking down cases.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The lunchtime rush at a Seoul restaurant, with almost every table taken, one diner tests positive

for coronavirus, the search begins for who else may have been infected.

It starts with a phone call, confirming the patient ID from a health official to an epidemiologist investigator. Mobile phone and credit card

checks follow. Lee Young-wook, a contact tracer, and her colleagues physically retrace the footsteps.

The restaurant owner shows where the customer was sitting and shares the CCTV footage. Lee checks who was close by and needs to be warned. The owner

and staff have already tested negative.

Lee makes at least 10 of these visits a day, rarely finishing work before 9:00 pm.

She tells me, "The person having lunch with the confirmed case is not wearing a mask and is a close contact. He has been contact tested and

quarantined for 14 days."

With hundreds of new cases every day, this work is becoming harder, with many cases now termed as untraceable.

HANCOCKS: If the mobile phone and credit card usage isn't quite enough to gain a full picture, then contact tracers can track an individual's

movements here at this CCTV center. They can find out exactly where a confirmed case went, who they met and crucially, they, say whether they

were wearing a mask.

HANCOCKS (voice-over): More than 3,000 cameras cover just this one Seoul district, normally used for crime prevention, but now a key element in the

fight against the coronavirus.

The mayor says, "The reason this third wave is so difficult to contain is because infections are happening in all cities and districts

simultaneously."

While the first two waves centered around one or two main outbreaks, health officials now say you can catch the virus at any time in any place. Extra

testing sites have been set up around greater Seoul for the next three weeks, health officials providing free tests for all, regardless of

symptoms or exposure.

Shipping containers are being used to set up more hospital beds to cope with the feared upcoming lack of rooms for coronavirus patients.

And more than 1,300 military personnel have been deployed to health centers in greater Seoul to help with the legwork and data processing. President

Moon Jae-in says this is an emergency situation, calling it the final challenge before the vaccines arrive -- Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: South Korea's foreign minister says getting more hospital beds is the challenge of the day, yesterday, today and the days going forward, I

quote her on that. Take a listen to what else she just told CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KANG KYUNG-WHA, SOUTH KOREAN FOREIGN MINISTER: This is a very difficult discussion, some say, yes, we should; some say, no, we shouldn't hurry into

it because the socioeconomic consequences are going to be so huge.

So you have to work through how this will play out, if it will be effective in terms of capturing the further spread of the virus. So it's a very, very

tough, tough discussion and a tough call, if it should be made.

But if we make that call, we want to be as prepared as possible in terms of the measures that need to be in place, to help out with those small

restaurant owners, small businesses and so on and so forth.

Yes, so, we are in discussion but the decision has not been made yet. And, I have to say, I think there was a little bit of complacency setting in

after the successes and, of course, our experience and the way we've handled this being touted as a success by the foreign media.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: The South Korean foreign minister, talking about discussions underway with regard to lockdowns. You can watch more of that interview on

"AMANPOUR" a couple of hours from now.

Well, on the other side of the globe in Mexico City, health care workers there currently treating more coronavirus patients than ever before during

the pandemic. Nearly 20 hospitals in Mexico City have reached full capacity. There are signs that things could be getting even worse. CNN's

Matt Rivers joining me now from Mexico City -- Matt.

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Becky, I mean, if you want an indication of how the pandemic is going here in Mexico, just look at the

number of hospitalizations. I mean, just like you said, the number of people hospitalized right now here in Mexico City is higher than at any

other point during this pandemic.

[10:35:00]

RIVERS: The last time we saw numbers this high over a two-day stretch was all the way back in May. So that just does not bode well for what this city

is going through right now.

Of the roughly 60 public hospitals that are listed on the country's health ministry's website, nearly one-third of them, including this hospital

behind me, are listed at 100 percent capacity. That means you cannot get into this hospital unless someone leaves for whatever reason.

Yesterday, we actually visited a hospital not far away from here, another one at 100 percent capacity. We saw an ambulance crew there that had just

dropped off a patient, a COVID patient. We watched them as they disinfected themselves before they were going back into the ambulance.

They told us that they waited outside that ambulance with their patient for five-plus hours to try and get that person admitted to the hospital. And

they say that that is happening on every single one of their shifts these days.

We had actually spent time with the Red Cross ambulance crews here in Mexico City, going back to early June. At that point, they were averaging

roughly 10 COVID calls per shift. Yesterday, when we spoke to those paramedics, they told us they are averaging 35 COVID calls per shift.

So we are absolutely trending in the wrong direction, record-setting case totals recently, deaths remain stubbornly high, Becky, and vaccines are a

long way away, a quarter million doses expected to arrive in this country this month, another 15 million in the first part of next year.

But you are talking about a country of 130 million people, with the pandemic trending in the wrong direction.

ANDERSON: And we, just as you speak, looking back to some of the footage that you shot back in June. And that is a very, very, very stark comparison

that you make. Back then, I remember that reporting being so impactful.

Things were so tough at the time and you were talking about three times the COVID cases by those emergency services today. Shocking. Matt, thank you.

I want to bring you a moment of inspiration now, a truly remarkable story.

Meet Tilley Dybing. She is 107 years old. She lives in the U.S. state of Minnesota and she has just beaten COVID-19. She's lived such a long life.

This isn't the first pandemic that she has survived. She was about 5 when the 1918 flu pandemic hit her family farm. Both her parents back then

getting sick but also surviving.

Incredibly still, Tilley also has beaten cancer, something I think to think on, as we take a short break. We all, I'm sure, wish Tilley the best.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ANDERSON: Tom Cruise appears to be a "top gun" in the fight against COVID- 19. Apologies for the pun but it is still true.

[10:40:00]

ANDERSON: The "maverick" A-lister wasn't playing a part when he reportedly erupted at his film crew on the set of "Mission Impossible 7" over their

lack of social distancing.

Now if you are among some skeptics, wondering whether this was a Hollywood movie star having a meltdown or, dare I say it just trying to make himself

look good, well, think again. Talk about "show me the money," British media reckoned Cruise has spent nearly $700 million of his own money to keep his

film crew safe, especially after 12 of them tested positive for the virus on set in Italy back in October.

In about 4 hours and 17 minutes from now, that I'm counting or anything, the team that I support, Tottenham, will take on Liverpool. Both teams

level on points as they are at the top of the Premier League. Spurs are, I can say, edging ahead on goal difference.

(WORLD SPORTS)

END