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Dover Port Closed Due To New Coronavirus Variant; UK Prime Minister Spokesman: U.K. Working Closely With International Partners To Minimize Travel Disruptions; California Battles "Crushing" COVID Outbreak; U.K. Being Cut Off Over New COVID Variant; Clinically Vulnerable People Plead For COVID-19 Vaccine; Looking Back At The Stranger Moments Of 2020. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired December 21, 2020 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Variant of COVID-19 throws a major wrench into holiday travel as dozens of countries shut down flights in the
U.K., and in the U.S., a sigh of relief in the form of the second vaccine approved for emergency use. The first Moderna vaccinations expected today.
Plus, Americans could soon see $900 billion in economic relief as congress moves closer to approving a stimulus bill. I'm Max Foster in London, in for
Becky Anderson. Hello, and welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD, vaccine help is on the way for Europe as the U.K. faces increasing isolation over a new
variant of Coronavirus.
Just a short time ago, the European Union Drug's Regulator recommended moving forward with authorization of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine. That
authorization is expected in the coming hours, meaning people across Europe could start getting jabs in just days.
And the U.K. government has called an emergency meeting today to address the growing global isolation here brought on by a new variant of the virus.
Right now, around 30 countries are banning or restricting travel in and out of the U.K. that number growing throughout the day.
The variant is thought to be far more transmissible, though there's no evidence it makes people sicker or impacts the effectiveness of newly
authorized vaccines. All happening a day away from a possible no Brexit deal. Salma Abdelaziz is at the port in Dover, England now to standstill in
the face of these growing travel restrictions. Just describe what you're seeing, Salma, because it's continental drivers as well as British drivers
effectively trapped.
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's absolutely right, Max. I mean, this is supposed to be one of the busiest ports in the world, one of the
busiest channels in the world, and today it's an absolute ghost town. It's been shut down.
I'm just going to step out of the shot just for a second here just to show you behind me, the French border is closed. I think the sign is absolutely
clear. You can see those police officers there. They have been waving trucks, waving drivers in their 18 wheelers and their goods they have been
waving them on all day long.
We actually just saw sort time ago before I came to air with you we saw one of these police officers actually threatening a driver who was refusing to
move, and she said I'm going to arrest you, and she held her hands up, if you don't move on. This is closed for 48 hours so a very serious and tense
moment here.
And just a little bit further away, there's the motorway between Kent and Dover, that's been shut down, a huge portion essentially turned into a
massive parking lot with thousands of these drivers with their trucks are standing by, waiting for further instructions.
They have no access to food, to water, to bathrooms. They are concerned about getting home to their families in time for Christmas. All of this of
course very worrying, and an increasing feeling here, Max, that this country is being sealed off because of this new variant.
FOSTER: Salma in Dover. Thank you. Let's bring in Richard Quest he has got more on the travel impact of all of this including the airlines. So more
and more countries effectively isolating the U.K. it's pretty unprecedented, isn't it?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN EDITOR-AT-LARGE: At the beginning of the crisis, of course but then everybody was isolating themselves from everybody else.
This is sort of a U.K. centric isolation, but let's is clear about this, Max, if in the fullness of time it becomes clear this variant has already
transmitted itself to other countries.
And we know it's been in Australia, we know it's been in the Netherlands, it's been around potentially since September so if this has been around and
is now in other countries then one would expect to see within Continental Europe, the countries there also deciding to stop travel between the
different variant members of the EU.
You have to remember the U.K. is a world leader in terms of the genetics of being able to isolate the genes of these different variants and so that's
one reason why they have been at the forefront here. But the W.H.O. has made it clear this variant is elsewhere, too.
FOSTER: British business groups are saying they can cope with this for a while, but actually the economy is going to get hit really hard and
supplies will drop pretty quickly if it goes on for too long, so the Europeans are talking about possibly bringing in new protocols, possibly
around testing. I mean, what sort of protocols might they look at, and how might that ease things?
[11:05:00]
FOSTER: It's still going to cause problems, isn't it?
QUEST: Yes, look, Max, this is a crisis, and it is a crisis in real time. They are making it up as they go along. There is no grand strategy here
other than to keep the virus out or keep the virus at bay, so you're going to see a hodgepodge of regulations, the E.U., the council has not spoken
with one voice.
Eventually, you will see some form of policy structure a good and a bad in a sense. The fact that it's happening over the Christmas period is dreadful
for those involved. But from a commercial point of view, well, there's less commerce going backwards and forwards once you get into the 23rd, 24th,
25th of December, and then into the next week.
But I really caution that anybody has any idea that there are some great policy making bodies going on here. They're making this up as they go
along, responding to each action by the other side aiming to try to keep their own populous as clean as possible.
FOSTER: The concern obviously is the supply systems are so tight aren't they these days?
QUEST: Yes.
FOSTER: We've seen it multiple times. So when the retailers warn this is going to cause major problems cheese markets for example, what are they
saying?
QUEST: What they're saying is that the just in time mechanism and the supply chains are so sophisticated that cheeses from France, pasta from
Italy, whatever it might be, whatever food stuff can leave Continental Europe and arrive in the U.K. and be in the shops in a matter of hours,
just days, now, that supply chain has broken down.
Firstly, because you've got trucks being not allowed in one way and another secondly, because you've got the channel tunnel closed for 48 hours.
Thirdly because you've got air routes disrupted. Does this mean, let us be clear about this, does this mean Britain is going to starve?
No, absolutely not. But does this mean that the sort of goods that you might have seen in the shops at this Christmas time, some run out, can't be
easily replaced during this period. That's a distinct possibility because supply chains are sophisticated and you have literally taken a sledge
hammer to them now, and now goods just simply cannot make it across.
FOSTER: Richard Quest in New York. Thank you for your insight. Let's go to International Diplomatic Editor, Nic Robertson, he is in Downing Street
where crisis meetings are being held. It could be virtually some of them might be face to face but Richard pretty much said it, that they make it up
as they go along. So how do they respond and how does Boris Johnson address the nation later today when there's very little he can do, it seems?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Max, for Boris Johnson, the whole pandemic has been a series of crises, and the confidence in him
over the past nine or ten months has dwindled. People were looking forward to a Christmas at home, and he had guaranteed them that they could have a
Christmas at home with three households joining them over a period of five days.
I think it was a big psychological turning point for people this weekend when they found out that there was this new variant of COVID-19 and that
this was going to dramatically necessarily change their Christmases. There's a huge level of disappointment in the country.
People wanting to try to beat travel restrictions and get home and get back to family in other part of the country quickly. The realization they
couldn't even finish their Christmas shopping and perhaps now realizing that they can't put all the foods that they may want on their table,
Brussels sprouts or cabbages that have been coming fresh daily from Northern Europe, we don't know if that's the case yet, but these are the
implications.
So I think how does this sit with the people of the U.K.? In essence, they're watching a very difficult situation, a very difficult year, unravel
in a way that they weren't expecting so they will be looking to the government, and this is what Boris Johnson will be doing and his ministers
will be trying to do to find a way to say, look, this is bad, but these are the ways that we can fix it.
We can make arrangements with the European Union to get truckers, to get them tested, to get truckers to be able to travel to and fro from France to
make sure that the necessary goods can flow. Yes, this is all coming with intense and very difficult fraught Brexit negotiations ongoing which will
also have a consequence on the difficulty of getting goods to and fro across the channel.
Yes, that anxiety is on people's minds. So it will be very central to what we may hear from the Prime Minister later today, will be to calm people's
nerves at a time when people are frankly unsettled and many people who are in difficult professions who have been at the front line, whether they're
health care professionals, whether they've been teachers, whether they have been many of other professionals, bus drivers, et cetera, who are face to
face with the public and had a difficult time dealing with the pandemic at a personal and family level.
[11:10:00]
ROBERTSON: All of this additional confusion and worry is an additional burden, so I think this will be the focus of the Prime Minister to steady
the country, essentially, behind a situation that he is trying to manage to the best of his ability.
FOSTER: Yes, OK Nic at Downing Street. Thank you. Much more news after the break but first I want to bring you something from Jerusalem where you can
see the Christmas star, the rare celestial display brought to you by our solar system - appears so close together this Monday night, they look like
one bright star, dubbed the Christmas star.
It's a serendipitous alignment so close to Christmas. It will be visibly briefly wherever you are, an hour after sunset. The last time we saw this
was 800 years ago, would you believe, a great moment.
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FOSTER: A Russian agent sent to tail opposition leader Alexei Navalny has accidentally revealed how he was poisoned in August? The agent remembers -
toxins team in Russia's efforts is security service at the lethal nerve agent Novichok was planted in Navalny's underpants.
Last week a CNN betting cat investigation revealed that the unit has showed Navalny for more than three years. Clarissa Ward broke the story. She joins
us now with the details. An extraordinary detail, actually to exactly to what played out here?
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Max. I mean, occasionally you come into one of these stories where you can't quite
believe it. It's stranger than fiction. This is certainly one of those.
Essentially what happened is that Alexei Navalny, the Russian Opposition Leader who very nearly died after being poisoned by Novichok back in
August, decided to call one of the FSB operatives who we established last week was trailing Navalny around the country for more than three years.
Now, the way that Navalny did this was by posing as a National Security Council aide, as someone high up in the Russian hierarchy who was carrying
out an investigation into how the operation had gone? And while it took a little bit of time, in the end, this operative Constantine Kudretsev (ph)
who is fairly young, he graduated from the Russian Academy of Chemical Warfare, Chemical Defense, I should say, he began to open up to Navalny,
and to describe some details of how the poisoning took place, and it is just chilling to hear it.
I wanted to play you now a clip where he talks about where the poison was planted, where it was secreted in Navalny's underwear. Take a listen.
[11:15:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What item was clothing was the emphasis on, the most risky piece of clothing, which one is that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Underpants.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Underpants, risky in what sense?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, in terms of where the most concentration would be?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, underpants.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was it the inside seam, the outside seam, what was it adjacent to? I have a whole block of questions on this here. I will discuss
all of this with - but I also need your information.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, we applied to the internal one, at least there was application.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, imagine underpants, and in what place.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The insides, the groin.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The crotch of the underpants?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, the circled flap, there's such seams there so across seams.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WARD: So you can see the level of detail there Max. He also talked about his principle role in the operation which was the cleanup operation. He
says that five days after Navalny's fleet was diverted to arms when he became very ill, he went to that same city arms to recover Navalny's
clothing and he went back another time as well.
The goal of those two trips and taking the clothing was to scrub those clothes clean to make sure that there was no trace of Novichok still on
them. He also talked about why it was that Navalny was not killed in the end as appears to have been the apparent goal of this entire operation, and
he suggests that this was because the plan was diverted to - meaning that Navalny was on the ground much earlier than intended and because the
ambulance crew that greeted Navalny off the plane gave him that life saving dose of Atropine that antidote.
And he says without that, he probably would have died, and he also mentions most chillingly, that they had given him a little bit extra to essentially,
one would assume, to try to get the job done. It didn't work. Navalny is still alive. The Kremlin has a lot to answer for now. We have reached out
to them for comment but Max we have not yet heard back.
FOSTER: OK, Clarissa, thank you. The U.K. is alarmed over the new virus variant the U.S. State of California is being crushed by the older ones.
That's at least in the words of one top medical official, and here's why.
The average number of new cases has gone through the roof in recent weeks, reaching more than 40,000 per day. That's far more than in Germany or the
U.K. populations are much bigger. That's not all things are expected to get even worse with the Christmas and New Year's holidays coming up. So much
so, the parts of California may run out of available ICU beds.
Our next guest is dealing with that crisis first hard. Dr. David Lubarsky is the Chief Executive Officer of the Health System of University of
California David is joining us from Sacramento. You have seen how we're covering this story around the world. How does it compare to things are
where you are?
DR. DAVID LUBARSKY, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, UC DAVIS HEALTH: We're obviously very concerned. The state has issued lock down orders for most of
the state in order to prevent further spread. We have been very lucky in Northern California compared to Southern California. It's a very large
state, as you might imagine, and there are different characteristics of virus spread in various regions.
FOSTER: How do you explain it? Have scientists talking to you about why it's particularly hit that region?
DR. LUBARSKY: We actually don't know because some of the most aggressive viral containment strategies have been exercised in the Los Angeles area,
which is among the hardest hit. I can comment certainly on the Capital Sacramento, it's very interesting.
The lock down orders here in this city are very well attended, and there is less density of people in some of the surrounding counties around
Sacramento, and so it seems that those two things have really impacted and reduced the spread here in Northern California.
San Francisco is doing equally well, but that apparently is not working well in Southern California, and we are unclear as to why there's been such
a rapid spread because there's actually better weather there, and people are less likely to be forced inside. We would have expected a worse
trajectory here in the northern parts of California, but have not seen it yet.
FOSTER: Any discussion about whether another variant could have emerged in the way that it did in the U.K., which might be faster spreading?
DR. LUBARSKY: It very well might be. As you know, Southern California is a draw for people all over the world, and the possibility of the introduction
of a variant is certainly something that the public health authorities and researchers in the University of California are no doubt pursuing.
FOSTER: Obviously one positive we've got in all of this is the vaccine. Where are we with your vaccine program there?
[11:20:00]
DR. LUBARSKY: Right. So first of all, we are all amazingly thankful and grateful that a vaccine is here, not on the horizon, but here - among the
fastest groups to sort of get behind this, we got our initial shipment of 4,800 doses just six days ago and which turned out to be 6,000 doses with
the over filling of the Pfizer viles.
We have already gone through more than half of that in less than a week, and we plan to get Moderna doses here shortly and that will allow us at
least to get our health care work force 100 percent of those who want it, and who are taking care of patients, vaccinated before the New Year.
FOSTER: So what sort of point in next year do you expect to have all the key groups vaccinated because we may well have the AstraZeneca vaccine by
then as well? There are very - the ones I know you're committed to.
DR. LUBARSKY: Right, so we're hoping that all health care workers and hopefully first responders who bring them to the hospital will have been
vaccinated around the first of the year or the week after the first of the year. Following that, the elderly in congregant living facilities will
begin to receive that vaccine.
People over the age of 75 and other essential workers such as grocery workers and transportation workers must interact with the public before the
end of January. It will be sometime, probably in the April, May, June time frame before the greater general public begins to be tiered and receive the
vaccine, but part of that depends on the supply chain and deliveries. If we can get to them quicker, we will spare no effort to assist public health in
helping to do that.
FOSTER: Positive that's going well and you're keeping up with the plan there, but the immediate challenge obviously is the ICU units presumably.
Some of them are full as I understand. Can u describe you just describe a bit more about that and how you're prioritizing because there's going to be
other patients who aren't going to be able to get the treatment when there's more already in there, right?
LUBARSKY: Right. Right now, we are the largest ICU provider in all of Northern California, and we have 84 ICU beds, but we have the capacity to
surge to 200 ICU beds. So we have been able to flex as required, to take care of every single person, both COVID, and non-COVID, because there's a
lot of people out there who did delay their care, and who are now sicker than ever, who require care in our ICUs.
So we have been very lucky in that we have yet to have exceeded our search capacity. Down in the southern region, they are out of ICU beds there, and
they are in some hospitals beginning to have to decide as Italy did, at the beginning of the crisis. You know, who is actually going to get the
premiere ICU beds, and we want to never be in that circumstance, so getting a handle on further spread is absolutely critical.
FOSTER: Absolutely, Dr. Lubarsky, thank you very much indeed, and that incredible mission you're all on there. Now to a major development in the
economic response to the crisis U.S. lawmakers have finally reached a deal on a $900 billion stimulus plan with congress set to vote in the coming
hours.
It will come as relief for families desperately across the country this winter. Many of them will now get $600 checks. CNN's Manu Raju is on
Capitol Hill. Manu, this has been a huge political undertaking and there was a huge amount of relief I think in a lot of the coverage I saw
overnight.
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And it's still going to take a little bit of time to get this into law. Get actually the relief
into the hands of the American public but this came after months of partisan squabbling, stalemate, division, ultimately over the last several
days, marathon negotiation between the leaders of congress to cut this deal, $900 billion in relief that will go out, once approved.
Now we still have not seen the actual fine print, the details the bill tax, the actual legislation that the House and the Senate need to approve and
send to the president's desk and we do expect to see that soon. But the fact is that it hadn't come out yet and the members of congress are going
to vote today on this bill without even having read the bill tax.
Nevertheless, it's expected to pass certainly the House today and then it goes on to the United States Senate. The expectation is it will pass the
Senate but the Senate is a body that can delay action if one member objects. Uncertain if anyone would.
And then it will take a few days to get over to the president's desk because of all the associated paperwork. Eventually the president will sign
it then the relief will go out. But yes, this has a number of provisions, it will be critical for people struggling in this economy. You mentioned
$300 a week.
[11:25:00]
RAJU: Unemployment benefits, people are about to see their unemployment benefits dry out. We expect those enhanced unemployment benefits to be
kicked into the system as soon as later this month, December 27th.
Also one time direct payments for people who make less than $75,000 a year, $600 and each individual person and their family would get an additional
$600, depending on the income threshold. We expect about $284 billion for small business loans under the small business program, as well as billions
more for vaccines, more than 82 billion for schools that are trying to reopen.
So there are a lot of provisions in this bill to help so many different sectors of the economy that are struggling. They still got to get it done,
they still got to get it passed, and then even when they get it passed, the democratic leaders are saying that's not enough. They need to do more when
Joe Biden gets sworn in, Max.
FOSTER: Yes, big changes coming up. Manu Raju, thank you very much indeed for that. Another angle on the economic impact here on the markets, any
optimism it seems that over that breakthrough on the virus, vaccine appears to have been overwhelmed by fears over the new COVID variant in the U.K.
This is how the U.S. indices are looking right now. Gloomy, they seem to have taken a cue from Europe but the tax from the CAC Quarante fell around
3 points. Germany and France suspended traffic to the U.K. The FTSE 100 obviously down as well by about 1.5 percent.
Just moments ago, the U.S. unveiled criminal charges meanwhile against an alleged bomb maker in the 1988 terrorist bombing of pan A.M. Flight 103
overlooking Scotland. The announcement is one of U.S. Attorney General William Barr's final acts leaving the Justice Department.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM BARR, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: I am pleased to announce that the United States has filed criminal charges against the third conspirator -
for his role in the bombing of Pan A.M. Flight 103. Let there be no mistake, no amount of time or distance will stop the United States and our
Scottish partners from pursuing justice in this case.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Now, the announcement comes on the 32nd anniversary of the attack that killed 270 people, including 190 Americans. Now, up next, as another
Brexit deadline falls by the wayside, I'll be asking the Irish Minister of the European Affairs for his take on the possible no deal scenario. Plus
some vulnerable adults of U.K. are desperate to get vaccinated for COVID- 19, because for them, time is of the essence. We'll hear their stories coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:30:00]
FOSTER: More on our top story, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tries to hold a news conference after dozens of nations shut their borders to the
U.K. They're trying to contain a mutated variant of COVID-19 that is spreading even faster than the original. The past few hours alone India and
Hong Kong slapped travel bans on U.K. flights, joining many European countries closing their doors to Britain.
Meanwhile, France says it's working on a European plan to get traffic at the Dover Port and other borders flowing again that's over major concerns
about food supplies getting into the U.K. As Boris Johnson grapples with this latest COVID-19 emergency at least, he's also got the Brexit deadlock
hanging over him, the U.K. and EU are still at the bargaining table.
But another deadline for a trade deal has come and gone. We are connecting now to the Irish Minister of State for European Affairs, Thomas Byrne he
joins us live from Continental Ireland, and thank you so much for joining us. This U.K. story about this new variant is really sort of blown up,
hasn't it, over the weekend, and you guys had to react. Take us through the process of what you were heard from London, and how you did react with that
closure of the border?
THOMAS BYRNE, IRISH MINISTER OF STATE FOR EUROPEAN AFFAIRS: Well, clearly when the news came in from London, and the government has considered a
position and senior government ministers met yesterday decided from polls, and a - ban on nonessential travel to leave Great Britain and Ireland.
Is that time we review it tomorrow, there is a list of exempt categories truck drivers and other essential people for shipping companies listed on
the government web site gov.ie. and you can get that information there.
But generally speaking, we're advising people not to visit Ireland at the moment from Britain. What we have done for some people who are in Britain
on temporary stay, there are some people who are there for medical treatment for the last few days, and other people have good reason as well.
There's a phone number that they can contact and the Department of Foreign Affairs is working to arrange repatriation fights but only for those who
have been there temporarily on very short stage, not for those who are generally resident of Britain at this time and that number is 016131700
Dublin, and people can ring that number give their details, and the department as we speak is working to arrange transport for those people who
have been you might say left stranded there at the moment.
But the situation would be reviewed is on constantly, and the cabinet will meet tomorrow to consider the position.
FOSTER: I know you're working with EU counterparts to try to come up with some protocols that would get traffic going again. What sort of protocols
might they be?
BYRNE: Look, I think this situation is obviously very, very new to everybody. We want to make sure we do what's really - that had situation in
all of our countries. We're looking to see, is this particular strain of the virus in the country at the moment. We don't have that evidence but
there's obviously a lot of movement between our - at various European countries.
We don't want to be in the situation. Let me be very, very clear about that. We don't want our citizens stranded. We don't want them put at risk,
and I don't think any European country does either. So I'm pretty - with that what we want to make sure is obviously the nonessential travel doesn't
start, and we haven't wanted that for some time.
We're saying to people now, it's a terrible thing to say not to come home for Christmas if you're currently living in Great Britain, but we do need
those supply lines open. Britain needs them, France needs them and Ireland needs them as well. But if you have any difficulties please contact the
Department of Foreign Affairs, the staffs are working very, very hard to try to make ministry arrangements.
FOSTER: Just a thought on one view that's bubbling up on social media at least here in the U.K. that Europe is punishing the U.K. through this
process, isolating it when this is a problem that could have emerged in any country. What's your response to that?
BYRNE: Absolutely not. That's not the case. And certainly we want to be - and I don't believe that's what any European member state wants it to be
out. The situation is too serious, too grave, a pandemic obviously where lives are at stake, and of course Brexit where livelihoods are at stake.
So I think that any European capital is now - we're looking to see how do we fix this, how do we work this to make sure we keep those supply lines
open, and at the same time obviously in every member state is the duty to protect its citizens and that's obviously clear.
Nobody wants to do this. There is nothing that wants us to - I want to be very, very clear about that. Britain is our neighbor, and it's an essential
trading partner. We're very sad and Britain is left the European Union but that's the reality.
We certainly hope that despite all of the busyness of the government, the pressure the government is under with the pandemic, that it will also give
the appropriate, to make sure that we do get a deal, which would be in everybody's interest where we're all winners and we don't have further -
department, our economy for our livelihoods on top of the uncertainty for our lives and livelihoods in the pandemic.
[11:35:00]
FOSTER: Just are you able to give us any insight into where we are with the talks? I know they're obviously being a lock down in their own way. How
close are we to some sort of a deal between the U.K. and EU, and is it the familiar sticking points that are causing the problems?
BYRNE: No, it is the familiar sticking points. It's not where the best support have been, it is very positive that both sides are talking. I would
be more positive a few weeks ago because we have more time. Clearly I think both sides are under significant time pressure and there's no other way to
address that.
Britain has decided itself to meet on the 31st of January - that's a decision that Britain took earlier on this year, so it's in Britain's
interest, and I did in all of our interest a deal is reached so that we can protect livelihoods as best we can. With job they're at risk with a no deal
Brexit, it would be difficult because - much of this traffic would be deal or no deal, and that's the decision that Britain has taken to leave the
single market to leave the Customs Union.
But we can have a decision now before the New Year, and as I said we open before Christmas. We won't be imposing tariffs or forced to impose tariffs
in the WTO rules, if Britain decides to have W.T.O. and that's done no deal and that's on - huge economic stress and Britain and the rest of the
European continent as well.
So we hope that that can be avoided and wiser heads will prevail, and we can get back to making sure that the Brexit that Britain has chosen, who
work us best account - pretty damaging component as well as I would say it's Britain.
But also the governments can concentrate on the pandemic, and also, I mean, this isn't just a trade agreement. This is a future relationship agreement,
clearly those relationships, we had emphasized time and time again with resources but those relationships are really, really important as well in
the context of the pandemic.
And I would have to say as a member state of the European Union and I feel great strength dealing with the pandemic, and I've no doubt that in terms
of our future relationship, whatever that might be if there's cooperation across at least some areas where the European Union work so that can be to
everybody's benefits.
FOSTER: President Biden obviously very committed to politics between the borders, north and south on the Island of Ireland. How evolved in this has
he been, you know, via the Irish side. Is he lobbying in a certain way? What sort of conversations have you had?
BYRNE: Look, I think the terms to the - to the withdrawal agreement of Northern Ireland, those issues have resolved, and again, I used to give
them credit, and the - has given credit to the British government. Michel - who worked with - there were some issues, but they have been resolved.
So last September, when it was published, for contention causes, President Biden was very strong in what he said about those sources in terms of his
worry about the peace process but those issues have now been resolved to everybody's satisfaction. That is why we think trade deals can be resolved
as well, and can work very, very well.
FOSTER: President-Elect Biden, I was getting ahead of myself. Thank you. Thomas Byrne, Irish Minister of State for European Affairs, thank you very
much indeed for joining us at a very critical time for all the countries involved on these stories.
Now there are millions of people in the U.K. with serious health conditions of course but they'll have to stand in line for a vaccine like everyone
else. CNN's Nina Dos Santos looks at how the wait in the longer quarantine and lockdowns especially excruciating for them?
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For cystic fibrosis sufferers, like Michael Winehouse, the pandemic has been painful. His family has spent much
of this year sheltering at home, but with a disease that limits Michael's life expectancy, each moment is precious, and those moments would be easier
if he had immunity to COVID-19.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had to shield for a significant period at start of March, and we didn't leave the house for something like 100 days. We have
had to make sacrifices much like everybody has, especially those who are vulnerable.
SANTOS (voice over): Clinically extremely vulnerable people with a range of health problems lobbied hard to get swifter access to the U.K.'s
vaccination programs, and were recently pushed up the priority list to 4th place, alongside those aged 70 to 74. But most still have no idea when they
will get the jab?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wish the government were providing stats on who's getting it and when, while I appreciate everyone needs it, and everyone
will get it, I would like to know when it's my turn.
SANTOS (voice over): It's estimated 3.3 million people across the U.K. are at a very high risk of COVID-19 because of their acute medical conditions.
This country was the first in the world to approve the Pfizer vaccine and begin rolling it out.
[11:40:00]
SANTOS (voice over): However, those early supplies are limited and they're reserved for now for front line health care staff, care home workers and
the elderly meaning there were 8 million people further up the priority list above the clinically extremely vulnerable.
SANTOS (on camera): The government's watchdog anticipates less than half of the U.K.'s 66 million population will have been vaccinated by the end of
next year.
MARTA KOCH, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, THE LANCET: It's really important to emphasize that these are extremely complex decisions and they have to be evidence
based, many people who are extremely clinical vulnerable, will be mono compromised as well, and at this stage, we don't know how they will respond
to the vaccine or which vaccine maybe more suitable for them. We need more evidence.
SANTOS (voice over): Kate Blagojevic has just survived cancer but treatment has ravaged her immune system. She is not sure how she'll respond to the
vaccine but does see room for greater discretion its distribution.
KATE BLAGOJEVIC, CANCER SURVIVOR: I'm in my early 40s. I've got a 3-year- old, I want to go out and live my life. I've had cancer. It was awful, and now I just really want to get on with the rest of my life, and live it as
fully and happily as possible as soon as possible.
ASHLEY HERMAN, FATHER WITH MULTIPLE SCELEROSIS: A vaccine could take that away, and relieve that stress and pressure it would make a huge difference
to our lives.
SANTOS (voice over): For some of the vulnerable, having a vaccine means both having a life and a livelihood like Ashley Herman with multiple
sclerosis.
HERMAN: At the end of November, so things are pretty tricky at the moment.
SANTOS (on camera): How would your life change if you were to be able to get access to the vaccine?
HERMAN: I will, first of all, jump for joy.
SANTOS (voice over): Michael's son Oscar is also jumping for joy. When his dad gets his vaccine, he'll be able to do so safely outside as well. Nina
Dos Nina, CNN, London.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: A story just coming into CNN, four men have been convicted in the U.K. in a case involving with 39 migrant men, women and teenagers from
Vietnam. The migrants were found dead in the back of this truck East of London in October last year.
Now a British court has found two men guilty of manslaughter while to others were convicted of conspiracy to assist illegal immigration.
Investigators say the victims ran out of air after spending more than 11 hours in the refrigerated container of the truck. Four other suspects pled
guilty to charges before the trial.
Let's get you up to date with some other stories that are on our radar for you right now. AstraZeneca and the makers of the Sputnik Russian
Coronavirus vaccine have signed a deal to test the combination of the two vaccines. The two vaccines have a similar make up and joint clinical trials
will test the effectiveness of that combination.
And the E.U. Drugs Regulator is recommending the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine for approval, setting up the European Commission to approve the vaccine
later today. If all goes to plan, Europeans will start getting the jab later this week as early as Sunday in fact.
And in the U.S. where the Pfizer vaccine is already in use, President-Elect Joe Biden will get his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine today along with
his wife Jill Biden, in Wilmington, Delaware. But the current Vice President Mike Pence Biden is expected to get the vaccine on camera.
Now next, we'll take you to a very busy distribution site in the Southeastern United States, where millions of doses of the Coronavirus
vaccine are one step closer to protecting front line health care workers. That's just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:45:00]
FOSTER: Now, all this week we'll be exploring India's wealth of culinary traditions by meeting some of its most celebrated chefs. Many people are
unable to travel due to the global pandemic of course. These chefs are finding ways to reconnect with their home country by the kitchen. In this
edition of "Reconnect Indian" CNN's Cyril Vanier speaks with one of these chefs hailing from the East Indian State of West Bengal.
CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kolkata is the Capital of West Bengal, and India's third largest city with the Holy River and arm of the Ganges
running through its center and flowing south into the Bay of Bengal, Kolkata's food culture is deeply connected to the water and its bounty.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PALASH MITRA, CULINARY DIRECTOR, SOUTH ASIAN CUSINES, BLACK SHEEP RESTAURANTS: Food is consume and a lot of passion, whether it's a funeral
or if it is a marriage, you start with fish. You live with fish, you end with fish.
VANIER (voice over): This is Palash Mitra a chef based in Hong Kong but born in Kolkata.
MITRA: I really love cooking with fish. I think it just flows naturally.
VANIER (voice over): Mastering a range of Indian cuisines Mitra has earned a Michella Star (ph) and Popular Acclaim. Now in his restaurant on Hong
Kong's Victoria Peak, Mitra wants to put a Bengali dish on the menu.
MITRA: Bengalis would usually go out twice a day to buy the fresh fish. The family activities revolve around the fathers, the grandfathers going to the
market buying fish and cooking and people would go there just fill the life.
VANIER (voice over): Kolkata's vibrant city life is famous the world over. The streets are usually at their busiest during Durga Pooja, the festival
that celebrates the Hindu Goddess of war and strength. In previous years people visited Kolkata's pop up temples known as Pandles in the millions.
They came to worship and to eat.
MITRA: Some people make a list like for lunch I'm going to go three - and eat three meals. It's like socializing to the maximum. You meet so many
different people, you take in so many sights and sounds, and this is totally different.
VANIER (voice over): During the pandemic, many Pandles did not open to the public. Instead, organizers encouraged people to experience the festival
online. Technology helps, but for Mitra, food has never been more important to celebrate Kolkata from afar.
MITRA: You know remember this is a dish we made for a wedding day as well.
VANIER (voice over): While travel remains a challenge, Mitra is serving up Kolkata traditions family style, and inviting a whole new audience to the
table. Cyril Vanier, CNN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: And up next, the strangest moments of a very strange year. The list is long of course, but it's not all bad news, as we'll explain next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:50:00]
FOSTER: Now the Chief Scientific Adviser for Operation Warp Speed is warning that the current U.S. COVID surge will get worse. Moncef Slaoui
said that we haven't seen the full impact of the holiday season yet; speaking to CNN's Jake Tapper he also discussed the latest mishap with the
U.S. vaccine rollout. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MONCEF SLAOUI, CHIEF SCIENTIFIC ADVISER, OPERATION WARP SPEED: I think unfortunately it will get worse because we still are experiencing the
outcome of the Thanksgiving holidays and the gatherings and unfortunately there may be more with the Christmas.
Over the Christmas holidays, so there will a continuing surge, exactly what the numbers may be, I don't know. But unfortunately they're going to be
higher than what they are today, most likely. As you were saying, there is light at the end of the tunnel. There are now two vaccines that are
approved. They are incredibly effective and efficacious.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Many states say that they're not getting all of the vaccines they were promised. I want you to take a listen to your Operation
Warp Speed counterpart General Gustave Perna just yesterday.
GENERAL GUSTAVE PERNA, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, OPERATION WARP SPEED: It was my fault. I gave guidance. I am the one that approved the forecast
sheets. I am the one that approved the allocations. It was a planning error, and I am responsible.
TAPPER: First of all, let me just say how refreshing it is to hear anyone in leadership in the United States government take responsibility for a
mistake. Beyond that, though, what can you tell us about when this is going to be fixed, the states get what they need?
SLAOUI: Well, let me first acknowledge, indeed, the leadership of General Perna. We call it, this operation, we work every day together. He is an
exceptional leader, absolutely. And I think he's been brave to take this on him personally.
We all made the error or mistake of assuming that vaccine that's actually produced and being released is already available for shipment when in fact
there's a two days lag between the time at which we generate a lot of data that shows this vaccine vile is actually safe and right and the time we can
ship it.
The FDA has to receive certain documentation, and that's really where that lag period has resulted in differences in between what was in the plan and
what was actually done. I think we have addressed that. We will optimize every day what we are doing. We now are clear that we will be shipping 5.9
million doses of the Moderna vaccine and 2 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine on Monday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Now, we're going to look back on 2020, because it's been a year full of unexpected change for so many around the world, mostly due to that
pandemic of course. But amid the darker moments, there have been some spots of humor and levity as CNN's Jeanne Moos reports.
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: 2020 was a roller coaster year on a roller coaster with more downs than ups, Belmont Park near San Diego; the
passengers were stuffed animals to lighten the mood during maintenance runs since no humans were allowed due to COVID.
The pandemic inspired ingenuity, be it the useless but satisfying mask launcher or the plastic hug time that allowed a great grandmother to hug
her grand kids, featuring gloves normally used for examining the nether regions of livestock. Hormel tried to bring home the bacon with this
marketing ploy, a mask with a scent of bacon. It was a year when weathermen and reporters got nabbed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If it is successful, guys.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very cool.
MOOS (voice over): Caught with their pants off working from home. And a soap opera actor had to make out with a manikin. The lack of play dates
during the pandemic made for strange bed fellows. 2-year-old Theo Brady became inseparable from his boney buddy Benny. Mom said after Halloween.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to try to put him away.
MOOS (voice over): Benny is still there, though he did break in two. Fortunately, 6-month-old Rich Humphreys is intact after making news as one
of the world's youngest water skiers, and Magician David Blaine reached new heights, suspended from 52 helium balloons at an altitude almost 5 miles
up.
[11:55:00]
MOOS (voice over): He released, parachuting to earth in a perfect touchdown. More of a fumble was this botched art restoration in Spain
dubbed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Potato head.
MOOS: Animals were a scream in 2020, Chico, the parrot at a zoo in England parroted Beyonce' hit. And if I were CNN's Joe Johns, I too, may have
tossed a step stool after raccoons invaded the White House lawn, and despite traps, twice tried to join Joe for live shots once even grabbing at
his trouser leg.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Flicking raccoons, man.
MOOS (voice over): Even scarier was a cougar that followed a guy out running in Utah for nearly six minutes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on dude, I don't feel like dying today.
MOOS (voice over): He didn't. Finally threw a rock and the cougar took off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Holy cow.
MOOS (voice over): And there was the fly that invaded Vice President Pence's hair for two minutes during a debate. Pizza ground hog hogged a
slice in Philadelphia, while pizza rat man entertained folks in New York. But what's more entertaining than a blooper?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Name Popeye's' favorite food.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chicken.
MOOS (voice over): Eve may have blown the answer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Spinach.
MOOS (voice over): But the fast food chain Popeye's' gave her a $10,000 check because they said they thought her answer was right. It was our
favorite game show blunder of 2020.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A year when we could all have used spinach picks me up.
MOOS (voice over): Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: It wasn't all bad, was it. Thanks for watching "Connect the World," I'm Max Foster in London. Back to the serious stuff in a moment though
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson holding a news conference after an emergency Coronavirus meeting. We'll bring you that live as it happens. Do
stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson about to speak after an emergency government meeting to address the spread of the new Coronavirus
variant. The variant is thought to be far more transmissible, and effects get beyond health. More and more countries are banning or restricting
travel in and out of the U.K.
The Prime Minister has put London and other parts of the country under tougher lockdown measures yet.
END
