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World Prepares for the Vaccine; England Soon to Start Vaccination Program; South Korea Seeing a Constant Spike in Virus Cases; Germany Going in the Wrong Direction; Brexit Talks Revived in Britain; Hottest Weather Felt in November; Cases Surge Across the United States and Hospitals are Stretched Thin; Stay-at-Home Order for Most of California to Slow Down the Spread of the Virus; Trump Lawyer Rudy Giuliani Tests Positive for COVID-19; Balance of Power in U.S. Senate Rests on Election Runoffs in Georgia; Active Phase of Military Operation Over in Tigray. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired December 07, 2020 - 03:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

Ahead on "CNN Newsroom," with coronavirus cases and hospitalizations putting pressure on health care systems across the U.S., California places tens of millions under strict new restrictions to slow down the virus's spread.

Plus, a CNN exclusive report from the Sudan-Ethiopia border, testimonies from refugees who risked their life to escape conflict.

And later, all eyes are on the U.K. as it readies to become the first western nation to roll out a COVID-19 vaccine.

Good to have you with us. Well, a staggering surge in COVID cases across the U.S. is stretching hospitals thin as one expert warns a grim future lies ahead in the coming weeks.

More than 175,000 cases were reported Sunday, including more than 30,000 in California alone. New restrictions have just gone into effect. The tens of millions of people in that state, they will be required to stay at home for the next few weeks.

California is battling record numbers of new infections and it is not alone. In just the first five days of this month, the U.S. reported more than one million cases.

It took 100 days to reach that same milestone when the pandemic first began, and as cases rise, so are hospitalizations. In fact, the U.S. is seeing the highest number of COVID-19 hospitalizations ever.

More than 101,000 among those hospitalized is President Donald Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani. The 76-year-old was admitted Sunday after Mr. Trump announced Giuliani had tested positive. A member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force is urging the public to stay vigilant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBORAH BIRX, CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE COORDINATOR FOR THE WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS TASK FORCE: It is really important at this moment in time that everyone understands also how much virus is out there. There isn't a state without increase in cases right now, except Hawaii.

So this is where we find ourselves. We have to listen right now to what we know works, which is mask, physical distancing, washing your hands, but not gathering. You cannot gather without masks in any indoor or closed outdoor situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): Amid all this cautious optimism, a vaccine will soon be available. The chief scientific adviser for Operation Warp Speed still urges caution, though.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MONCEF SLAOUI, CHIEF SCIENTIFIC ADVISER, OPERATION WARP SPEED: This virus is a killer. We have a vaccine. There is light at the end of the tunnel. But we will not all have the vaccine in our arms before May or June, so we need to be very cautious and vigilant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): In California, officials hope the new restrictions now in place will help curb the spread of COVID-19. But those measures will also be putting new pressure on some businesses forced to close their doors. CNN's Paul Vercammen has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In all of these stay-at-home orders now being adapted in California, one of the rules is no more outdoor dining in the Southern California region, in the San Joaquin region, and much of the bay area.

Now, for these restaurant owners, it has just been awful and worse for these employees right behind me. They closed down Pineapple Hill Saloon and Grill in Sherman Oaks. The owner went viral with whatever messages. I talked to her. She says one thing that is just absolutely crushing for her is telling employees that they do not have a job for the holidays.

ANGELA MARSDEN, RESTAURANT OWNER: It's unbearable. I mean, you try to put on a good face. You try to say don't worry, we are going to reopen, I'm going to make it happen. But to look at my staff, give them their last paycheck right before Christmas, some of them are newer staff that have been shut down over and over, unemployment is running out, and they kids and children, it is the most excruciating feeling.

UNKNOWN: There is no option. There is no option for our entire industry. And it is not because of we are trying to stand on unemployment and just, you know, sit on that.

[03:05:02]

UNKNOWN: Mine is almost out, and I have no idea. I have no idea what I'm going to do.

VERCAMMEN: And the owner here at the Saloon and Grill telling me she has explored the possibility of take out, still trying to work it out, but the numbers just don't add up in terms of trying to make some kind of profit by staying open for takeout and delivery only.

I am reporting from Sherman Oaks. I'm Paul Vercammen.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

CHURCH (on camera): President Trump's personal attorney appears to be in good spirits after his coronavirus diagnosis and hospitalization. Rudy Giuliani tweeted that he is getting great care and feeling good.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Coronavirus has struck once again inside President Trump's inner circle. This time, the former New York City mayor and the president's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, testing positive for the virus. The president announced the news in a tweet on Sunday.

Now, he didn't provide many details about Giuliani's condition, but a source familiar with the matter told me a few hours after the president's tweet that Mayor Giuliani was indeed admitted to the hospital, admitted to Georgetown University Hospital here in Washington, D.C., a sign that clearly his condition was serious enough to at least warrant hospitalization.

Giuliani, of course, is 76 years old and in that high risk category. But over the last week, what we have seen from Mayor Giuliani is him engaging in a kind of behavior that he certainly shouldn't engage in during this coronavirus pandemic, especially when you're in high risk category.

Giuliani was crisscrossing the country, vising three key states in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election. You can see him here on Thursday. He was in Atlanta, Georgia, the Georgia state capital, shaking hands, hugging people, taking pictures with folks in very close quarters, all of this not wearing a mask.

This is the kind of reckless behavior again that not only puts Mayor Giuliani at risk but that puts other folks at risk. Now that he has tested positive, a lot of those people could potentially have been infected with the virus. So that is obviously a concern. Now, Mayor Giuliani, we don't have any updates on his condition, but his son did take to Twitter on Sunday to say -- quote -- "My dad Rudy Giuliani is resting, getting great care, and feeling well. Thank you to all the friends who have reached out concerned about his well- being.

Giuliani is just the latest person in the president's inner circle to test positive for the virus. We have seen dozens of people close to the president testing positive.

And while you certainly can't contract this virus when you're trying to be as careful as possible, many of those around the president or folks who have disregarded those public health guidelines, rejecting the wearing masks as an important preventative measure.

And of course none other than the president himself has continued to disregard those public health guidelines and hasn't done anything amidst this deadly surge of the pandemic to encourage Americans to take those steps.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

CHURCH (on camera): And joining me now from Los Angeles is Dr. Robert Kim-Farley, a professor at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. He is also the former director of Communicable Disease Control and Prevention at the Los Angeles County Public Health Department. Thank you, doctor, for joining us and for all you do.

ROBERT KIM-FARLEY, PROFESSOR AT UCLA FIELDING SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, FORMER DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICABLE DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION AT LOS ANGELES COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT: Rosemary, it is always good to be with you. Thank you.

CHURCH: Thank you. So, most of California now is under stay-at-home orders in an effort to control this virus. It is, of course, a delicate balancing act, trying to protect citizens while not damaging the economy too drastically. Would strict enforcement of mask wearing better serve the state or is this lockdown absolutely necessary at this time?

KIM-FARLEY: At this time, with the amount of surge, in fact I am now calling it a viral tsunami that is hitting us, we really need to pull out all the stops to be able to stop this tsunami and begin to flatten the curve and ideally get going back down again with the number of cases.

We are experiencing a situation such that, for example, here in Southern California, only something, like, 10.3 percent of our ICU beds are now available.

CHURCH: Yeah, the numbers are absolutely shocking. Of course, on a national stage, President Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani has been admitted to hospital after testing positive for COVID-19. He certainly sounds like he is feeling well at this point. He has ignored health guidelines and after coming into close contact with many people in Atlanta last Thursday and in the days that followed, many others have now been exposed to the virus, as well.

What do those people need to do and how bad could this prove to be for Giuliani given he is 76 years old with some very serious underlying health issues?

KIM-FARLEY: Certainly, as we all wish for anyone a speedy health, the situation, of course, for him, he is an elderly, 76. In a sense, that is a higher risk group.

[03:10:00]

KIM-FARLEY: I hope that mainly here, viewership takes away the message that look, masking is important and that this disease can affect anyone no matter what level you are at. So we only need to be playing our part here to wear masks, to practice physical distancing. That is the only way we really can stop this from being a catastrophe for us.

As we see round the country, everywhere is going up at the same time now. And I think that we need to double down on our efforts, hang in there because as an earlier speaker mentioned, we do have a light at the end of the tunnel with vaccines on their way. So, we all need to just step up one more time here and turn this around again.

CHURCH: Right. Let's talk about that countdown to the day when we have access to the COVID-19 vaccine, also the U.K. preparing to start their vaccinations this week and Pfizer's FDA advisory meeting set for this coming Thursday in the United States.

It is expected that once approved, distribution of that vaccine will start almost immediately here in the U.S., going first to help professionals and residents in nursing homes and then to other vulnerable groups, and ultimately the general public. But what concerns do you have about the challenges involved in getting as many people vaccinated as soon as possible?

KIM-FARLEY: Well, I think there are number of challenges. First, of course, is the manufacturing capacity. Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca are all trying to gear up as fast as they can but as safely as they can.

So, there is the issue of supply side, there is issue of the logistics to get out the vaccine to different places that need it. Some of them, for example, the Pfizer vaccine has particular challenges in the minus 70 degrees centigrade temperature that requires it to be stored at.

I think thirdly, we have the challenge of having the public stepping up and getting the vaccine. We want to make sure that everyone is comfortable about the vaccine. They realize it has gone through scientific processes and vetted. It's going to be a safe and effective vaccine.

But we all need to step up and take it because that will then give us our community immunity or herd immunity as some referred to. That will then break the back of this pandemic here in the United States.

CHURCH: Dr. Robert Kim-Farley, thank you so much for joining us. We do appreciate it.

KIM-FARLEY: My pleasure.

CHURCH (on camera): Thank you. Voters here in Georgia have some major political leverage right now. The state is less than a month away from two runoff elections that will decide whether Republicans keep control of the U.S. Senate.

On Sunday, Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler debated Democratic challenger Raphael Warnock. Loeffler faced questions about President Trump and his claims of election fraud. She said he has a right to investigate alleged issues. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. KELLY LOEFFLER (R-GA): It's very clear that there were issues in this election. There are 250 investigations open, including an investigation into one of my opponent's organizations, you know, for voter fraud. And we have to make sure that Georgians trust this process.

President Trump has every right to use every legal recourse available. In our own state, we have seen time and again that we have investigations that need to be completed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): And Georgia's secretary of state, a Republican, says his office has yet to find evidence supporting fraud that would change the elections outcome. And Loeffler's opponent in the Senate race says it's time to move forward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAPHAEL WARNOCK, U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE: Stacey Abrams did not refuse to acknowledge the fact that her opponent was the governor. Here we are several weeks after the election and Kelly Loeffler continues to cast doubt on an American democratic election. It's time to put this behind us and get focused on the concerns of ordinary people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): Meantime, Republican incumbent David Perdue refused to participate in a debate against his opponent, Democratic candidate, Jon Ossoff. So on Sunday, Ossoff debated next to an empty podium.

Ron Brownstein is a senior CNN political analyst. He joins me now from Los Angeles. It is always great to have you with us.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: So great to be with you, Rosemary. CHURCH: So Ron, we all watched the debate between Republican Kelly Loeffler and Democrat Raphael Warnock as they battled it out in advance of the January 5th Senate runoff election here in Georgia. Which one came out on top and what did the polls show in terms of what each one has to do to win in this very close election?

BROWNSTEIN: So far, the polling has shown Raphael Warnock ahead. The caveat being it is really hard to pull for special election because you have even less certainty about who is going to show up and vote than you do in a normal election.

[03:15:03]

BROWNSTEIN: And obviously, in this previous November, we saw once again the polls underestimated how many of Trump's non-urban, non- college white supporters were turn out.

Look, in this debate, you saw that Kelly Loeffler was completely invested in a single message, robotically, really, over and over again, that Raphael Warnock was a radical, liberal tool of Chuck Schumer.

You can see from that debate, she pretty much abandoned the idea of trying to move the white collar suburbs outside Atlanta that trended away from Donald Trump. She is all about turning out the base.

Raphael Warnock probably could have pushed back a little harder sometimes in those characterizations, but I thought he was pretty effective on one consistent note: I am one of you, she is a rich person, she looks out for herself on things about the coronavirus, she will not look out for you.

CHURCH: Yeah. She also knows the word socialist scares a lot of Republicans.

BROWNSTEIN: Yeah.

CHURCH: She kept repeating that one over and over. So, the other critical Senate runoff election on January 5th is the race between Republican David Perdue and Democrat Jon Ossoff. But Perdue refused to debate his Democratic rival. In his place was an empty lectern while Ossoff took all the questions from moderators.

So, how does that play politically? How does Perdue get away with refusing to debate, not once, but twice?

BROWNSTEIN: It's a calculated risk for him. I mean, in that again both of these Republicans are betting overwhelmingly on turning out the Trump base. I think they are assuming that they will not pay a price for refusing to participate in kind of normal rules of small D, democracy, much like Donald Trump has. And David Perdue outpolled Jon Ossoff in November, you know. He ran ahead of Donald -- Perdue ran ahead of Donald Trump.

But I think there is a risk to him as to Loeffler that if there is any kind of splinter in that Trump base based on all of the accusations flying back and forth between the president and the leading Republicans in Georgia about, you know, the president's unfounded claims of fraud there, they are conducting themselves in a way, both Perdue and Loeffler, that leaves very little margin for error with the suburban voters.

I don't see anything in Loeffler tonight that was aimed at converting anyone who wasn't already in her camp. And obviously Perdue by skipping the debate altogether is sending a similar message.

CHURCH: Yeah. Of course, President Trump has talked so much about his false claims of election fraud that many Republicans in Georgia are now questioning why they should even bother to turn out to vote. What is the likely impact? The voters have been told the system is rigged on one hand, but then they're asked to get out and vote. What are they supposed to make of that?

BROWNSTEIN: It's cognitive dissonance. You know, probably not a lot of voters will be affected by it, but you don't need a lot of voters to tilt the outcome in a state that is now a true swing state that is this closely divided.

And Kelly Loeffler was kind of pathetic on that front tonight. I mean, she just simply would not say that Donald Trump won the election -- lost the election, excuse me. She would not defend the governor of Georgia who appointed her. She offered not a single word of defense to him against all of Donald Trump's claims.

It just shows you what a difficult position these Republicans are in now that they have bet their futures so entirely on turning out the Trump base, have accepted the erosion in the suburbs that Trump has generated. That means they have very little leeway to do anything that might have upset that base. You saw that tonight in her struggles on those answers.

CHURCH: We'll see what happens there, as well. Ron Brownstein, thank you as always.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.

CHURCH: The U.S. attorney general is considering quitting his post before President Trump leaves office. That is according to a source who says William Barr is unhappy with how the president is handling things. There has been tension between the two after Barr said the Justice Department found no evidence of widespread election fraud. Two White House officials tell CNN that Mr. Trump has considered firing Barr, but was advised against it.

Meantime, president-elect Joe Biden is expected to nominate California's attorney general to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. That is according to a Biden transition official. If confirmed by the Senate, Xavier Becerra would serve a critical role in the response to the pandemic.

Becerra is a former member of Congress and the first Latino to serve as California's attorney general. He is also being a big defender of the Affordable Care Act signed into law by former President Barack Obama.

And still to come, preparing to roll out the vaccine, we head to the U.K., where an important new week in the battle against COVID-19 has just begun.

[03:19:55]

CHURCH: A CNN exclusive report from the Ethiopia-Sudan border. What refugees are telling us about the fighting inside the Tigray region, who is being targeted and why. Back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: The Ethiopian government has just released a statement on Twitter, reiterating its claim that the active phase of the military operation in Tigray has ended and its forces are restoring law and order now.

The statement comes as CNN has exclusively learned that the conflict is entangling neighboring countries. A member of the liberation group in the Tigray region tells CNN that the majority of the forces operating there are actually from Eritrea.

Meanwhile, neighboring Sudan is under pressure from the fighting as thousands of refugees have flooded over its border with Ethiopia. A CNN team on that border has collected testimony indicating troops are targeting civilians because of their ethnicity.

CNN senior international correspondent Nima Elbagir joins us now from London with her exclusive report. It is always good to see you, Nima. So, what all did you find in your investigation?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is much the worst possible scenario for those looking on at what is happening in the horn of Africa.

[03:25:04]

ELBAGIR (on camera): A regional contagion that threatens not just untangle Eritrea on the ground fighting, we have been told, but also to place further burdens on Sudan's already overburdened infrastructure system.

Much of what you are about to see and hear is incredibly disturbing but is also incredibly important. This is testimony that these refugees risk their lives to tell. Take a look at this, Rosemary.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ELBAGIR (voice-over): The Sudan-Ethiopia border, the last leg in the journey to safety. In the first weeks of the conflict, thousands of refugees in Ethiopia's Tigray region cross daily. Now, the figures are dwindling day by day. Those that do make it here come bearing scars and testimony.

This is Zeray Gabrgeorgis. He says he fled the city of Sheraro near the Ethiopia-Eritrea border.

ZERAY GABRGEORGIS, TIGRAYAN REFUGEE: (UNTRANSLATED).

ELBAGIR (voice-over): He says the Eritrean soldiers beat them with machine guns, lay them on the ground, and put weapons in their mouths. He said if you showed fear, they would kill you. But if you are brave, you escaped with your life and the scars on your back.

This young man is also from the Sheraro, and he described the same scene.

UNKNOWN: (UNTRANSLATED).

ELBAGIR (voice-over): (INAUDIBLE) that we not share his name. Like many here, he is still afraid. It is very hard to know what is happening in Ethiopia's Tigray region because the government hasn't forced a communications blackout.

A CNN team at the Sudan-Ethiopia border spent days gathering testimony from refugees who say they were targeted because of their Tigray ethnicity. They are taking dangerous risks to find safety.

Fayouri arrived in Sudan with a newborn, heavily pregnant when (INAUDIBLE) were attacked by the Ethiopian army. Fayouri fled to back roots, giving birth in a field.

FAYOURI, TIGRAYAN REFUGEE: (UNTRANSLATED).

ELBAGIR (voice-over): She tells us only she and her mother-in-law made it to safety. We can't independently verify their accounts, but they all tell a similar story. The Ethiopian army enters the town, they say, tell civilians they are safe. Ethiopian soldiers leave and then other armed groups arrive.

Huyeet fled Humera, not too far from the Sudanese border.

HUYEET, TIGRAYAN REFUGEE: (UNTRANSLATED).

ELBAGIR (voice-over): He says the Fano militia opened fire and people started to flee. He was hit in the leg with a bullet and fell on the ground. His body mingled with that from other bodies that were piled on top of him. The militiamen threw him in a stream, left him for dead.

HUYEET: (UNTRANSLATED).

ELBAGIR (voice-over): The Fano is an ethnic Amhara militia allied with Ethiopian forces. Huyeet said he was saved by other Tigray refugees who found him and helped him flee to Sudan.

(INAUDIBLE) is 21. He also says he was left for dead by the Fano. He shows us the bandage wound where he says he was attacked with an axe.

A spokesman for the Ethiopian prime minister denies these claims and tells CNN these refugees' testimonies are a result of the fear of the other propaganda. The Tigray leadership had fed its people over the past three decades.

The spokeswoman denied the existence of the Fano Amhara militia but simultaneously, confusingly, acknowledges the militia of the Amhara region were engaged to the extent of securing border towns between the two regions.

Sudan is struggling economically post the ouster of the former dictator, Omar al-Bashir, and this influx of refugees has found little comfort on the side of the border. But, at least, it is somewhere safe.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

ELBAGIR (on camera): The Ethiopian government would not comment specifically on this testimony that Eritrean troops are on the ground in Ethiopia. The Eritrean government, we reached out to them many times but ultimately were unsuccessful in seeking comment, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Extraordinary report. Nima Elbagir is joining us live there. Appreciate it.

ELBAGIR: Thank you.

CHURCH: And coming up next, they are calling it V-Day. The U.K. gears up to administer its first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. That story in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:00]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Well, as we've been reporting, millions of people face new restrictions in California due to record COVID numbers.

And here's how other parts of the world are responding to the pandemic this hour. China's Sinovac vaccines have arrived in Indonesia, 1.2 million doses were transported there. Indonesia has been testing the vaccine since August.

In Europe there are major new restrictions for people in the German state of Bavaria with special rules for Christmas while parts of the U.K. will begin rolling out vaccinations on Tuesday following emergency approval.

So, let's stay in Europe for more on its pandemic strategy. Cyril Vanier is in London as a very busy week begins while Fred Pleitgen joins us from Berlin. Great to see you both.

So, Cyril, let's go to see you first. A critical week for the U.K. with the world watching very closely the U.K. how it distributes this vaccine. How is this going to work?

CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Rosemary, it's hard to understand how important this week is going to be, a real turning point in countries fighting the pandemic. Not just the U.K., but every country that intends to rule out the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine which is the one that is currently in country here.

It's been in here for four days, and even though it hasn't been administered yet, the first jabs will be delivered tomorrow, Tuesday, in Scotland, England and Wales while preparations have been underway, largely out of sight of the cameras for the last few days. So, the doses have been in country for four days.

This is, as you know, entails significant logistical challenges, this particular vaccine, because it needs to be stored and kept and handled at temperatures of minus 70 degrees Celsius.

So, the doses have arrived. They were checked for quality. They are being dispatched to 50 hospitals here in England that will act as vaccination centers. The goal was to, as a matter of priority, vaccinate residents of care homes.

[03:34:56]

However, because of the logistical challenges that we just underscored, and is not going to happen immediately. Because it is so difficult to get those doses of the vaccine at that temperature into the care homes. It's difficult to transport them.

So, the first people will be receiving the jab tomorrow Tuesday are over 80-year-olds who are already in those hospitals, either as outpatients or inpatients. They will be offered the jab first. Then the hospitals will be inviting staff of care homes as well as at risk members of the health service.

And that, Rosemary, it's how it's going to work this week. From there on, the system and the vaccination campaign is going to expand. Local doctors have been put on standby to start vaccinating in a few -- small numbers of primary care practices starting next week.

CHURCH: It is incredible. And Cyril, while these vaccines are being dispensed to health professionals and nursing home residents, what is the situation on the ground with cases, hospitalizations and deaths across the U.K.?

VANIER: Well, the numbers, Rosemary, have been trending in the right direction for I would say about two weeks now. Now England is coming down, is coming out of a one-month lockdown that ended just a few days ago. Having said that, tens of millions of people are still in tiers.

The country is divided in different tiers. Tens of millions of different people are still in tiers living in very tight restrictions. But the good is that the number of infections and the number of deaths has been going down. So, things are trending in the right direction here.

In England, in Wales, not so much. In fact, on Friday they've had to implement new restrictions that pubs and restaurants close starting at 6 p.m. Pubs and restaurants also not allowed to serve alcohol.

The hope, Rosemary, is that these vaccines are going to be able to bring the pandemic under control here. But we have to be realistic about the timeline. It will be at least several months before we see the vaccination campaign, immunization campaign really start to make a dent in the number of infections.

CHURCH: Yes, very true reality check there, Cyril. And Fred, let's go to you now in Berlin. What is the latest on the virus across Germany, and of course, preparations for vaccinations there?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Rosemary. Well, in Germany, all the indicators right now seem to be going in the opposite direction from what Cyril was just saying there for the United Kingdom. They seem to be going in the wrong direction.

In fact, I was just checking some of the official numbers. And they are saying that all of Germany, every single region in Germany is now a high risk of coronavirus area. Every state, which means that they've had an incident of cases of coronavirus of more than 50 per 100,000 inhabitants for at least seven days in a row.

And I was also just checking the number of cases or new cases for today, and it's -- or that were put out today and it's about 12,300. That's about 1,200 more than Monday last week. So, you can see how things are trending in the wrong direction here in Germany.

The Germans essentially saying with the sort of light lockdown measures that they've had so far that they have managed to flatten the curve a little bit, but managed to flatten the curve a lot, actually, but certainly it's not going down here in Germany. That's huge concern for Angela Merkel and its government and for some of the state authorities as well.

You just mentioned Bavaria now tightening its lockdown measures. People who want to leave their house are going to have to have a good reason to do so, like for instance, going to work, for instance, doing sports, for instance, buying groceries as well.

And some other German states are doing exactly the same thing. As far as the vaccine is concerned, you know, we've been reporting about the fact that the Germans have been setting up these vaccination centers around the country to make sure they hit the ground running when the vaccine comes out.

And just late last night, Angela Merkel's chief of staff was in a talk show of Germany's most read daily, the Bild newspaper. And there he said that he believes that the first vaccinations in this country are going to have at the very beginning of next year. Of course, we know the European medicines authority has not so far given the green light for an emergency use for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

They believe that will happen later this month and the Germans are saying the beginning of next year is when they believe that vaccines are going to start happening in this country. And certainly, we are looking at the numbers here in Germany. It can't happen soon enough, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes, absolutely. We certainly feel that here in the United States as well. Fred Pleitgen joining us live from Berlin. Many thanks.

Well, South Korea has more active COVID cases than at any other point in the pandemic. And now authorities are tightening restrictions.

Kristie Lu Stout is following this live from Hong Kong for us. She joins us now. Good to see you, Kristie. So, what's driving this surge and what restrictions are now in place as a result of this?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The surge is a number of new clusters. It's not (Technical difficulty) -- or the second wave where the cluster was associated to a nightclub.

[03:39:04]

This is the silent change of transmission taking place inside or throughout the country, particularly in Seoul. It's gotten so serious that we learn today that the South Korean military has been called in to help out with contact tracing efforts. This according to the Blue House this Monday, South Korea is clamping down hard on the coronavirus, as the number of new cases reaches a high not seen since nine months ago.

On Tuesday, the South Korean government will rule out a number of new tough social distancing measures as those cases surge in the capital. In the Seoul metropolitan area, starting on Tuesday, there will be a ban on any social gatherings of more than 50 people. That pertains to both weddings, and funerals. There were also a ban on spectators, sports events, we've also learned that gyms and karaoke businesses will be close.

As for the rest of the country it will be mandatory to wear a face mask in all indoor facilities across South Korea. Bars and clubs will be closed. And restaurants will only be allowed to serve delivery or take out after 9 p.m. The measures kick in on Tuesday, and they will remain in place until at least three weeks from now.

At the weekend, we heard from the minister of health and welfare and he described this moment as a quote, "dangerous situation." Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PARK NEUNG-HOO, SOUTH KOREAN MINISTER OF HEALTH AND WELFARE (through translator): We concluded that this is a dangerous situation on the verge of expanding into a nationwide pandemic. Accordingly, we have decided to raise the social distancing level to 2.5 in the capital area, which is a strict restriction on social activities and to raise the level to two in non-capital areas in order to prevent the spread.

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LU STOUT (on camera): Today South Korea reported 615 new COVID-19 infections on Sunday. It reported 631 new cases of the virus. That is the highest number that South Korea has seen and reported since March. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Incredible. Kristie Lu Stout bringing us the very latest there from Hong Kong. Many thanks.

And coming up next, the U.K.'s relationship with Europe hangs in the balance and there is no guarantee of an orderly future. The latest on trade negotiations that some warn could actually fail.

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CHURCH (on camera): Welcome back, everyone.

Well as expected, Venezuela's ruling party has won the country's controversial parliamentary election. but reportedly, with very low voter turnout. Opposition leaders urged the public to boycott what they called a fraudulent election perpetrated by President Nicolas Maduro. He calls the results a great victory of the democracy and the Constitution.

But the opposition's Juan Guaido, who is recognized by the U.S. and many other nations as the interim president, said Venezuelans have turned their backs on the government.

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JUAN GUAIDO, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER (through translator): Today, what you have is fraud in our country. Which has been clearly rejected. And not just in the photos and videos but across the country. The contrast to this is to go out to the streets and to demand the right to choose.

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CHURCH (on camera): U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo calls the election a fraud and a sham.

Well, the British prime minister and European commission president are due to speak again today about a post- Brexit trade deal. Negotiations restarted over the weekend in Brussels. So far, both sides have said key differences remain, and now Ireland is weighing in, raising concerns about a controversial internal market bill.

CNN international, diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson joins us live from London. Good to see you, Nic. So, the deadline is looming, yet again. Where is this all going?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, we know at the end of today, there will be another telephone call between Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president. We know that about an hour and a half ago, the E.U.'s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, briefed E.U. ambassadors about how far the talks have moved so far.

From the talks that it had the previous day, they're obviously in talks continuing today. And we understand at the moment that there hasn't been significant progress or they certainly haven't bridged the gap on those three key remaining issues, on fisheries, on the so- called level playing field and on the regulations that would govern how you sort of implement and manage the agreement that those are still outstanding.

And it does seem to be the tone coming from Brussels, coming out of that briefing the way that this is being sort of reported out. Barnier's briefing with the ambassadors is that, the E.U. is willing to go the extra distance. The problem at the moment is, however, from their perspective, that it's the British that need to move.

This is negotiations coming down to why the Irish Taoiseach, the Irish prime minister yesterday said, he believed that there is a 50/50 percent of this going either way. And what we heard from the Irish foreign minister yesterday as well, a position that Ireland has put forward for quite a while now, that these internal market bill in the U.K. which breaks international law.

If passed, it breaks the withdrawal agreement that was previously agreed specifically on some clauses to do with trade between Northern Ireland and moving goods between Northern Ireland and mainland Britain. That that, he says, could be, you know, seen as a point that's being used as leverage by the U.K.

A point that could sour the negotiations as they are going at the moment and why that comes into frame and focus today is quite simply because Boris Johnson will have to make a decision today. And it seems likely that he will to push ahead with that internal market bill with those contentious clauses in them.

Those clauses were removed by the House of Lords. This all gets very complicated, but I think the overall picture is that this is coming down to the wire, there is a lot of moving pieces, the mood music from Europe at the moment however is that it's the U.K. that needs to make a decision and move. It's a negotiation.

We haven't heard from Downing Street this morning responding to that, but I think we know what it will be. We expect the E.U. to move to.

CHURCH: All right. We'll watch closely to see what happens there. Nic Roberson joining us live from London, many thanks.

Well if you think it's been warm recently, you are absolutely right. Scientists say we have just had a record hot November. What that means for the world. We'll take a look, next.

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CHURCH (on camera): Welcome back, everyone. Well European scientists say last month was the hottest November on record. The highest above average temperatures were felt in Northern Europe, Siberia, and the Arctic Ocean. That adversely impact sea ice freezing, according to the climate change service behind the report. Twenty-twenty is on track to at least high 2016 for the hottest year on record. But it could take the title outright.

So, let's get the very latest from CNN meteorologist Pedram Javaheri. It's a real concern, isn't it, Pedram?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is concerning. And you know, you noted that it could be taking the title outright, and I certainly think that that is going to happen here within the next several weeks, certainly looks like it.

You kind of look at what we found here based on the report from the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service. Here is the depiction of the warmth that Rosemary noted above average temperatures, planetary wide here. And you'll notice, very, very much above average across the northern tier into the Arctic, and also the Antarctic. And that's really the most concerning.

You think to myself, not a lot of people live across those regions at the highest latitudes, but the impacts across that region, the essential, the air conditioning unit of our planet, the ice across this area, very much plays a large role in regulating global temperatures.

[03:55:02]

And once you reduce the ice coverage across this region, and the same report also noted, the second lowest ice coverage for the month of November's since satellite observations began across the region in 1979.

And you take a look, when you take ice away from the Arctic region, you know ice is responsible for reflecting the sun's energy because of the white color and the reflective nature of it. About 80 percent of the sun's solar energy is radiated back into the upper atmosphere across this region of our planet.

But in recent decades, we've seen this region warm up at a much greater rate than other areas around the world, and of course, that exposes additional seawater that darker color absorbs the solar radiation, allows this feedback loop to take place where you have ice melting, oceans heating as a result, and of course, global temperatures rising as a result as well.

In Europe, in particular, set a record for the warmest autumn on record, September, October, November nearly a degree Celsius above previous records across this region. Now, with that said, I want to show you quickly what's happening across southern California. We know this region, five of the six largest fires in state history occurred in September of 2020.

Of course, we are now into the month of December, high pressure is in place. We are getting the Santa Ana events that are taking place across this region. Rosemary, and winds once again could gust up to hurricane-force here. Not only Monday, but possibly into Tuesday, fanning several wildfires across Southern California.

CHURCH: All right. I appreciate you keeping an eye on that, thank you, Pedram. And thank you for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. I'll be back with more news in just a moment. So, stay with us.

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