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China Claims COVID-19 Can Be Imported in Frozen Food; New China-Nepal Survey Reveals Mt. Everest's True Height; First People Receive COVID Vaccine in U.K.; NYT: White House Declined to Buy Additional Pfizer Vaccine Doses. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired December 09, 2020 - 00:00   ET

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

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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm John Vause.

Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, the world watches in awe as vaccination begins, but jubilation is tempered by the 1.5 million people dead from COVID-19 about 11,000 dying every day.

CNN reporting from inside Iran, a country struggling to control the pandemic with past U.S. sanctions turning a crisis into a catastrophe.

The safe harbor deadline locks U.S. Congress into accepting the outcome of the 2020 election.

Could someone please tell Donald Trump?

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VAUSE: The images were broadcast around the world, a fully tested coronavirus vaccine being given to the first of what will eventually be tens of millions of people in the U.K.

Now the United States, just days away from authorizing emergency use of the same vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech. A briefing paper to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration confirms the vaccine is 95 percent effective. And while it requires two injections, a single dose appears to offer some protection as. Well.

A small number of volunteers who took part in human trials, less than 5 percent reported severe adverse reactions and six people died during those trials. On Thursday, officials decided the benefits of the Pfizer vaccine outweigh the risks. The FDA is expected to give the green light to distribution.

That's a process that's already underway in the U.K. Details now from CNN's Max Foster.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Let the mass immunization program begin, 90-year-old Margaret Keenan making history as the first person in England and indeed the world to receive the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine outside a trial.

But stealing the show was none other than 81-year-old William Shakespere, coming in second, giving a glimmer of hope in this winter of discontent. A hospital inpatient, he got the shot just 20 miles from Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's birthplace.

WILLIAM SHAKESPERE, VACCINE RECIPIENT: Groundbreaking, I think. It could make the difference to our lives from now on, couldn't it?

It started changing our lives and our lifestyle.

FOSTER: In neighboring Wales, front-line health and social workers were put to the front of the line.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Before you know, it's all over. Look, not even a mark.

JONATHAN HOLMAN, VACCINE RECIPIENT: Thank you.

FOSTER: Were you nervous at all beforehand?

HOLMAN: Not particularly, no.

FOSTER: Do you feel like you're part of history?

HOLMAN: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

NUALA MAHON, IMMUNIZATION COORDINATOR: It's just so exciting to be able to begin this and be part of that history.

FOSTER: In many ways, it feels like a regular vaccination clinic. But the National Health Service has described this as a turning point in the global pandemic.

We can't tell you where we are, for fear of people turning up outside hoping to get a vaccine. It's strictly invitation-only.

FOSTER: Everyone who gets the shot is issued with a card, a simple reminder, the government says, to come back for a second dose in three weeks' time.

And behind the scenes, pharmacists had to be brought in to help prepare the injections.

DARREL BAKER, CARDIFF AND VALE UNIVERSITY HEALTH BOARD: Normally, vaccines would arrive in a ready prepared syringe ready for administration. This vaccine has to be diluted and then individual doses, five doses taken out of each of the individual vials.

FOSTER: So big learning curve for you? BAKER: Absolutely.

FOSTER: Lessons learned here informing the rest of the Western world, as others prepare for mass vaccinations too.

And the world is watching.

TRACY MEREDITH, CARDIFF AND VALE UNIVERSITY HEALTH BOARD: The world is watching.

FOSTER: So they will be learning from your example.

MEREDITH: Well, I hope so.

FOSTER: And what's the message then?

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MEREDITH: The message is, I think, gets everybody in, get everybody vaccinated. Obviously, it's a choice. But we're here to look after everyone and for everyone to look after each other. So please get vaccinated.

FOSTER: This moment in history not lost on the nurses, who've had the toughest year of their careers -- Max Foster, CNN, Cardiff, Wales.

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VAUSE: While the spread of the coronavirus continues to accelerate in the U.S., now more than 15 million COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday. That means one in 22 people have tested positive for the virus. Hospital admissions continue to surge, more than 104,000 patients now across the country, a record number for the pandemic.

Health care workers say they are overwhelmed and the U.S. president chose this moment for what was essentially an empty symbolic gesture, signing an executive order to prioritize vaccine shipments for Americans before other nations. The White House vaccine chief actually seemed all confused about it.

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GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC HOST: Can you explain this executive order the president's going to be putting it out?

I don't quite understand it. He's saying that foreign countries aren't going to be able to get the vaccine until everybody here in the United States gets it.

It sounds like the problem's the opposite right now. Pfizer's made deals with other countries that are going to limit the supply here.

DR. MONCEF SLAOUI, CHIEF SCIENTIFIC ADVISER, OPERATION WARP SPEED: Frankly, I don't know. And, frankly, I'm staying out of this. So I can't comment.

(CROSSTALK)

STEPHANOPOULOS: You don't know?

SLAOUI: I literally don't know.

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VAUSE: In stark contrast, the president-elect Joe Biden actually does have a plan, which includes 100 million vaccine shots in his first 100 days. In office. Even with imminent vaccines, there will be no saving thousands of lives in the coming weeks. They will die. Nick Watt has more.

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GOV. TOM WOLF (D-PA): If the worst happens, hospitals will not be able to treat all sick Pennsylvanians. They'll be forced to turn away people who need treatment.

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More Americans in the hospital with COVID now than ever. And that means more death.

GOV. JIM JUSTICE (R-WV): The number of deaths is escalating in our state now with leaps and bounds.

WATT: Because virus spread is accelerating. In September, it took 25 days to log 1 million new cases. This latest million, the 15th, took just five. Five days.

GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN): The good news is we're close. But the challenging news is this; the hardest weeks I think are still ahead of us.

WATT: More than 30 million Californians ordered once again to stay home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're experiencing a surge like we've never seen.

WATT: The global vaccine rollout is now underway, started in England.

MARTIN KENYON, COVID-19 VACCINE RECIPIENT: Of course, I couldn't damn well find anywhere to park my car so I was late.

WATT: Minor hiccup aside.

KENYON: Except I hope I'm not going to have the bloody bug now.

WATT: The U.S. waiting on FDA authorization, likely just days behind.

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D-NY), NEW YORK CITY: The vaccine is coming next week, the vaccine will be here in New York City.

WATT: But supply is tight, logistics challenging.

DR. RACHEL LEVINE, PENNSYLVANIA HEALTH SECRETARY: We anticipate the rollout of the vaccine to take six, nine -- could even be twelve months before everyone is immunized.

WATT: Pfizer will work to increase capacity. Moderna's vaccine is nearing rollout, Johnson & Johnson now in late stage trials.

DR. PAUL STOFFELS, CHIEF SCIENTIFIC OFFICER, JOHNSON & JOHNSON: I think we might have results sooner than expected but we target for results in the month of January.

WATT: And the federal government still says they'll have --

SLAOUI: -- the volume of vaccines we need to immunize the U.S. population as we promised. All of it by the middle of the year 2021 and that's still on track.

WATT: Here in California, the state just passed 20,000 COVID-19 dead and many Californians received an emergency alert on their cellphones -- "Covid-19 is spreading rapidly, stay home except for essential activity."

Sure, the vaccine is on the way but the White House coronavirus task force is warning the states that the current vaccination plan isn't going to have a big impact on the spread of this virus until the spring -- Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.

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VAUSE: Joining us now, CNN medical analyst and former health commissioner for the city of Baltimore, Dr. Leana Wen. So Dr. Wen, thanks for being with us.

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Of course.

VAUSE: U.S. President-Elect Joe Biden, he has outlined his vision for the first 100 days after his inauguration. I want you to listen to part of his plan when it comes to the pandemic. Here it is.

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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: This team will help us get, at the least, 100 million COVID-19 vaccines at least, 100 million COVID-19 vaccine shots into the arms of the American people in the first 100 days, 100 million shots in the first 100 days.

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VAUSE: Does that sound incredibly ambitious?

Because it is such a stark contrast to the Trump administration.

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VAUSE: Which essentially did next to nothing.

Or is it really a high bar that Biden is setting here? WEN: I do think that it is a very optimistic projection but it's in line with what actually the Trump administration had set as their goal because what they had said was that they would plan on vaccinating most Americans by May or June.

Now a lot of us in public health thought that that was overly ambitious. But I think 100 million doses -- let's remember that he didn't say 100 million people are going to be fully vaccinated, this is -- both of the vaccines that are currently about to be approved, most likely, are -- require two doses.

And so that would mean that about 50 million people could be receiving the vaccine within 100 days.

VAUSE: OK. Well, we have an FDA briefing document on the Pfizer vaccine. It's revealed some details.

The most common adverse effects are reactions at the injection site, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, chills, joint pain as well as fever.

Also the vaccine has a name, BNT162b2. It appears to provide some protection against COVID-19 following just one dose. In fact, the vaccine was more than 50 percent effective after one dose.

The report does make it clear, though, that there's not enough data there to draw any conclusions.

But does that at least suggest that maybe at some stage only one not two injections could be needed?

WEN: I don't think so, not for this vaccine. So this is a vaccine that requires the two doses because the first is the priming dose and then the second is the booster shot.

So in order to reach that efficacy level that they're getting of 95 percent, which is really incredible, you do need two doses.

Now the initial studies look like after one dose you do get some protection, maybe you get 50 percent protection, that's better than nothing. But it's really important that people get the two doses.

One of my concerns is that if people get side effects and are not expecting the side effects after one dose, I worry that they won't come back for that second dose.

And so it's really important for physicians, nurses and pharmacists to be doing that education in advance. To say that side effects are normal, they are expected, they actually mean that the vaccine is working.

VAUSE: The two vaccines available, the Pfizer and Moderna, very effective at preventing serious illness. Still not known if they actually prevent the spread of the virus.

So I guess what that means, what -- we're still wearing face masks for some time to come? WEN: That's right. We need a lot more data for us to tell whether it

is that these vaccines also reduce transmission because theoretically it's possible that you could still get the virus and pass it on to others. It's just that you're not getting sick as a result but you could still be contagious to others.

And so until most of America, at least 70 percent get vaccinated, I would expect that we'll be using some form of physical distancing and masks.

BIDEN: There's another potential vaccine out there -- there's a lot of them -- but this is the AstraZeneca one.

And they've released some of the details from their human trials confirming that -- "two standard doses of the vaccine were 62 percent effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 disease in some trials.

But when efficacy data from the trials were combined, including trials in which volunteers received a low dose followed by a standard dose" -- the vaccination's effectiveness went up to 70 percent.

How does that actually work?

Why would a low dose and a standard dose then have such an impact?

And I guess who would want a 70 percent effective vaccine when there are two others out there that are 95 percent effective?

WEN: Well, I think we just need a lot more data and AstraZeneca needs to be more forthcoming with their data as well because it looks like they are getting -- that low dose was actually by accident.

It turns out that it was a fortuitous accident because they were able to get a more effective dosing with this lower dose. But we really need to know more from their studies and also head-to-head comparisons of these vaccines.

VAUSE: Dr. Leana Wen, thank you so much. Good to see you.

WEN: Thank you.

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VAUSE: Iran will import 42 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine, according to state media. High-risk groups will get priority. Iran's outbreak is the worst in the Middle East, killing nearly 51,000 people. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh reports from a hospital in Tehran, which is overwhelmed and under strain.

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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voice-over): A bleak winter outside, as was Tehran's summer and spring before it. Relief is scarce. Over 750 have died from coronavirus in these corridors. Another, a young woman as we arrive, just turning the corner marks the start of the ICU here. Two dead is a good day, four average and nine bad, doctors say.

Iran's heroism in the pandemic a little fierce, as they're doing it under the maximum pressure of the Trump administration's sanctions. They are as proud of what they've done with the equipment as they're angry that it's all they have.

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One of the hardest hit countries in the Middle East by the coronavirus, their suffering, they say, so much more acute because of the impact of sanctions led by the United States.

Khalif doesn't look it, but is much better.

KHALIF FARAHANI, COVID-19 PATIENT: One day went to the -- for excursion outside in one of the parks. And there, I was very sick. There we got the COVID virus. I am better, better than before, very pain in my chest. And sanctions, sanctions, it is cruel upon America, cruelty, yes.

WALSH: Three hundred medical staff have died in Iran on this job, we're told. But like all numbers here, it is at the mercy of limited testing equipment and exhaustion.

But even in that numerical chaos, 10,000 officially died in November alone from COVID-19. And seem here to be getting younger, we're told.

"The most bitter day was when I had a 47-year-old mother of three here," he says. "She didn't respond to treatment. When she died, that was the most terrible, bitter day for me. I could not save her. It stuck in my memory."

And if you have lost the fight, you often head south across the city to where there is both little and plenty of space in the Behesht-e Zahra. Economy and scale, every final home measured precisely, even as the bodies arrive.

The imam's prayers here, caught in a loop of loss, reverberating into and over each other, day in, day out. Each of a dozen imams leading about 30 funerals a day. A woman's scream, which would normally freeze everyone here, almost lost.

Nobody wanted to talk. But the stories off camera were similar -- diabetes, late 50s, coronavirus, the vulnerabilities that underpin the fond memories of the departed and fuel each final ritual. Care is all around. These are tombs, not holes.

And even the grim process of decay, handled meticulously. The outside world may never see the full picture of Iran's battle with the same enemy we have all faced or appreciate how much more crippling a deliberate tightening of sanctions made it -- Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Tehran.

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VAUSE: The Trump legal team is about 0 for 50 in legal cases. The last loss was a big one. The blow handed down from the highest court in the land. More on that, when we come back.

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VAUSE: With a blunt one-line statement, which came down to little more than "application denied," the U.S. Supreme Court handed the Trump legal team its biggest loss so far.

All nine justices rejected the campaign's request to overturn the results in the key state of Pennsylvania. There were no noted dissents, not even from the trio of justices appointed by President Trump.

A spokesman for President-Elect Joe Biden reacted to the ruling, saying, "The election is over. Joe Biden won and he will be sworn in as president in January."

President Trump's legal team has lost about 50 challenges in courts across the country in the last five weeks.

The false allegations varied from illegal mail-in ballots and improper vote counts to poll observers being denied access or foreign hackers manipulating voting machines; 49 states have already certified their results. West Virginia is scheduled to certify on Wednesday.

The election remains uppermost in the president's mind, even as he briefly turns his attention to the pandemic. We have details on that from Kaitlan Collins.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Any questions, please?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A White House summit meant to tout progress on coronavirus vaccines quickly went off the rails today, as President Trump wrongly implied he may still be in office next year.

TRUMP: Well, we're going to have to see who the next administration is, because we won in those swing states.

COLLINS: Trump was asked why no members of president-elect Joe Biden's transition team were invited, given Biden will be inaugurated soon and his administration will take over the distribution.

TRUMP: Hopefully, the next administration will be the Trump administration, because you can't steal hundreds of thousands of votes. You can have fraud and deception and all of the things that they did. COLLINS: Despite a string of court losses and recounts that have affirmed Biden's win, Trump called on state legislators or even the Supreme Court to help him overturn the election results.

TRUMP: Let's see if they have the courage to do what everybody in this country knows is right.

COLLINS: The president didn't mention how the federal government is now facing new scrutiny for passing up a chance to lock in more doses of Pfizer's vaccine.

TRUMP: We're very hopeful that the FDA will authorize the Pfizer vaccine within days. COLLINS (voice-over): Federal officials turned down an opportunity to buy millions of more doses of the vaccine this summer, before it was proven to be highly successful in clinical trials, which the head of Operation Warp Speed defended today.

DR. MONCEF SLAOUI, CHIEF ADVISER, OPERATION WARP SPEED: No one reasonably would buy more from any one of those vaccines, because we didn't know which one would work and which one may be better than the other.

COLLINS: But Moncef Slaoui said he couldn't explain the executive order Trump signed today that would prioritize vaccines for Americans, then distribute it to other countries.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS: It sounds like the problem is the opposite right now. Pfizer has made deals with other countries that are going to limit the supply here.

SLAOUI: Frankly, I don't know. And, frankly, I'm staying out of this. I can't comment that. I don't know.

COLLINS: Scott Gottlieb, the former FDA commissioner who is now on the board of Pfizer, said Pfizer's doses have been promised to other countries.

DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB, FORMER FDA COMMISSIONER: Some of it was promised to other countries after it was offered multiple times to the United States.

COLLINS: On top of that, we've learned the president's other attorney, Jenna Ellis, has tested positive for coronavirus. That's on top of Rudy Giuliani, still in the hospital after he tested positive for coronavirus over the weekend.

He did tell a radio interviewer in New York that he believes he is going to be discharged from the hospital tomorrow -- Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House.

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VAUSE: CNN Political analyst Ron Brownstein is a senior editor for "The Atlantic." He is with us from Los Angeles.

It's always good to see you. We have about 1,000 hours left of the Trump administration until Joe Biden is sworn into office. Let's just listen to him talk and Trump talking on Wednesday about the pandemic. A warning, this country should be bracing for whiplash.

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BIDEN: It's daunting. But I promise you that we will make progress starting on day one. We did not get into this mess quickly. It's going to take time to fix. But we can do this. That's the truth.

TRUMP: Today, we are on the verge of another American medical miracle. That's what people are saying. People that are not necessarily big fans of Donald Trump are saying, whether you like him or not, this is one of the greatest miracles in the history of modern day medicine or any other medicine, any other age.

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VAUSE: For four years, we've had a president who takes credit for achievements he had nothing to do, with refuses to take responsibility for his actions. On the other hand we now have Biden setting very clear benchmarks, 100 million vaccine injections in 100 days.

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VAUSE: That's just one example. There's not a lot of wiggle room there.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: It was striking, the tone and the difference. Developing vaccines this fast is a historic achievement. Medical experts and historians will decipher how much Operation Warp Speed contributed to that.

But it's only one aspect of dealing with the problem. And what we have seen from the president, over months now, certainly since the election, is that he has almost completely checked out from the situation, even as the caseload is rising to 1 million a week or more.

Yesterday was Pearl Harbor Day in the United States. We are having a Pearl Harbor every day in terms of the number of people who are dying. And he has been fundamentally AWOL in this, with the acquiescence of his party.

The question will be, how much can Biden change the tone by coming in and dealing with this, putting it front and center in front of the country, saying we need to change behavior until the vaccine is more widely distributed, have the attitude solidified so much in red America that they will not hear that message?

I guess we will find out.

VAUSE: Biden described the pandemic as a mass casualty event, which as you say, it is. He also revealed the team who would be advising him on how to end the crisis. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BIDEN: To control the pandemic, to save lives and to heal as a nation, today I am pleased to announce the team that is going to do just that. It's a team of world-class experts at the top of their fields, crisis tested, defined by a deep sense of duty, honor and patriotism.

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VAUSE: And I don't believe a radiologist is among them. But overall, there has been this criticism that too many key positions are going to veterans from the Obama administration and many of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party are not happy. Some nominees they believe are too centrist, too willing to cave to Republicans.

How big of a problem will this be for Biden?

BROWNSTEIN: First, as I said before, we are seeing a completely different attitude toward the pandemic, a much greater assertion of federal leadership.

The question is whether there is the followership (ph). In the Republican states, where you have Republican governors, in places like North Dakota, South Dakota, Florida, Georgia, Texas, who have minimized this from the outset and refused to impose restrictions even as their hospital systems have been stressed or even overrun, will they accept a different tone?

Will they kind of row in the same direction as President Biden?

I think it is a very open question. I think on his cabinet, he is being whipsawed by competing demands from all sides. Progressives want a number of people out. And not included, various civil rights groups want more representation.

And in the back of his mind always is the possibility that Republicans will hold the majority and maybe try to systematically block some of his choices. I think he has been pretty careful and cautious.

If anything, I think the fair criticism is we are not seeing enough of the next generation of leadership, not enough new faces. It's a pretty familiar cabinet in terms of people who have marched their way through Democratic politics over the last several decades.

VAUSE: We will finish up on Tuesday, being what's known as the safe harbor deadline, a deadline for states to certify the election results. If those results are not certified by Tuesday, Congress could intervene.

It seems only one state has not certified the results, Wisconsin, because there's a court challenge. Normally, no one pays attention to this federal deadline.

Why is it so different this election?

BROWNSTEIN: Because we are seeing the most unprecedented attempt by an American president, really by any public official, to overturn the result of a presidential election in American history. That's what we are actually witnessing here.

The pattern of actions by the president, calling state legislators, asking them to overturn the will of the voters in their state, pressuring the Supreme Court, telling them that they have to have the courage to step up, all of this amounts to some kind of soft coup, an attempt to overturn the election.

And it is preceded, like his AWOL status on the coronavirus, has proceeded with the acquiescence of his party to a remarkable extent.

Today, the attorney general of Texas, improbably enough, filed suit to overturn the results in states like Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Georgia, that were decided for Joe Biden. And the two Republican senators in Georgia who are running in the runoff endorsed the lawsuit to overturn the will of their own voters.

The extent to which the Republican Party has gone along with this is remarkable and ominous and the most immediate effect may be to prompt a new wave of voter suppression legislation.

The Republican majority in the Georgia state senate today came out with proposals to end no-fault absentee balloting in the state, as their response to what just happened in Trump's unfounded charges of fraud there.

VAUSE: That's incredible. Unbelievable. Ron, thank you. Good to see you.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.

VAUSE: Cheers.

Well, China says COVID-19 is being imported into the country via frozen food.

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We'll have more on that controversial theory with a live report from Beijing, after the break.

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VAUSE: Thanks for staying with us, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.

Well, China continues to struggle to contain outbreaks of COVID-19. Officials there are now blaming imports of frozen food are partly to blame, a theory which contradicts guidance from international health authorities.

Elsewhere in east Asia, one of South Korea's top health officials urging people to cancel all gatherings and meetings during the Christmas season.

Well, for the very latest, let's head to Beijing now, live and David Culver. David, it's been a while. It's good to see you. I thought this whole frozen food, COVID being imported into the

country theory, had been around for a couple of months and had been completely and totally debunked?

DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's been around, John, and it's continuing. It's good to see you, as well, by the way. Yes, this is something that is growing within state media, and it's coinciding with what is now another cluster outbreak that we're experiencing here, this one in Qingdao. Seven cases may seem laughable, when you compare to what's happening in the U.S. or other countries. But for China it's concerning, because they have up until now, seemed to keep things quite contained.

And they're blaming this, according to some state media, on the possibility that it is another imported case. So as you point out, WHO, the U.S. CDC both say there is no direct evidence to suggest that the virus can be transmitted on food or food packaging. Nonetheless, state media is going forward with this narrative, and it continues to question the origins of the virus.

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CULVER (voice-over): Health officials in China blaming imported cases of COVID-19 for recent cluster outbreaks. They warn that it's been carried in, not only by some human travelers, but also and perhaps more alarming, on goods imported from other countries.

As CNN saw firsthand, it has sparked immediate changes in the handling of international cargo that now enter China.

You'll notice that crewmembers behind me are in full PPE from head to toe. We have been told strictly not to go within a certain distance of them, and we've also been told not to touch any of the cargo.

The reason is there's growing concern here in China that the imports from other countries might be carrying the virus, particularly frozen foods. And so those who are handling their cargo as it's coming in or going out now have to undergo these new measures.

(voice-over): While both the World Health Organization and the U.S. CDC insist there is no evidence that people can contract COVID-19 from food or food packaging, Chinese media is airing images of the strict precautions now being taken. Food transport trucks sprayed down with disinfectant. Frozen seafood like shrimp and salmon, along with the surfaces of all types of packaging, all frequently tested for COVID- 19.

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This is one of the cold chambers here in a cargo wing of Shenzhen (ph) International Airport.

Now, the concern with the frozen food has gotten so sensitive that, if I were to walk in just like this, I'd have to do two weeks of quarantine as soon as I walked out.

Full body suits now required for those working in these facilities.

China's ministry of transport warning that before and after transferring the cold chain (ph) products, one should disinfect the used transportation means and body parts that may have touched the containers.

Chinese health officials believe recent confirmed coronavirus cases might have been caused by contaminated imported goods.

Last month, two Shanghai Airport cargo handlers tested positive for COVID-19. In September, two dock workers in Qingdao handling imported frozen seafood also contracted the virus.

And back in June, a massive Beijing market shut down. State media reported more than 300 people tested positive. Some have suggested that cluster outbreak might have been linked to imported salmon.

Health experts say COVID-19 is tough enough to last for long periods on surfaces, but they warn --

DR. SRIDHAR SIDDHARTH, DEPARTMENT OF MICROBIOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG: This is not the most common way by which COVID-19 spreads. In most situations, COVID-19 spreads from person to person directly by the particles in which the virus is present through the air.

CULVER: Still, Chinese state media are using the imported case fears to repeatedly put into question the actual origins of the virus, stressing that Wuhan is the place that the disease was first identified, but probably not the place the disease was first identified but probably not the place where the virus originated from. Sowing seeds of doubt ahead of a WHO field team's upcoming trip to China. They will investigate the origins of COVID-19, as China works to keep new cases of the virus from seeping in through its borders.

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CULVER (on camera): And John, the reality is if this is a genuine concern, imported cases, then China has clearly put in place some of the measures to block it. They want to make sure that the low case count continues, and life here really has basically returned to normal. Or at least near normal.

But going forward, as I mentioned that WHO field team, excuse me, that's was to be coming in. The reality is, the timing cannot be overlooked. It's coming in in a few weeks. We don't have a lot of details as to where exactly they're going to go. It's believed they will go to Wuhan, where this outbreak was first detected.

And so with this now surfacing as a narrative in -- in state media and certainly on social media, with the idea of imported goods and cases. It'll be interesting to see how the WHO experts look at this, if they'll continue to pursue that, and if they'll echo it or if they'll go another direction.

VAUSE: Yes, I guess it's hard to believe that it's coming up to a year since we first reported the story, as well. December 18, I believe. David, thank you.

David Culver there, live in Beijing.

Well, China and Nepal are now working together to discover the true height of Mount Everest. What the new survey revealed about the world's tallest peak, when we return.

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VAUSE: Well, the precise height of Mount Everest has been an open question for years, but now Nepal and China have overcome their differences to try and settle this matter once and for all.

CNN's Paula Newton reports on what their new joint survey revealed about the world's highest point.

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WANG YI, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER: Today I am pleased to make a joint announcement with you, on behalf of China and Nepal, to the world, that the new height of Mt. Chomolungma Sagarmatha is 8,848.86 meters.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's official. The world's tallest mountain has been taken to new heights after a joint Chinese-Nepal agreement.

The size of Mount Everest, a controversy that has endured for decades between the two countries, finally comes to an end.

The new measurement a few shy of a meter taller than the commonly used site dating back to an Indian survey done in 1955.

The height of Mount Everest was first calculated in 1856 by the surveyor general of India, led by Britain, Sir George Everest, the man the mountains is named after. It measured 8,840 meters then.

A Chinese survey done in 2005 found that the mountain stood at 8,844 meters, but Nepal refused to recognize that number.

Then in 2015, several scientific studies suggested the elevation may have changed after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal. Two years later, the Nepali government said they would send their surveyors to try and determine the height.

When Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Nepal in 2019, the countries agreed to call a truce. As a symbol of friendship, they decided to jointly announce the updated measurements, which should be compiled in a collaborative effort.

China then started its assessment from the Tibetan side of the mountain. Determining the precise dimensions of the world's highest peak proved to be a long and grueling mission. Surveyors used geodetic data they received from a leveling instrument, a gravity meter and a GPS. Nepal and China jointly calculated the data, and came up with the result.

The effort, brought a sense of honor for Nepal, according to the country's survey department, as it was the first time conducting their own measurements.

TSHERING PANDE BHOTE, CLIMBER (through translator): Our mountains are known as young mountains internationally, and it is a matter of pride to hear that the height has increased.

NEWTON: The majestic beauty and wonder of Mount Everest is unmistakable. Now, so is its proper height.

Paula Newton, CNN.

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VAUSE: Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. Please stay with us. WORLD SPORT is up next. And then I'll be back at the top of the hour. Thanks for watching.

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