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Older Americans, Essential Workers Next to Receive Vaccine; Clinically Vulnerable Adults Plead for COVID-19 Vaccine; South Korea and Japan Battle Rising Cases; New Cases Pop Up in Asia, Australia; Saudi Arabia Suspends International Flights for a Week; Santa's Helpers Get Creative in Pandemic Year; Britain Reverses Course On Christmas COVID Reprise; Britain Isolates After New Virus Mutation Spread; COVID Relief Package Passes In U.S.; U.S. Reaches New Levels In COVID In California; Moderna Vaccine Rolls Out In Huge Wave; New COVID Variant Far More Transmissible, Vaccine Resistance Unknown. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired December 21, 2020 - 01:00   ET

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

[01:00:00]

ANNA COREN, ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Anna Coren in Hong Kong.

We're following two major stories this hour.

Countries around the world are halting or restricting travel to and from the U.K. as a new variant of the coronavirus is spreading quickly in London and Southeast England. Many flights are now suspended.

And with the British government tightening COVID restrictions even further, people in the U.K. are left scrambling to reach their loved ones with the Christmas holidays just days away.

Well, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will chair a high-level meeting to discuss the dire situation in the coming hours.

Meanwhile in the United States, it's the relief so many Americans have been waiting on for months.

After weeks of haggling and bickering, Congress has finally reached a deal on a COVID relief package totaling $900 million dollars.

We'll take a closer look at the most significant parts of that plan later this hour.

Let's start with the situation in the U.K. CNN's Nic Robertson joins us live from London.

Nic, we know that France has imposed a 48-hour truck freeze. Tell us about the immediate consequences of that.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the immediate consequences are that fresh and frozen fruit products -- cabbages, brussels sprouts, these sort of winter vegetables that flow absolutely day by day by day into the U.K. that are staples of the British diet at this time of year won't be coming across.

The food supplies being interrupted is the major concern for the British government.

They have the problem of food supplies not arriving into the country as they normally would, supplies for factories, yes, that will be a concern as well.

Concerns that there will be a massive number of trucks stacked up parked in long lines in the south of England, in the county of Kent on their way to Dover. The transport ministry has advised haulage companies to keep their trucks out of Kent.

There is very limited space for these trucks to wait to get across the Channel other than being on the highways and causing major traffic delays.

But one of the principal aims of Boris Johnson's meeting today with his cabinet, his COBR cabinet and other advisers and specialists will be to see the impact, the immediate impact, and how to mitigate against it of the potential for shortages of supplies.

When people in the U.K. hear about shortages of supplies coming across the Channel from Europe where a lot of food products come from, this causes concern. And in the past has caused panic buying.

To soon if that's going to happen this morning. But it will be a very big concern for people going into Christmas week when people would normally out shopping for what is normally quite large shopping baskets of food.

This is going to be a worry for the government.

COREN: Yes. Let's talk about that COBR meeting that is being held today, Nic. It just feels like the British government has been coasting along.

We all know Christmas is coming, we all know that the COVID cases have been rising in the U.K. And suddenly this urgency, this lockdown, this frenzy and chaos. What has been the reaction in the British public?

ROBERTSON: There's dismay. I think that's one of the big things. Because the prime minister had said he wouldn't cancel Christmas, that he would allow people -- this was a week ago -- to have three different groups of families in a household at Christmas.

This weekend, Saturday, he upended that. Within a matter of hours, people were told they could no longer hold the Christmases that they were planning for. That 16.4 million people in the country were going into a new level of tier four where they couldn't have anyone else in their household.

So there was a huge amount of disappointment. But there's a lot of frustration and anger that's built up with -- against the government, if you will, in the country over the past year. Because there's a real sense that the government has been slow in getting to grips with the COVID pandemic.

And teachers, in particular, are feeling that they've been left with a very, very tough job over the Christmas period this year. Teachers in London have been told that they should be preparing to give COVID tests to pupils when they come back to schools. Without training, they feel, without the adequate resources and help.

So that's one tiny sector of the country that feels let down extremely by the government.

And this plays into those frustrations.

[01:05:00]

People unable to get home to visit parents over Christmas, people unable to travel to visit parents in other parts of the country over Christmas. So this anger and frustration is deep.

And I think what's leading people to rush to the train stations, rush to the airports to leave when the government advisers are saying don't do that. Because there's this lack of trust and faith in the government right now.

COREN: Nic, the British health secretary said that the restrictions that the prime minister has imposed could be in place for months. Are Brits psychologically prepared for this?

ROBERTSON: I think the short answer is no, they weren't. Most people were looking forward and hoping for the sort of three family or three elements of your family Christmas gathering, which the prime minister was allowing.

And it's been a big psychological shock to be told that that can't happen.

I think people have been looking forward to Christmas as a moment of respite from a very tough year -- as around the world, it's not just the U.K., of course.

But the notion now that they are being told that these restrictions could last for a couple of months is going to feel very tough and very harsh. Particularly once people get through Christmas.

We have the executive, the sort of administrative power in Northern Ireland, part of great Britain today, debating or not they should stop flights and travel to Northern Ireland. The Irish government's already stopped travel for at least the next 48 hours to Ireland from the U.K..

Scotland is going to effectively close its borders with England during this period.

ROBERTSON (On Camera): So the changes that this country and the people here face now are significant. And the government really -- I think a lot of people feel the government hasn't prepared the ground adequately. So shock and disappointment. COREN: Nic Robertson joining us from London. As always, thank you.

Well, CNN European affairs commentator, Dominic Thomas, joins us now from Los Angeles.

And, Dominic, as we just heard from Nic that 48-hour freeze moving from France to the U.K., obviously that stops a lot of fresh food, a lot of frozen food, and medical supplies coming across from France.

Tell us about, I guess, the wider implications of what is taking place with Britain being cut off from the rest of the world?

DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Well, in many ways it could not happen at a worse time. The COVID numbers are completely out of control with 36,000 more positive cases a day in the U.K. that already had along with Italy, the highest cover numbers in Europe.

At a time when it's the holidays, at a time when the Brexit negotiations, the transition period is coming to an end in 10 days and the British government should be focused on that all-important aspect.

And the fact that the vaccine is being delivered to the U.K. and that the absolute priority is getting that out to people in that particular country.

So all of these have come together at this particular moment.

And I think that the global response, not just the European Union, but the global response and kind of shutting down travel and so on with the U.K. is really a form of expressing a frustration with the lack of consistent messaging and government coming out of Boris Johnson and his cabinet right now.

COREN: Dominic, where does it leave Brexit talks? Because we know that the Brexit transition period is due to expire at the end of the year and that the E.U. and the U.K. are still negotiating a trade deal.

THOMAS: They are. And there's something incredibly ironic about the chaos that we're seeing right now at the border across the Channel, just to name one place. Because over the past few years as we've been having discussions about the impact of Brexit or the no-deal Brexit, in some ways we're seeing the scenario play out in this kind of mini- chaotic form at the moment.

But the reality is that the negotiations are not moving along at a satisfactory pace, there is still tremendous discord.

And I think that the two issues though, the Brexit issue and the COVID issue, are in some way indicative of the chaos within Boris Johnson's cabinet and within the Conservative Party. Where there are these deep divisions between the Brexiters that are pushing wholeheartedly for this kind of ideological break from Europe whereas on the other hand you have members that are trying to negotiate a deal because they understand the importance of this. And on the other hand, those that are against any kind of health

measures and restrictions that impact businesses in the country. And we saw that today when some members of the far right were retweeting some of Donald Trump's comments about the lockdowns in the U.K.

[01:10:00]

COREN: Dominic, we know that this variant was detected in the U.K. back in September. And it would seem that the government has just been taking misstep after misstep at literally every turn of this pandemic. Coasting along and suddenly this lockdown, this frenzy, people cannot travel home for Christmas, can't spend Christmas together. Why has this happened?

Why have they been behind the eight ball all along through the pandemic?

THOMAS: Well, I think that all along, going back to this whole issue of herd immunity that we saw the U.K. play around with this notion at the beginning and we've seen the devastating impact of this model in Sweden with comparison to other Scandinavian countries.

That certain leaders in Brazil, in the United States, in the United Kingdom have been incapable of maintaining consistent messaging on this particular issue.

And it all has to do with this sort of argument around Brexit and the divisions in the cabinet and the sort of balance between business decisions and health decisions as if these are somehow not related.

And I think what was really so indicative in what Boris Johnson said just yesterday is he compared the measures that he was attempting to impose in the United Kingdom with those that exist now in Germany and Italy and The Netherlands, and other E.U. countries.

But the radical difference -- and Nic Robertson pointed and alluded to this -- is that these other leaders have prepared the groundwork and mobilized and enlisted the populations. And particularly in the case of Angela Merkel in Germany, trying to get people to trust the leadership.

And there's no trust of the leadership in the United Kingdom. It has been so inconsistent.

And just in the last week, the message that came out from the health secretary and Boris Johnson was radically different to that he delivered on Saturday.

And it in these countries in which there's been a lack of consistent messaging that we've seen these COVID numbers spin out of control.

COREN: I can only imagine how frustrating it must be for people in Britain.

Dominic Thomas, as always, good to get your perspective. Many thanks.

THOMAS: Thank you.

COREN: In the U.S., financial relief could be on the way for millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet.

Well, lawmakers have finally struck a deal on a massive COVID relief package and are expected to vote on it in the coming hours.

If passed, the bill would provide $900 billion in aid to unemployed Americans, small businesses, health care, and other services.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), U.S. SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: We can finally report what our nation has needed to hear for a very long time. More help is on the way.

There will be another major rescue package for the American people. As our citizens continue battling this coronavirus this holiday season, they will not be fighting alone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Well, CNN's Eleni Giokos joins us now from Johannesburg with more on this.

Eleni, break it down for us. How important is this stimulus aid to struggling Americans?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, Anna, look I woke up with major hesitation today saying look, have they finally broken the deadlock that has been occurring for so many months and keeping vulnerable Americans in a very dire situation? And finally now we can say a deal has been agreed upon.

You'll remember that Friday was officially government shutdown, they extend by two days. And we know the big ticket items have now been included in the package, $900 billion dollars worth.

So $600 dollars per adult and child. That's a once-off payment. You'll remember that initially we were talking about $1,200 so a much smaller package than, of course, initially had been discussed a few months ago.

The boost in the enhanced unemployment benefits of $300 dollars extra a week.

Billions of dollars, around $320 billion dollars in assistance for small businesses and, importantly here, an extension of eviction protections. That, if it had not come into play now, we would have seen up to 5 million Americans possibly being evicted by January.

So this has been a vital move. But importantly here, Anna, it's just a starting point they say.

I want you to take a listen to what the senate minority leader Chuck Schumer reiterated. And how this is actually just the beginning of the stimulus.

CHUCK SCHUMER (D-N.Y.), U.S. SENATE DEMOCRATIC LEADER: Make no mistake about it, this agreement is far from perfect. But it will deliver emergency relief to a nation in the throes of a genuine emergency.

The bipartisan agreement is simply a down payment, it will establish a floor, not a ceiling, for coronavirus relief in 2021.

[01:15:00]

GIOKOS: And look, this is again a way forward. And I'm just listening to the rise in coronavirus cases globally and in the United States, how we've seen localized lockdowns.

And they say that in the next few weeks -- and the federal reserve last week actually reiterated this point -- that the next four to six months are absolutely vital. So this cash injection is going to be important.

So what's the next step? Firstly, they had to extend government hours into Monday, it has to be voted on the house floor and then it moves into the senate and it's got to be by unanimous vote.

And then the final step. A final signature by President Donald Trump.

And then we're good to go to try to get money to the vulnerable households before Christmas, Anna.

COREN: Eleni Giokos joining us from Johannesburg. Thank you for the update.

Well, more on our top story and everything we know so far about the new COVID-19 variant that's causing the U.K. to become isolated from the world. That's next.

Plus the crisis in the U.S. is far from over. Doctors and nurses in California tell us about the tragedies they're seeing unfold before their very eyes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(THE 100 CLUB)

NARRATOR: The dark, cramped archives at Encyclopedia Britannica feel like hallowed ground.

THEODORE PAPPAS, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA: We have business records and logs, minutes of boards' meetings going back to the late 19th Century. So it's really quite an array of -- a mirror, in essence, of the history of the west.

Encyclopedia Britannica was founded in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1768. NARRATOR: In 2018, Britannica celebrated 250 years in business with a

special anniversary edition honoring the past but still looking far to the future.

PAPPAS: We feed off of our past in order to get a momentum for the future. And that's very exciting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:20:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: It's just a shame this happened over Christmas. It's such a shame that we can't go and see family, especially over Christmas time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Chaotic scenes at airports and train stations as people rush to flee London.

The city is under the highest level of restrictions as a new variant of the COVID-19 virus spreads rapidly in the U.K.. Officials say it is 70 percent more transmissible than the earlier strain.

But there is no evidence to suggest that it's more deadly or more resistant to vaccines.

The new variant has also been identified in Denmark, The Netherlands and Australia while a similar strain has been seen in South Africa.

The U.K.'s health secretary says there's just one way to bring infection rates under control.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT HANCOCK, HEALTH SECRETARY, BRITAIN: Unfortunately, this virus, the new strain, was out of control. We've got to get it under control. And the way that we can do that, the only way you can do that is by restricting social contact.

And essentially, especially in tier four areas, everybody needs to behave as if they might well have the virus. And that is the way that we can get it under control and keep people safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: I'm joined by Eric Topol, cardiologist and professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research. Great to have you with us.

Viral mutations are not uncommon however so much is not known about this variant. What's the latest information that you have on this mutation? ERIC TOPOL, CARDIOLOGIST: Well, good to be with you, Anna. I think

whenever there's a variant in a pathogen -- a virus like this, we always conclude it's innocent unless proven guilty.

And at this point we know that the mutations -- there are many of them -- these variants in the length of the virus -- are implicated. The biology and the spike protein, there's two that are very important -- that they could make it more transmissible.

We don't see any good evidence yet that it will make it resistant to vaccines or make illness worse. So right now that hasn't been nailed down. It's still tentative.

It looks that way because one of those mutations has been in South Africa and it's also seen with a considerable increase in spread. So it's very possible.

We just don't know the magnitude of the increase in infectiousness or transmission of this new strain.

COREN: Doctor, the variant, as we say, has been detected in a handful of other countries but the alarm bells have really gone off in the U.K. as to the highly infectious nature of the mutation.

Why the level of frenzy in the U.K. as opposed to South Africa, Netherlands, Denmark or Australia where it's also been detected?

TOPOL: Right. Well, probably in other countries they just don't do as much sequencing. I think the U.K. has been always been out in front with genomics of the pathogen. So here they have an edge.

Also it has spread, for sure. We just don't know if that's partly due to behavior or really the essence of this virus's enhanced ability to get into cells. So that has to be nailed down, it hasn't been yet.

And there's lots of tentative aspects of this that have to be sorted out. Hopefully, they will be quite soon.

COREN: I guess it's also important to note that scientists don't know if this is just a variant or a new strain which obviously would mean a different version of the virus. What sort of problems would that pose and could that be resistant to the current vaccines?

TOPOL: Right, Anna. Well, throughout the entire pandemic which is now a year plus, the virus has evolved very slowly. There's only been one dominant mutation that's occurred which causes a modest increase in transmissibility.

So this would be the second type of a change of the virus which is potentially linked with a more marked increase in transmission, transmissibility.

Now the real upshot of this isn't so much that it's going to pose an issue over the next year with respect to vaccine resistance but rather it may portend that the booster shots of vaccines will be necessary over the years ahead. Because it shows us that this virus is not as slow in changing over time as we had hoped. Which was actually one of the silver linings of this virus all along.

COREN: That was Dr. Eric Topol speaking to me from California.

Well, later Monday we could start to see Americans getting the Moderna vaccine shot in the arm.

It's the second vaccine to get emergency use authorization in the U.S. Right now, millions of doses are on their way to thousands of locations around the country.

Mondays rollout will be about four times as large as the Pfizer BioNTech rollout last week.

Well, the U.S. vaccine rollout cannot come soon enough. Cases are still rising exponentially across the country.

[01:25:00]

Johns Hopkins University has recorded more than 189,000 new cases Sunday taking the toll since the pandemic began to nearly 18 million. And we're expecting to see more surges as the holiday season continues.

Take California, for example. Tens of thousands of people are getting infected there each day and hospitals are under massive strain.

The heartbreak is unending. Paul Vercammen has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The COVID-19 disaster continuing in California; 46,000 new cases, 161 deaths -- that's lower -- but the hospitalizations are just terrible.

About 17,000 hospitalized and 3.6 thousand hospitalized in the intensive care units.

Including several dozen here at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. They have morphed an operating room, the E.R. area, expanded that into the ICU units.

And when you talk to the nurses who face this daily, they are astounded by what's happening to these patients.

One of them, a 39-year-old nurse, says it's just getting to him.

CLIFF RESURRECCION, NURSE, HARBOR-UCLA MEDICAL CENTER: People your age that have no comorbidities, have no health issues all of a sudden are in renal failure, heart failure, having blood-clotting issues, unable to breathe, intubated. And you don't know what's going to happen.

The usual mortality is that they will pass away. That's what's so devastating about this virus.

VERCAMMEN: And another just sad story. A father comes in then his son. They're next to each other at one point, they both wind up dying of COVID-19.

Just one of the stories being unfurled in California as the pandemic rages on.

VERCAMMEN(On Camera): Paul Verkammen reporting from Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Now back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Well, health care workers in the U.S. were among the first to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

The CDC just voted on which Americans will get the shot next. Those details ahead.

And some adults in the U.K. are pleading for the vaccine. For them, time is of the essence. Hear their stories after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:30:51]

ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

I'm Anna Coren live from Hong Kong.

Well, now that the U.S. has two COVID-19 vaccines, many Americans may be wondering when they'll be able to get their shots.

You'll recall health care workers and those in long term care facilities were first on the list when the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine rolled out.

Well, CNN's Natasha Chen has the latest on who is next in line.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A CDC advisory committee voted Sunday 13-1 on the next two phases of people who should be prioritized for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Already we have seen in the very first phase health care workers and residents of long term care facility start to be vaccinated. Now, the next group that's been voted now include people 75 and up as well as frontline essential workers, people like first responders, grocery store workers and teachers.

The phase after that will include people 65 and up, younger people with high-risk medical conditions, and other essential workers.

Now, that last phase involved a bit more debate among committee members, especially what is considered a high-risk condition. Right now that list includes issues like diabetes, obesity, cancer. The committee did say that these are issues with sufficient evidence of being associated with severe COVID-19.

But it is not a exhaustive list and they did say that will be updated on the CDC Web site. Already, we are seeing more than half a million people vaccinated now with the Pfizer vaccine.

The Moderna vaccine is now being shipped out as we speak with the first shots expected to happen on Monday.

Natasha Chen, CNN -- Atlanta, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Well, millions of clinically vulnerable adults in the U.K. are fourth on the priority list for a COVID-19 vaccine.

CNN's Nina Dos Santos explores whether more discretion should be given to people with certain conditions who's trying to enjoy life has been impacted by quarantines and lockdowns.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For those 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.

MICHAEL WINEHOUSE, FATHER WITH CYSTIC FIBRORIS: We have to shield for a significant period at the start of March. And we didn't leave the house for something like 100 days.

We've had to make sacrifices much like everybody has. Especially those who are vulnerable.

DOS SANTOS: 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 fourth place alongside those age 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. Whilst I appreciate everybody needs it and everyone will get it, I'd like to know when it's my turn.

DOS SANTOS (on camera): 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 to begin rolling it out. However, those early supplies are limited. And they are reserved for now for frontline health care staff, care home workers and the elderly. Meaning there are eight million people further up the priority list above the clinically, extremely vulnerable.

The government's watch dog anticipates that 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 clinically vulnerable will be immunocompromised as well.

And at this stage, we don't know how they will respond to the vaccine or which vaccine may be more suitable for them. We need more evidence.

[01:34:53]

DOS SANTOS: Kate Blagojevic (ph) has just survived cancer. The treatment has ravaged her immune system. She is not sure how she will respond to the vaccine but does see room for greater discretion in its distribution.

KATE BLAGOJEVIC, CANCER SURVIVOR: I'm in my early forties. I've got a three-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 as happily as possible, as soon as possible.

MURRY WORTHY, HUSBAND: The idea that a vaccine could take that away and just kind of relieve all of that that stress and pressure would be -- yes, it would make a huge difference to our lives.

DOS SANTOS (voice over): For some of the vulnerable, having the vaccine means both having a life and a livelihood. Like Ashley Herman with multiple sclerosis.

ASHLEY HERMAN, FATHER WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS: At the end of November, I was made redundant. So things are pretty tricky at the moment.

DOS SANTOS (on camera): How would your life change if you are able to get access to the vaccine?

HERMAN: I will first of all jump for joy.

DOS SANTOS (voice over): Michael's son Oscar is also jumping for joy. When his dad gets his vaccine, he will be able to do so safely outside as well.

Nina Dos Santos CNN -- London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, authorities in South Korea are weighing their response with COVID cases and deaths on the rise there.

Plus a mysterious coronavirus outbreak is perplexing health officials in Sydney, Australia. That's coming up. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COREN: Well, the coronavirus is causing more problems in Asia and Australia, places that had successfully contained earlier outbreaks.

On Sunday, South Korea counted 24 deaths, its deadliest day of the pandemic.

Japan is also seeing a steady rise in cases, hospitals in the country are caring for more than 26,000 coronavirus patients.

[01:39:51]

COREN: Authorities in Australia impose restrictions over the weekend after a mysterious cluster of new cases appeared in Sydney. Authorities are trying to find out where they came from.

Well, CNN is following these stories closely for you. Let's bring in Angus Watson from Australia and Paula Hancocks joining us from Seoul. First to Paula. Seoul and South Korea really was a country that was on initially on the offensive in the pandemic. It was the shining light for other countries on how to handle the pandemic. South Korea has recorded, as we say, its deadliest day, its highest number of infections. What is the latest?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Anna. Things have certainly changed here in South Korea. It's no longer that example of how to do things that we have seen internationally.

And we have just heard from Seoul city officials within the last hour. They have decided that from Wednesday onwards until January 3rd they will put a ban on a gatherings of five or more people in the greater Seoul area.

They are really trying to restrict the outbreaks that we're seeing most of them in the Greater Seoul area. Now, they haven't decided that they're going to go to the highest social distancing measure of level 3.

That decision hasn't been made but they are putting this extra restriction on the number of people that can gather obviously coming up to Christmas to New Year. There's a lot of year end gatherings on any normal year. So they're really trying to prevent that from happening.

Now also, in South Korea what we have had is the deadliest day once again on Sunday. So another grim record being broken here -- 24 deaths. And the number of new cases. 926. But of course, it is from Sunday. The testing is generally lower on a weekend.

And then meanwhile, in Japan we see almost 2,500 new cases being reported there. Japan, as the same in South Korea, really the capital cities are bearing the brunt of this point in the pandemic.

And then when it comes to Hong Kong, the stringent social distancing measures that we have seen in place are still in place - gyms, salons, pubs, bars are closed, at this point all schools are online across the territory.

So certainly we're seeing restrictions in these places where, as you say, up until recently they have been really shown as guiding lights for other countries around the world on how to deal with this pandemic, Anna.

COREN: Paula Hancocks joining us from Seoul. Good to see you. Thank you so much.

Well, let's now go to Sydney in Australia where Angus Watson is. Angus, we've just got word that the premier of Queensland has announced it's again shutting down the border to the whole of New South Wales. Not just residents in Sydney.

Tell us about the wide scale impact that this cluster is having. And that fears are it will only get worse.

ANGUS WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right Anna.

Nobody wanted this cluster of coronavirus to pop-up just before Christmas particularly concerning is that we still don't know exactly where it came from. There's no Patient Zero here yet.

So we've got 83 cases in this cluster that's popped up in Sydney's northern beaches area. And local officials and officials in Australia more widely are trying to clamp down to stop that from ruining Christmas plans even more so than it may already have done so.

So some good news however. We just had 15 new cases detected on Sunday and that came from over 38,000 tests. So officials here cautiously optimistic that they may have found the scope of the virus before it's got out of control.

But as you just mentioned, states around Australia are looking at Sydney and saying hey, folks from Sydney maybe don't come interstate for your Christmas this year. If you do, you're going to have to quarantine for 14 days on arrival, Anna.

COREN: Yes Angus, I mean Australia was on track to almost eliminate COVID. You know, a number of cases were just handful.

As you say, they have not yet identified Patient Zero. But do we know how this has spread as quickly as what it has?

WATSON: It is hard to know for sure. But health authorities suspect that this variant of the virus they are seeing in Sydney's north came from the United States. And it may have come from a passenger on board a flight from Los Angeles into Sydney on December 1st.

But again, they can't say exactly whether that's the case. But it does give some comfort to be able to start to put together a story about how the virus got back into Sydney after a run of days with no community transition cases.

So you'll remember that the Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison, has often said that the New South Wales health authorities operate their contact tracing at the gold standard. So here's some evidence to show -- goes to show that he might be correct. They're contact tracing have gone into overdrive to try to pinpoint these cases and hopefully, Anna, and we've seen the last of it.

[01:44:57]

WATSON: But I would say though that as nervous as this is making Sydney (INAUDIBLE) with no coronavirus cases in the ICU right now, I think -- people here in Australia have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season, Anna.

COREN: Yes, absolutely. Angus Watson, joining us from Sidney. Good to see. Thank you very much.

Well, despite warnings from U.S. Health experts to stay home there are signs of am early rush of holiday air travel. The transportation security Administration says more than one million people passed through by airport checkpoints on Saturday.

That's about the same number who flew Friday. The TSA says it's the first time since the pandemic began that more than a million travelers were screened on consecutive days.

Stay with CNN. We will have much more after the break.

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COREN: On the news of the new coronavirus variant, Saudi Arabia is suspending all international flights for at least a week. Entry by land or through seaports, is also suspended.

[01:49:53]

COREN: Arwa Damon joins us now from Istanbul with the detail. Arwa, why are authorities taking such drastic action.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, presumably, they don't want to take any risk at all. Given how the pandemic has affected not just Saudi Arabia, but frankly the entire region, and the world as a whole.

Taking this fairly serious measure though would be suspension of all flights, closing all borders not just to flights emerging from the U.K. or other countries where this new variant has emerged from but all international travel.

Now those whose travel is currently in the process will be able to exit and enter, but upon entry there are also fairly strict measures that are being put into place.

Now, this is initially for a week, Anna, but the government there is saying that it could be suspended even further. Depending on how this situation unfolds.

And at this stage it's not just said Saudi Arabia, and the region. Turkey is also suspending flights from the U.K., from the Netherlands, from a number of other countries where this new variant has emerged as well.

And this is also a fairly unusual step for Turkey, and for Turkish Airlines that stayed, relatively speaking, functional throughout all of this.

But turkey also is another country in the region that is going through a very severe second wave. One that is proving to be more widespread, with higher numbers and a higher depth than the first wave was in and of itself.

And I think what we're seeing right now with this new variant, even though experts, and authorities on the pandemic are saying that it is not necessarily deadlier than other variants is that countries are, at this stage, going to be perhaps jumping into more severe measures early on given the lessons that the pandemic, up until now, has taught all of us, Anna.

COREN: Arwa Damon, joining us from Istanbul, we appreciate the update. Thank you.

Well, the incoming White House chief of staff is blasting the Trump Administration for its response to a cyber attack on U.S. agencies.

Ron Klain says the White House has sent mixed messages about who is responsible and urged officials to clear up the confusion.

On Friday, Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo initially blamed Russia for the hack and called it a very significant effort. The next day, President Trump downplayed the severity of the issue, and suggested without proof the China may have been responsible.

Earlier his former cyber security chief spoke to CNN and explained why they failed to catch the threat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS KREBS, FORMER DIRECTOR, CYBERSECURITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY AGENCY: Yes, it happened on my watch at CISA and we missed it, a bunch of other folks missed it.

But there is work that we have to do now, going forward to make sure, a, we get past this, that we get the Russians out of the networks. But b, that it never have happens again. And we -- we really need congressional support, we need the resources, we need the authorities to be able to make sure that again, this doesn't happen again.

But going back to the beginning, the Russians are exceptionally good at this sort of work and they found a seam in our defenses.

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COREN: Well, that was Chris Krebs, former director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure and Security Agency.

U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo is blaming Iranian-backed militias for a rocket attack on Baghdad's heavily-fortified diplomatic green zone. Eight rockets were fired Sunday night injuring at least one Iraqi soldier and doing minor damage to the U.S. Embassy compound.

The Iraqi military says most of the rockets hit a residential neighborhood near the embassy. The U.S. is urging Iraqi leaders to prevent such attacks, and hold the attackers accountable.

Pivoting now to Christmas. We already know that this Christmas will look and feel much different than most years. But that doesn't mean it is all doom and gloom.

Some of Santa's helpers in the U.K. are using technology to bring Christmas cheer anyone, anywhere.

CNN's Anna Stewart shows us how.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do have my Merry Chris mask. So when I'm out and about, I can mask up, and make everybody else feel safe as well.

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT ((voice over): He has been isolating in the North Pole for 11 months. Now, Santa is ready to get back to business with a little help from his friends.

This year many of Santa's (INAUDIBLE) are closed due to COVID-19, which means Santa's helpers, who kindly step in when he's busy, are having to learn some new skills.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to a slightly different, but still wonderful, Santa school.

STEWART: Santa HQ is an app, allowing for Zoom chats with Santa.

[01:54:56]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very good indeed. Now, what we need to do is to scale it down slightly.

STEWART: It is run by the Ministry of Fun, one of the biggest Santa recruitment firms in the U.K. You see plenty of benefits.

MATT GRIST, MANAGING DIRECTOR, MINISTRY OF FUN: You get to see Santa in his home. You get longer with him, because normally, there's a queue and there's lots of people that want to see the great man. And it's much more personal.

STEWART: One of Santa's helpers on this project, although you may not recognize him here is Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales.

JIMMY WALES, FOUNDER, WIKIPEDIA: Children really shouldn't visit Santa in Santa Grotto this year. They should do it ON Zoom. And so, I came across these guys here at the Ministry of Fun. I'm basically helping them think about digital strategy, think about going international.

STEWART: Of course, there may be concerns for Santa on the big night itself. An elderly man carrying a little extra mid supply (ph) weight would not be advised to travel the world, and enter millions of homes. At least, not this year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am always wearing gloves, no matter what happens. I don't have to touch any surfaces which is a really good thing to do. The gloves are sanitized at all times.

STEWART (on camera): Christmas is going to be different this year. It's been a really tough year for people all over the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It certainly has. It certainly has.

STEWART: What's your message to everyone?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, more than ever before we must show that the Christmas love and warmth is there for everyone to take part. Everyone can be part of it. I know it will be slightly different, but by using videos and all this technology, we can see our family members no matter where you are in the world.

STEWART (voice over): And you can see Sam's experience, now, he's Zoom ready.

Anna Stewart, CNN, reporting from Santa's London office in the U.K.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: That wraps up this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Anna Coren in Hong Kong.

I will be back with more news. Stay with CNN.

[01:56:52]

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