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France-U.K. Border Reopened with Strict Stipulations; Trump May Not Sign COVID Relief Bill, Meets with Election Fraud Conspiracy Theorists; Texas Hospitals Pushed to the Brink, U.S. Tops 18 Million COVID-19 Cases; Israel Holds Fourth Election in Two Years; New South Wales Eases Some Restrictions for Christmas; Thailand Seafood Market Cluster Reports over 1,000 Cases. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired December 23, 2020 - 02:00 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 (voice-over): Thanks for staying with us everyone, you're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.
Coming up, health experts on heightened alert as the COVID-19 mutation spreads around the world.
The U.K. where it was first detected, facing new international travel bans.
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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm going to tell it to you straight. I'm going to tell you the truth. And here's the simple truth. Our darkest days in the battle against COVID are ahead of us.
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DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Send me a suitable bill or else the next administration will have to deliver a COVID relief package. And maybe that administration will be me.
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VAUSE: No, it won't be. President-Elect Joe Biden now focusing on the year ahead; Trump backtracking on his government's relief bill for the pandemic.
Also Israel set to hold its fourth election in two years. Live in Jerusalem with all the details this hour.
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VAUSE: Well, there is new renewed attention being paid to the coronavirus in the new variant in parts of Europe as well as Australia and other parts of the world. Experts say the mutation likely arrive here in mid November with hundreds of people infected.
British researchers have traced the new strain to County Kent south of London back in September. It's also been found in Iceland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Australia and another strain reported in South Africa.
And while it's reported to be more infections, Dr. Anthony Fauci says that does not mean it's necessarily more dangerous.
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DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Let's assume that it is causing an increase in the transmissibility. It does not appear at all to have any impact on making the virus more deadly or more serious.
And there is no indication whatsoever that it has any impact on interfering with the ability of the vaccine to induce an immune response to protect against the virus. So this is something we're watching very closely.
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VAUSE: It's now official. The corona pandemic is now spread to every continent in the world. Now it's been found in the Antarctic by the Chilean army, which reported a outbreak at a research facility there, 36 people testing positive.
A logistic nightmare will be unfolding at the France-U.K. border set to reopen to freight trucks and some travelers with strict new regulations. The border had been closed because of the COVID-19 variant.
Hundreds of trucks were stuck with drivers sleeping in their vehicles as they worried whether they would make it home in time for Christmas. Now France says anyone crossing the border will need proof of a negative COVID-19 test.
Covering from both sides of the border, we have Salma Abdelaziz in England and Jim Bittermann in France. Let's go with Salma to start off with.
There's mass testing about to begin for all these truck drivers and they're calling in the army to get it done.
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN PRODUCER: Hello John, we just showed up here at the border at the entry of the port of Dover. We just showed up about 30 minutes ago and there is a great deal of confusion and I would say chaos here.
I'm just going to step out of the shot and explain everything that we're seeing here. Essentially, if I call the authorities in Paris, they might tell you something differently. This is how it's playing out on the ground.
These policeman told me they are not allowed to let any truck drivers through, even if they have a negative test. The only people they can allow through are tourists with negative tests. Those are the only people who are allowed through.
And we have indeed seen quite a few small cars cross. We've heard dozens of tourists have crossed today. What you are looking at right now are a lot of frustrated people. They are watching those little tourist cars cross into that court and they are not allowed in.
These truck drivers who were sitting in their vehicles for three days since Sunday still not allowed in. The policeman here are telling them they need to be moved along, moved along to get a negative test before they can even cross.
Even if they get that negative test, they still are not allowed to cross. I literally heard one of these policemen shout, the French won't let you in. You need to get a negative test.
Where do you get a test?
You go to the NHS website, which is the National Health Service.
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ABDELAZIZ: Or you have to go to Manson (ph) Airport, an area that we were in yesterday, a massive airstrips where thousands of trucks were lined up waiting, I guess for COVID tests. We simply don't know what's happened to them.
Even if one of these truck drivers had a negative test, they still would not be allowed to cross; only tourists. So there's a real sense of haves and have nots here, especially with these drivers, who have been stranded in their trucks for days with no food, no bathrooms, no information.
And now only to be met at the border, seeing these tourists zip across and they are still. Waiting John.
VAUSE: All right let's now find out what's happening on the other side of the border. Jim Bittermann is in France.
Jim, what are the French saying about this?
Obviously, there is a great deal of confusion and we believe that the trucks would be allowed to cross. But they didn't want everyone rushing in all at once. And if they had that negative COVID-19 test, they'd be fine.
What's Paris saying?
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Exactly that, if they have the right COVID test, they can cross. There are two kinds of tests that they are accepting and one is this lateral flow test, which is fairly quick, or so the authorities tell. Us
But the fact is that you've got to get this someplace where they can administer it and then find out if you tested negative and then hit the road.
I think probably there's going to be some initial confusion this morning, as it filters down but definitely the order came down last night from the French government, that truck drivers especially and also other people would be allowed to come into the country as long as they had this negative test within the last 72 hours before they crossed the border.
It should be said on the side of the border, there is no lineup, because French truck drivers and others who wanted to go to Britain have not been prevented from doing that.
It was really the flow of traffic from the other direction and I think basically the French imposed this because they said, according to European Union rules, that they have the right to protect their citizens. They thought that this variant might be a danger to their citizens so they would close the borders.
Other countries like Germany have done the same thing. So it's going to be a long day for a lot of those truck drivers. And it comes after a day of chaos yesterday, as they were debating at the official level between France and Britain about exactly what kind of testing should be required and how soon and all the rest of that.
So John, it's a day of confusion, no doubt, and after already a couple of days confusion at the border.
VAUSE: A long day ahead of them, after three long days already. Jim Bittermann and Salma Abdelaziz, not far from where all those trucks are lined up. Thank you both. Appreciate it.
Well Donald Trump has thrown doubt about the $900 billion relief bill because of what he says is wasteful spending. The president wants lawmakers to go back and revise the deal even though he had nothing to do with it. He specifically said he would not veto. It
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TRUMP: I'm asking Congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low $600 to $2,000 or $4,000 for a couple. I'm also asking Congress to immediately get rid of the wasteful and unnecessary items from this legislation and to send me a suitable bill.
Or else the next administration will have to deliver a COVID relief package. And maybe that administration will be me.
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VAUSE: More details now from CNN White House correspondent John Harwood.
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JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The chaotic closing days of Donald Trump's administration took another bizarre turn on Tuesday night, when the president, out of the blue, posted a video message, calling the COVID relief bill that Congress has just passed and sent for his signature, a disgrace.
This is the $900 billion bill that included stimulus checks of $600 per person in the American population for those making under $75,000 a year; an extension of unemployment benefits, benefits for small businesses; desperately needed by people struggling under COVID.
Now it's not clear exactly what the president's purpose is here. He had not been particularly involved in negotiating the legislation, although his administration aides had been.
This is also not clear whether the president will in fact follow through by vetoing the bill. But the last thing that Republicans need is an intramural fight. The president has been attacking Republican leaders in the last couple of days, trying to make himself look good at his expense.
He demanded in the bill a change of the stimulus checks for American families from $600 per person to $2,000 per person.
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HARWOOD: Republicans in the Senate are not going to go along with that, although Democrats in the House said they immediately would. So it's not clear what all this is going to mean, whether there is going to be a veto.
The bill initially passed with more than enough votes to override a presidential veto. But the picture could change if the president actually puts pressure on Republicans. The one thing we know is that it would be unwelcome news for Americans looking for that relief and unwelcome news for the economy overall.
Dow futures went down 100 points after the president released his statement -- John Harwood, CNN, Washington.
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VAUSE: Well, it's a White House pardon-palooza just in time for Christmas for some of those closest to the president. He's already granted 20 controversial pardons and more are expected before he leaves office.
On the list, two men who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in the Russia investigation. Three corrupt former Republican Congress men convicted of crimes like misusing campaign funds and conspiracy to commit securities fraud.
And four Blackwater military contractors, who were convicted of killing Iraqi civilians in 2007.
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VAUSE: On Tuesday, the U.S. president-elect Joe Biden addressed the nation on the state of the coronavirus pandemic as well as the transition of power. He says the worst of the pandemic is yet to come. We have more from CNN's Jeff Zeleny, reporting in from Delaware.
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BIDEN: After a year of pain and loss, it's time to unite, to heal, to rebuild.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President-Elect Joe Biden delivering a holiday message and steeling Americans for a punishing winter season of the pandemic.
BIDEN: One thing I promise you about my leadership during this crisis, I'm going to tell it to you straight. I'm going to tell you the truth. And here's the simple truth: our darkest days in the battle against COVID are ahead of us, not behind us. So we need to prepare ourselves, to steel our spines, as frustrating as it is to hear.
ZELENY (voice-over): Biden thanking Congress, Democrats and Republicans alike, for passing a $900 billion COVID relief package. But he said it was merely a down payment for the country's dire economic need.
BIDEN: But Congress did its job this week. And I can and I must ask them to do it again next year.
ZELENY: Given the narrow majorities in the House and Senate, you've watched many administrations come and go.
Do you believe that you will have a honeymoon to get things accomplished?
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BIDEN: I don't think it's a honeymoon at all. I think it's a nightmare that everybody's going through and they all say it's got to end. It's not a honeymoon. They're not doing me a favor.
ZELENY (voice-over): Biden also delivering a blistering assessment of President Trump's tepid response to the massive cyberattack, saying the burden is on Trump to publicly call out Russia for its suspected hand in the hack.
BIDEN: This assault happened on Donald Trump's watch when he wasn't watching. It's still his responsibility as president to defend American interests for the next four weeks. Rest assured that, even if he does not take it seriously, I will.
ZELENY (voice-over): Biden said Trump has abdicated his responsibility to keep America safe.
BIDEN: It is a grave risk and it continues. I see no evidence that it's under control. I see none, heard of none. Defense Department won't even brief us on many things. So I know of nothing that suggests it's under control.
ZELENY (voice-over): Biden also shedding a glimpse of new light on a search for an attorney general in the post-Trump era.
BIDEN: We're looking for a team who will instill the greatest confidence in the professionals at DOJ to know, once again, that there is no politics. But it's not by design. There's not an obvious choice in my mind.
ZELENY (voice-over): As he rounds out his cabinet, CNN has learned Biden intends to nominate Miguel Cardona as Education Secretary. A former elementary school teacher and principal, Cardona is Connecticut's top education official, who shares Biden's goal of reopening most schools to in-person learning within 100 days of taking office.
ZELENY: And Mr. Biden will make that Education Secretary announcement Wednesday in Wilmington. With that, five cabinet positions and other key slots remaining, attorney general chief among them. That is now not expected until after the holidays -- Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Wilmington, Delaware.
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VAUSE: In France, three police officers have been shot and killed responding to a call of domestic violence. A fourth officer was wounded. CNN affiliate BFM TV reported that the government opened fire as the officers arrived and then set the house on fire.
The woman who made the call was reportedly rescued, it's still not known what's happened to the gunman. All of this taking place in central France.
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VAUSE: In the U.S., hospitals are maxing out with new COVID patients. It's taking its toll on health care workers.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's like we're nonexistent. And it's like, you do realize that we are still here, taking care of these people, putting my life at risk, putting my kid's life at risk, my mom's life. I think we have been forgotten.
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FAUCI: I know everyone wants to get back to the time when Christmas was a situation where you could have many, many guests, indoor, congregating, having fun together. The situation is different now. We don't want to cancel Christmas but I want people to be more
careful. I want them to limit traveling to the extent possible. And when you congregate, try to do it with a limited number of people.
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VAUSE: America's top infectious disease expert there, urging Americans to follow COVID guidelines, especially in the coming weeks. Fauci's among a number of senior health officials who were vaccinated Tuesday. He's urging all Americans to do the same.
Also Tuesday, America reported its second highest daily death toll, pushing past 323,000. That means every one of 11 fatalities in the U.S. this year is because of COVID-19.
The CDC says more than 3 million Americans will die by the end of the year, the most ever recorded.
With cases surging, hospitals nationwide are being flooded with new COVID patients. Now nearly 118,000 are being treated in U.S. hospitals. That is a record high. Many doctors feeling the stress. CNN's Miguel Marquez went to one Texas hospital, struggling like so many others to keep up.
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MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Houston's United Memorial Medical Center. Patient after patient on a ventilator, their lungs devastated by COVID-19.
DR. JOSEPH VARON, UNITED MEMORIAL MEDICAL CENTER, HOUSTON, TEXAS: This is (INAUDIBLE) from deep inside the lung.
MARQUEZ: This is a test?
VARON: This is COVID. This is what COVID looks like inside the lungs. You can see that growth there, the light, you can see a lot of mucus and some cells.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): The lungs swollen and red in this elderly patient. The sample will be sent to a lab to find what else might be happening in their lungs.
VARON: The question is, are they not killed just because of COVID or is it a second (INAUDIBLE) infection, which is common?
MARQUEZ (voice-over): We visited the same hospital in late June, then two wings of the hospital have been transformed into COVID-19 wards. Today, prepping for what's to come, there are three.
VARON: And the next few weeks are going to be the darkest weeks in modern American medical history.
MARQUEZ: Even though the vaccine's been rolled out?
VARON: Absolutely because, think about it, the vaccine will take six and eight weeks to get immunity. We're right during Christmas where people are not listening.
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MARQUEZ (voice-over): But 40 percent of the patients from this Houston hospital are from other parts of the state, reeling from overwhelming. Illness
Across the Lone Star State, cases exploding. The seven-day average of positive cases hitting records far above where they were in June.
Walter Cuellar was transferred here from West Texas, about 500 miles away. He thinks he and his wife picked up the virus at the supermarket. She had mild symptoms. Today he is on the mend but, when he arrived, he was nearly put on a ventilator.
WALTER CUELLAR, TRUCK DRIVER: I went to the store with my wife. And her and I were the only ones wearing a mask and none of the rest of the people, they're not wearing a mask at all.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): Bri Smith works with foreign exchange students and recently moved to Columbus, Texas, west of Houston.
BRI SMITH, TEACHER: It is the worst I've ever felt in my life.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): She, too, thinks she got the virus while shopping. She has a husband and three kids. She wasn't sure she would see them again.
SMITH: I love you very much and I miss you so much. I can't wait to come. Home
MARQUEZ (voice-over): The staff here from Dr. Varon to nurses, to those who clean up are tired and stressed.
MARQUEZ: What has 2020 been like for you?
TANNA INGRAHAM, ICU NURSE: It's like hell and back. It's hard. I'm stressed.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): We met ICU nurse Tanna Ingraham in June. Then, she was a patient, having picked up COVID-19, she thinks, while performing CPR on a patient. She got COVID a second time; she's not sure how. After nine months of dealing with sickness and death, she's back at work, with a message.
INGRAHAM: It's like we are nonexistent and it's like, you do realize that we are still here, taking care of these people?
Putting my life at risk, putting my kid's life at risk, my mom's life. I think we have been forgotten. Truly.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): Something else new from June, says Dr. Varon. Patients are coming in sicker, having waited longer before seeking medical care.
VARON: The average patient has spent about 20 days with symptoms before they come to us. So even if I give them holy water, after 20 days of symptoms, it's going to be difficult for them to get better.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): Richard Gonzales has a wife and five kids. He works two jobs isn't sure how he got. It he thought he could tough it out.
RICHARD GONZALES, CHRONIC COVID-19 PATIENT: I kind like of messed up from those symptoms that I got when I got it, I should've went to the ER room or the hospital right away but I didn't. I laid in bed, thinking it was going to go away.
MARQUEZ: For how long?
GONZALES: For about a week.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): Luis Martinez's father, uncle and cousin died of COVID-19. The last thing he wanted to do was go to a hospital.
LUIS MARTINEZ, COVID-19 PATIENT: Because I didn't want to do it, because you know how it is, they put you in the hospital and sometimes you never make. It
MARQUEZ (voice-over): To listen to Juana Corona trying to breathe is to understand everything one needs to know about COVID-19. She's pretty certain she got it from her daughter at a birthday party. Several other family members got it. Her 26-year-old niece died.
She says she is scared, like everyone we spoke to, those who could speak, they all hope for one thing, to be home for Christmas.
Margaret Evans says 10 members of her family got COVID-19, she thinks, at a birthday party.
MARQUEZ: How tough is it to be away from family like?
MARGARET EVANS-RANGE, COVID-19 PATIENT: It's hard, it's hard. It's very, very, very, very hard.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): She has nine grandchildren she would really like to see -- Miguel Marquez, CNN, Houston, Texas.
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VAUSE: Dr. Comilla Sasson is an emergency room physician currently treating COVID-19 patients.
It's good to see you again. I think we last spoke, you'd just returned home to Colorado. You had volunteered at a New York hospital. That was the epicenter of the pandemic at the time .That was back in May and the U.S. death toll had just passed 80,000. It's four times higher now, more than 320,000.
By the time I ask you this question, someone in the U.S. will have died from COVID-19, one death every 40 seconds.
Back then did you contemplate for a moment this pandemic would spiral so badly out of control? DR. COMILLA SASSON, EMERGENCY ROOM PHYSICIAN: You know, I think I always hoped for the best, especially after we had shutdowns all across the country. We had a really great period of silence, if you will, or a lull in the action and I think all of us really had hoped that we would stem the tide.
I think, unfortunately, six months later, we realize the entire country is on fire. Everywhere I go, every colleague I talk to, we all have the same stories. There's just not enough doctors, not enough beds.
What are we going to do?
There's no place to transfer patients.
VAUSE: It's not just New York on fire now; it's everywhere. There are about 118,000 patients in U.S. hospitals right now, 17,000 patients in 32 states are being treated in intensive care units.
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VAUSE: As of last Friday, almost one in five hospitals reported a critical shortage of staff.
This is not sustainable.
Can you describe what your day is like?
SASSON: Yes, I've been traveling all over the country since April from New York. I've been to Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, everywhere we've had surges.
And I think the thing that keeps coming back to me is it was OK in April because we could go to New York City where the surge was. And now the entire country is having a surge. I think that's why all of us are getting really frustrated because there's just not enough health care workers to take care of all the patients.
As we think about the rate that we're running, that finish line just keeps getting further and further down the road. I think that's where from a mental perspective, that's what's hard because we had a lot of hope that things would get better. It's not there yet right now. I think we're all pretty despondent, thinking about what's happening with Thanksgiving and Christmas and people getting together.
VAUSE: Here's Dr. Fauci with a warning about Christmas.
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DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: This type of travel is risky, particularly if people start congregating when they get to their destination in larger crowds, in indoor settings.
I'm afraid that if, in fact, we see this happen, we will have a surge that, superimposed upon the difficult situation we are already in. (END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The warnings over Thanksgiving went unheeded for the most part.
Will Christmas be any different?
SASSON: I think it's going to be worse. I think of myself as an optimist but this last year has been really trying. I think a lot of hope that everybody wears masks. We go to the emergency department and thinking it's got to be better today because yesterday was so bad it can't be any worse and it's not.
So it's hard for me to think that after the little surge we had after Thanksgiving, that people are going to do the right thing. But unfortunately, I think we know that people are tired and want to see their family. But it's not going to be good and that's the dread that we all go into starting in January.
VAUSE: There's some hard decisions being made and it's understandable but you just have to make these decisions. Dr. Sasson, thank you so much. Good to see you again.
SASSON: Thank you.
VAUSE: Coming up, Israel's unity government united for just seven months. That means Israelis are heading back to the polls for the fourth time in two years.
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VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. I'm John Vause.
The U.K. and the European just have eight days to reach a trade deal. Those negotiations are stuck in stop and go mode. If there is no agreement by midnight New Year's Eve the U.K. will crash out of the common market, what's called a no deal Brexit.
Almost all major issues are in agreement except for the E.U. fishing rights in British waters. Michel Barnier told reporters this is a crucial moment and talks are being given one final push.
Israelis will be voting again in their fourth parliamentary election in two years set for March. The coalition government collapsed Tuesday after failing to agree on a budget. The unity government lasted seven months. The election comes with Netanyahu facing a corruption trial and public anger over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
For more details, Elliott Gotkine, live in Tel Aviv.
Up until this point, Netanyahu has been like Houdini. He's pulled off this sort of magical political trick up his sleeve.
Can he do it for the fourth time?
Where are we looking at here?
ELLIOTT GOTKINE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They don't call him the magician for nothing. He's Israel's longest serving prime minister. And in a country where the political rules are the way they are, where it's very unlikely one party gets a majority, then you obviously have to be a wily political operator in order to survive that long.
A couple of opinion polls came out on local television last night. They actually showed that almost half of the poll blamed Netanyahu for the collapse of the government but they also showed that he would still lead the biggest party in the next parliament.
That said, his biggest competition wouldn't come from the center or the left this time but from his own right wing part of the political spectrum. Former minister Gideon Sa'ar just bolted from Netanyahu's party recently. He founded a new party called New Hope and he is nipping at the heels of Netanyahu.
There's Yamina, headed by Naftali Bennett, who served with Netanyahu and under Netanyahu. He refused to join this now collapsed government. He's also been soaring in the polls as well.
That said, the upshot is that the numbers don't seem to add up to enable Netanyahu to easily form a government but they don't actually add up to allow his rivals to form a government without him.
So who knows?
Perhaps the next election will also be inconclusive.
VAUSE: This time it's a little bit different, though. We had Benny Gantz of the Blue and White Party, the centrist party, doing very well last time. But this time Netanyahu is facing some major fallout from the way he handled the pandemic, he's facing the corruption trial -- that's a very real issue now, was looming in the shadows last time.
I guess the question, is how much will that influence voters this time?
You talked about that opinion poll.
GOTKINE: Look, what do they say, a week is a long time in politics?
Three months is a very long time in Israeli politics. We saw just last weekend Netanyahu being the first Israeli to receive his vaccination or the first of two parts of the vaccination. He was live on national television, he was out at the airport to receive delivery of the first batch of Pfizer's vaccine.
So what Netanyahu will certainly be hoping that, by the time these elections come around, the vaccination campaign will be, you know, in its full throes, the number of cases that have been searching of late and there is talk of a potential third lockdown, the number of COVID cases will be lower.
He's also touting his diplomatic achievements. Just yesterday, we had Jared Kushner and Netanyahu's national security adviser flying to Morocco to bring them on board these Abraham accords, making it the first fourth Arab country with whom Israel is signing these agreements, brokered by the Trump administration.
So Netanyahu trying to focus on the vaccinations and his diplomatic achievements and also not to focus on his legal issues and the criticism he's coming under for the mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic, which is still raging. We may be going into a third lockdown or face further restrictions for the. Country
VAUSE: Elliott, thank you very much for the. Latest.
[02:35:00]
VAUSE: New COVID clusters are being detected in Asia, leading to tougher restrictions. Details and a live report when we come back.
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VAUSE: The coronavirus once again spreading through countries where the pandemic was once thought to be under control, like Thailand, which has an outbreak from a seafood market that has now grown to 1,000 cases.
Testing is underway for thousands of people and the government is putting new measures to try to control the spread. And in Australia, COVID restrictions being eased in Sydney, after falling new cases for the second day.
From Christmas Eve, residents of the northern beaches will be allowed to have 5 visitors in their homes as long as they're from the same affected area.
The U.K. affecting new travel restrictions to try to prevent the spread of that new coronavirus variant. South Korea will suspend flights to and from the U.K. for the next week. Japan imposing new restrictions on travelers arriving from the U.K. as well.
All this comes as new cases are rising at an alarming rate across Europe as well as Asia. CNN's Paula Hancocks now live from Seoul.
The situation in Seoul, a blanket ban on flights whereas Japan is taking a slightly different approach.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, there's no blanket ban from Japan although they're making these restrictions stricter. South Korea is banning all flights in and out of the U.K. up until December 31st. They're also going to stop the quarantine exemptions. There are
certain cases where you can get an exemption, quite often for business travelers from the U.K. That simply does not exist anymore. Those are now null and void. Also saying that those people coming in have to quarantine for 14 days.
You have a test at the beginning of those 14 days. If you come from the U.K., you now have to have a test at the end of the quarantine, before you are allowed out into the population.
When it comes to Japan, they have said that they are going to have stricter rules when it comes to business travelers from the U.K. These are non-Japanese residents of Japan who, in the past, have been able to travel to and fro to the U.K. and do business and not have to quarantine. That has simply been put on hold.
They will still have to do the 14-day quarantine. One other point here in South Korea, for any people who test positive from the U.K., they also get a test specifically to see if they are positive with that new variant, really to figure out where the situation is and whether or not that new variant is in South Korea as well -- John.
VAUSE: And once again we have a case of a seafood market, this time in Thailand.
HANCOCKS: That's right, yes, the seafood market just on the outskirts of Bangkok. Up until now, tens of thousands of people have been tested just related to this one outbreak.
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HANCOCKS: Thailand had been doing remarkably well. Over recent months they were one of the standout examples of success when it came to dealing with this pandemic. So this is really a massive step backwards for Bangkok. They have new social distancing measures being brought into place, restrictions.
And authorities asking residents not to go to large gatherings for the New Year celebrations.
And, of course, a similar situation in Taiwan, another standout success Tory. They haven't had a local transmission case since April. All the positive cases there were imported in to Taiwan.
But they now do have a cluster surrounding one pilot from EVA Air from New Zealand. And according to reports, he may not have been completely accurate and honest when talking to the contact tracers. EVA Air says, if that is the case, they will fire him -- John.
VAUSE: Well, that's pretty strict. Thank you. Paula Hancocks, live in Seoul.
Air travel is setting new pandemic records with 1 million passengers Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Despite pleas from health officials for people to stay at home. CNN's Pete Muntean spoke with travelers heading out for the holidays. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Plenty of people are still traveling, even in spite of the CDC telling them not to and they are breaking records of the pandemic. The TSA says more than 1 million people, passed through security in Americas airport on Friday, on Saturday, then again on Sunday.
Nearly 1 million people on Monday. We'll have to see what the numbers will be on Tuesday. But is that three-day million passenger streak, which is so interesting, we have not seen that before during the pandemic, not even during the Thanksgiving rush.
These numbers, still about 40 percent of what they were a year ago, so plenty of people are staying home. But the travelers we talked to, say they're taking every precaution they can, to stay safe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are definitely much more careful, than usual. I brought hand sanitizer and we are constantly hand sanitizing and just careful not to touch everything, and just be careful about we're around.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We definitely took a lot of precautions like when I got on the plane, I wiped down everything with the wipes they gave us, which was nice. The last thing I want to spread COVID.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm OK about it, I went like to mass and everything, I'm trying to respect the six feet apart and everything. I'm OK with it, you know, just hoping and praying that nothing happens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MUNTEAN: Holiday travelers in the United Kingdom can still come here, even in spite of that new coronavirus strain. No new restrictions from the federal government, the Federal Aviation Administration says it's monitoring the situation. Delta Airlines says they will soon test passengers for coronavirus as they arrive here from the United Kingdom -- Pete Muntean, CNN, Dallas International Airport.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Well young patients hospital in Rome have been given an early Christmas present. A hug from loved ones. The San Rafael Rehabilitation Hospital installed a parking curtain with long plastic gloves, which means the kids can hug those visitors they've not seen in a very, very long time.
The hospital says the children's most asked for gift from Santa this year was to see their families and this could make that wish come true. Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. "WORLD SPORT" is next.
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