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Germany Restricting Entry from U.K.; Death Toll from Typhoon Rai at Least 75; U.N. Warns of "Avalanche" of Hunger in Afghanistan; Spreading Holiday Cheer Despite Another Tough Year. Aired 2-2:30a ET

Aired December 19, 2021 - 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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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers, joining us all around the world. Appreciate your company.

Coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM, countries across Europe tighten restrictions to slow the spread of Omicron. We will have more on the latest nation to enter lockdown.

Hong Kong going to the polls but one big catch: only candidates loyal to China can run for office. We will have a report.

The Taliban takeover is making an already dire situation so much worse for millions of people in Afghanistan. My interview with the head of the International Crisis Group in Asia.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Michael Holmes.

HOLMES: A stark warning from the World Health Organization. Cases of the Omicron variant are doubling every 1.5-3 days. The U.K. reporting more than 90,000 new COVID-19 cases the second day in a row.

And now Germany taking tough action, adding the United Kingdom to its list of areas with a variant of concern. Only German citizens or residents will be allowed to enter Germany from the U.K. CNN's Scott McLean with more from London.

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SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: London mayor Sadiq Khan declaring COVID-19 a major incident Saturday.

SADIQ KHAN, MAYOR OF LONDON: Over the last 24 hours, we've had the largest number of new cases since this pandemic began, more than 26,000. Hospital admissions are going up but also staff absences are going up by massive levels.

MCLEAN (voice-over): With cases rapidly increasing, there's a push to get more people tested and vaccinated. The U.K. vaccine minister helping distribute COVID tests at a sorting center Saturday.

The government aiming to get 900,000 a day shipped directly to homes across the U.K. And long lineups at a booster clinic northeast of London, many hoping to avoid another possible lockdown by getting a shot.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Another lockdown to me does seem a bit extreme. I think everyone just needs to be careful, go where you need to go and then go home.

MCLEAN (voice-over): Some vaccine clinics opening 24-hour jab-a- thons. In northern England, one pharmacy opened for 36 hours straight.

Worldwide, there's a push to get young people vaccinated. Santa Claus and his helpers visiting kids in Portugal. Germany and France also giving shots to 5- to 11-year-olds Saturday.

COVID putting a damper on holiday shopping. But some still hit the stores from Europe to Asia on the last weekend before Christmas.

Sporting events also taking a hit. English fans disappointed, as the Premier League match between Aston Villa and Burnley became the 10th Premier League fixture to get postponed this weekend due to COVID.

Later Saturday, anti-vaxers marched in London, France, Germany and Italy. The Netherlands announcing a strict new lockdown starting Sunday, also met by protests. As the World Health Organization announces Omicron cases doubling every 1.5-3 days in countries with transmissions, the battle against COVID rages on -- Scott McLean, CNN, London.

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HOLMES: Well, for more on how Europe is trying to stem the spread of the variants, let's turn to CNN contributor Barbie Nadeau, who joins me now.

Good to see you. Bring us up to date on the spread -- and to be clear, it's still mainly the Delta variant on the continent, right?

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, in continental Europe it is the Delta pushing the surge causing problems for people going into the holidays. We're seeing all across Europe the numbers continue to increase, the number of deaths starting to inch up.

That follows by about two weeks the surge in cases. And, of course, this is all about overwhelming the health care systems. Most people are getting vaccinated, their boosters. We've seen a huge increase in that as restrictions against the unvaccinated we spoke about a couple weeks ago came into play.

Now it's about playing catch-up and they're trying to keep people out of the hospital, trying to keep people home, trying to keep people from moving around and spreading the virus.

HOLMES: I guess all of these restrictions, leading into the holiday season, is going to make for another disappointing Christmas for many. They won't see family and so on.

How are people reacting?

NADEAU: Last year was a Christmas like no other. This is becoming a Christmas like last year. People are restricted to how many people they can have inside their homes. Only the vaccinated can go into restaurants.

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NADEAU: New Year's Eve festivities are canceled here in Rome. It's disappointing to a lot of people.

People, though, I think are starting to expect it. As we saw the numbers creep up, people are becoming a little bit complacent. The anti-vaxers are out there but the rest are saying, let's just get through this. Christmas season we'll stay home again, put their hopes in hopefully next year things will get better, Michael.

HOLMES: Everybody hoping the same thing around the world. Barbie, thanks. Barbie Nadeau there in Rome.

Now in the U.S., the Omicron variant threatens to send an already dangerous surge with the Delta variant into overdrive. The country is already seeing spikes in cases, hospitalizations and deaths. But experts say it's the Delta variant, not Omicron, that's driving the current surge in the U.S.

The situation is especially bad in New York, where cases hit a record high for the second day in a row on Saturday. And that is prompting a new round of disruptions.

"Saturday Night Live" cancelled its live studio audience this weekend, along with the musical guests. Broadway and professional sports also seeing cancellations and delays.

And several schools have shifted classes and exams online. All of this and Omicron still has not arrived fully in the U.S. It's expected to become the dominant strain in the coming weeks.

With U.S. hospitals already stretched thin, experts are warning Omicron could push the health care system to a breaking point.

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DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: The sheer number of patients that it will still generate for hospitals will overwhelm our hospitals and our hospitals will no longer be able to care for the things we do every day, like taking care of heart attacks or strokes or people with appendicitis.

So we need to protect our health care system and that's why every American needs to mask up and vax up right now because our health care infrastructure is at stake right now.

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President Biden will address public concerns about Omicron in a speech on Tuesday. He is expected to outline new steps the White House is taking to address rising infections.

Meanwhile, voters in Hong Kong are casting their ballots in the first citywide election since China imposed a sweeping national security law last year. Now under the new rules, a committee must vet all candidates to ensure that only so-called "patriots" are running for office, A move that further tightens China's grasp on Hong Kong. Let's turn to Will Ripley live in Hong Kong.

Loyalty a requirement for Beijing candidates. Opposition is staying away, limited candidate choice.

Doesn't sound much like a representative election, does it?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is democracy on China's terms, Michael. And the response here in Hong Kong, when you compare it to the last election two years ago, they postponed it because of the pandemic, I remember there were lines as far as you could see last election in 2019.

People were fired up. The protests were in full swing. People were voting for pro democracy parties that are no longer on the ticket. We've been standing outside this polling station. Every now and then you see somebody walk in. But so far all of them have been here to go swimming, not to vote.

A taxi driver I was talking to said, what's the point?

HOLMES: So I mean, the opposition from all accounts is just not taking part.

Is that right?

They've decided to stay away, that there's no point?

What sort of validation is that going to give the results of this election?

Or do authorities there just don't care?

RIPLEY: Well, there's a lot of questions about what these results actually mean for the people of Hong Kong, who are supposedly coming out here to vote and represent their views. People figure, if the candidates are already handpicked and the people

in the last election voted for parties that are now basically outlawed, because most of the people that were running for office have been arrested, there's a lot of questions about credibility on the streets here in Hong Kong.

We have put together a piece, Michael. I'm hoping it is ready and in the system. I'm going to toss to it now. If not, you can ask another question to fill the time.

HOLMES: Sadly, we do not but we promise we will get it on later. But appreciate it, Will. Thanks so much, there in Hong Kong for us.

All right. Local officials say at least 75 people are dead after Typhoon Rai. Those numbers could get worse. The local toll is far more than what national disaster officials are reporting, which is 31 deaths.

Rai battered the nation for three days, landing as a super typhoon, with wind gusts peaking at more than 300 kilometers an hour. It knocked down homes, trees and power lines, forcing more than 300,000 people to evacuate their homes.

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HOLMES: With freezing weather in Afghanistan, the Taliban wants countries to free up frozen aid. Coming up, I speak with the International Crisis Group about whether the Taliban can be trusted with aid.

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HOLMES: The Taliban say they are ready to start issuing passports again, raising hopes for Afghans desperate to leave their country. Crowds gathered outside the passport office in Kabul as the news spread.

The Islamist rulers stopped issuing passports after taking power in mid-August. They tried to restart the process in October but closed days later, when their biometric machines stopped working.

All this as the country faces a dire humanitarian and economic crisis. That crisis looks set to get worse as winter weather sets in, forcing horrific decisions on already desperate families. Here is a look at why leaving Afghanistan means life and death for so many people.

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HOLMES (voice-over): Kabul's first snowfall. For these children throwing snowballs at each other, it's a fun day. But for many Afghans facing their first winter back under the Taliban control, the cold conditions are a sign of difficult times ahead. This man says, "When there's snowfall, it's a day of happiness and

celebration for rich people," but adds, "for the normal people of Afghanistan, who are poor and helpless, it's like poison."

The country's economy already shaky after decades of war has been pushed to the brink of collapse since the Taliban's takeover in August, billions of dollars in international aid, which Afghanistan relied upon for humanitarian assistance and to fund the government, has been cut off, with another $9.5 billion in assets at the central bank of Afghanistan, frozen by the U.S.

Millions are without work and the cost of food and fuel has shot up, making many basic necessities too expensive for Afghans to buy. The U.N.'s World Food Programme warns that a harsh winter could bring, quote, "an avalanche of hunger and destitution" to the country.

The aid group says an estimated 98 percent of Afghans aren't eating enough, up 17 percent since the Taliban's takeover.

THOMSON PHIRI, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME SPOKESPERSON: Families are resorting to desperate measures as the bitter winter sets in. Nine in every 10 families are now buying less expensive food, which tends to be less nutritious. Eight in 10 are eating less and seven in 10 are borrowing food in order to get by.

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HOLMES (voice-over): Officials say that food insecurity will push people deeper into poverty, which could result in families turning into ever-more desperate measures to survive, including child labor, early marriage and even the sale of children.

On Saturday, senior Taliban leaders asked countries to release the blocked aid, saying it hurt the common people and would force more families to migrate. Hard choices ahead for the international community but mainly for the people of Afghanistan, who once again are left out in the cold.

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HOLMES: Let's talk now with Laurel Miller, the director of the International Crisis Group's Asia program.

Good to see you, Laurel. The International Rescue Committee have Afghanistan at the top of their watch list of countries expected to deteriorate most in the coming year. The International Crisis Group which you represent says quote, quote, the state is collapsing and a humanitarian disaster is looming.

How desperate is the situation?

LAUREL MILLER, DIRECTOR, ASIA PROGRAM, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: The situation is very dire in Afghanistan. According to the U.N. and other authoritative sources, we're headed toward seeing the worst humanitarian crisis in the world in Afghanistan.

There are projections that, next year, more than two-thirds of the population will be dependent on emergency food aide. We may see almost entire population be below the poverty line by the middle of the next year. It's really an unprecedented economic collapse and humanitarian disaster, in terms of the speed with which it's unfolding.

HOLMES: There's food shortages, verging on famine. The health care system is near collapse. And that's right now.

How much worse can it get if nothing is done to support the state and systems?

MILLER: It could get worse in many respects, including, if the state's not able to function in even a minimum respect, providing public services, like health and education, power, then we're going to see a situation of repeated humanitarian crises and protracted humanitarian crisis because people won't be able to have jobs, work in agriculture or feed families to dig themselves out the hole.

HOLMES: How can Afghanistan be best helped at a grassroots level so improvements are sustainable and not fleeting?

MILLER: Well, sustainability is a big issue here. One of the reasons we're seeing this tremendous collapse of the system in Afghanistan is because the state structures that's been set up over the last 20 years by Western countries, the support of Western countries were not sustainable.

They were fragile and when the prior government collapsed, the state structures collapsed with it. We have a situation where we have kind of a perfect storm of factors that have contributed to the current situation.

There has been a drought in Afghanistan, repeated droughts in recent years. So there was a pre-existing humanitarian crisis that was unfolding; the consequences of war, with people displaced from their homes.

But there's also sanctions imposed by the U.S. and by other countries in the world that were sanctions on the Taliban, that have now translated into sanctions on the entire country and economy.

And the government was supported by foreign donors to the tune of about three-fourths of public spending. That's all been cut off. And so this is why the country has tipped so quickly over an economic cliff.

HOLMES: I'm curious your thoughts on this, too.

What does a collapsing Afghanistan mean regionally and for the rest of the world in terms of geopolitical instability?

It's in everyone's interest to act because failure will have far reaching consequences. MILLER: That's right. A failed Afghanistan is in nobody's interest.

The Afghans suffer first and foremost. But the consequences are externalized, too.

We're already seeing illicit drug production going up in Afghanistan. It's the world's largest producer of opium poppy for heroin. That is going up already because people are desperate for income.

We're also seeing increase numbers of people trying to flee the country. That's likely to increase.

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MILLER: And there could also be security ramifications of this collapse as well, felt first and foremost by the region but it could extend broader.

HOLMES: We're running out of time but I wanted to ask you this because it's important, given the country's entrenched government or corruption, the systemic engrained corruption, the lack of ability to have direct oversight, is it understandable many in the West are wary of investment and, of course, the trust issues with the Taliban?

MILLER: The trust issues are huge. There are many reasons to be wary and I don't think anyone's going to turn back the clock and I'm not proposing that, to the scale and scope of aid provided to the last government.

But there needs to be a glide path down. This abrupt cutoff for all aid, except for strictly humanitarian relief, is what has precipitated this disaster. And there needs to be more of a cushion.

HOLMES: Yes, a very important story and far-reaching ramifications. Laurel Miller, we're going to leave it there. Thank you so much.

MILLER: Thanks for having me.

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HOLMES: Well, 'tis the season. After the break, we'll go around the world, meeting people who are determined to spread holiday cheer, despite a really tough 2021. We'll be right back.

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HOLMES: 2021 is going to be remembered for lot of things, of course, its never-ending pandemic, the angry volcanoes, deadly tornadoes and Afghanistan. Yet, around the world people are showing their inner strength, doing their best to recover and spread a little bit of holiday cheer. CNN's Al Goodman with more on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the end of another hard year, the festive lights in New York City are a soothing sight. The gift many of us wanted, a return to our normal lives and the vanquishing of COVID-19 is still elusive.

And even though it may be a struggle for some to see, there's something to celebrate this year: our resilience. Traditions may be altered but, in many places, go on, like taking the children to see Santa Claus.

In this winter wonderland in Finland, there is no sitting on Santa's lap and no whispering in his ear. Mom and Dad will just have to be in on that little secret. But Santa has a wish, too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been hearing varying news around the globe about well-being and coping of children and young people. Now it's time to turn this virus into plenty of goodwill.

GOODMAN (voice-over): People around the world are finding ways to make the season a little brighter, like this Santa in Peru, visiting children infected with COVID-19. Wearing a mask, Santa didn't come down the chimney but delivered presents instead through open windows, with the help of a fire truck.

Migrant children strike a pinata at a shelter in Tijuana, a little holiday cheer, as families gather together for a religious festival to commemorate Mary and Joseph's search for shelter before the birth of Jesus, a quest close to the heart of many people here, who have been stuck in this border town for months.

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GOODMAN (voice-over): While they wait for their permits to enter the U.S.

A volcano blotted out the livelihoods of many residents of Spain's La Palma island. Thousands were forced to evacuate as rivers of lava incinerated houses, buildings and farms. One church said it will rise above the ashes and has even incorporated them into its nativity scene.

RUBEN LOPEZ, VOLCANOLOGIST: To the church closers (ph), to the volcano, we wanted to make them have a smile.

GOODMAN (voice-over): People in Kentucky are still trying to come to terms with the devastation caused by tornadoes that obliterated entire neighborhoods and killed dozens. One woman says she may have lost her house but will keep a promise made to her daughter.

GINNY WATTS, TORNADO SURVIVOR: I tell her, baby, we're going to have Santa Claus wherever we're at. You know, he's coming to visit. And we'll do the best we can.

GOODMAN (voice-over): Doing the best we can when things seem to be at their worse, maybe that's the true spirit of the season -- Al Goodman, CNN. (END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, the famous K-pop group, BTS, performed in what is likely their most chaotic venue yet and it literally stopped traffic.

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HOLMES (voice-over): The South Korean band performing their hit song "Butter" in a busy intersection in Los Angeles. It's all part of the "Crosswalk Concert" segment of the U.S. TV show, "The Late Late Show With James Corden."

The host directing the spectacle and some of the traffic. Some of the drivers appeared a little bemused but they get a free concert. The band also performed snippets of other popular songs, "Permission to Dance" and "Dynamite."

It's one of the band's last performances before BTS takes what their record label says is an extended period of rest at the start of 2022.

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HOLMES: I bet most of us could do with a extended rest in the start of 2022.

Thanks for spending part your day with me. Stay with us. "AFRICAN VOICES" after the break and more news in about 30 minutes.