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France-U.K. Border Reopened with Strict Stipulations; U.K. Health Secretary Discusses Rise in New COVID-19 Cases; U.K. Detects New COVID-19 Variant, Contacts Traveled from South Africa; Russia Advances Bill to Conceal Data of Security Service. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired December 23, 2020 - 10:00   ET

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

[09:59:35]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: I'm Max Foster in London, in for Becky Anderson. Hello and welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD.

Beginning here in the U.K., where coronavirus cases are surging due to the new variant, we're expecting to hear from the U.K. health secretary in the

coming minutes with new restrictions possibly coming into play. We will bring that you live. We have got our cameras up. He is not quite there yet.

As we wait for that news conference, I want to take to you Dover, where there's finally movement of trucks from the U.K. into France.

[10:00:00]

FOSTER: But the going is really slow and tension is very high. Truck drivers lashing out at police this morning after Britain and France reached

agreement late on Tuesday to allow them, along with French citizens and U.K. nationals with French residency, to cross the English Channel.

But they're angry at being stuck for days as Christmas approaches with little to eat or to drink. Anyone entering France from the U.K. has to have

proof of a negative COVID test. The restrictions stemming from the newly identified coronavirus variant, spreading fast through parts of Britain.

The chaos at the border has also caused panic buying in grocery stores in the U.K. Germany stepping in to help ease fears of food shortages with a

special Lufthansa cargo flight, carrying 80 tons of produce and other perishable items. Salma Abdelaziz at the port in Dover.

It's been a tension-filled day there and the reality is, this isn't going to be resolved overnight because of this added layer of bureaucracy that's

been brought in.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN PRODUCER: That's absolutely right. I'm at the entry of the port of Dover and it's been shut for hours. I will tell you why.

This morning, a lot of tension, a lot of anger broke out when essentially dozens of truck drivers were told they cannot cross because they do not --

(AUDIO GAP)

ABDELAZIZ: -- yelling, shouting, getting angry and frustrated. The police's response was to call in reinforcements and shut down the entry of

that port.

Now we are looking at that line of truck drivers still there. It's been there for days, it's miles long, you have over 5,000 truck drivers at

least, spread out over multiple locations all over this area.

Of course now, the U.K. authorities have started a coronavirus testing program but you can only imagine the logistical nightmare that this is, to

bring in all these truck drivers with their trucks, test them efficiently, quickly, safely, isolate those who are -- who are positive.

I mean, I can't imagine how difficult it is. We did speak to one truck driver earlier today, who was struggling to even find a way to get tested.

Take a listen to what he told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know how I can be -- make a test because the last night, when we come here, as the police said, we tried (INAUDIBLE).

And we tried online there were no test for England.

ABDELAZIZ: You tried on line and you couldn't get a test?

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No test.

ABDELAZIZ: And no test.

Where did you try, what website?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The corona publique (ph) --

ABDELAZIZ: And you couldn't find a way to get a test?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

ABDELAZIZ: Where are you from originally?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hungary.

ABDELAZIZ: From Hungary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

ABDELAZIZ: How long have you been stuck?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here?

ABDELAZIZ: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seven days.

ABDELAZIZ: Seven days?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because I --

ABDELAZIZ: Because you were traveling before?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

ABDELAZIZ: Yes.

And so you've been here since Sunday?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

ABDELAZIZ: Since Sunday trying to cross back.

Will you be home for Christmas?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think I'm not arrive at home.

ABDELAZIZ: You don't think you will be home for Christmas?

How are you feeling?

How do you feel?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't understand why (INAUDIBLE) before these people because we are not work. No food here, no nothing. And I don't understand

the (INAUDIBLE) France people. I don't understand why, why would -- look at these people.

Why everybody is angry?

Because everybody want to go home only. Only wants to show (ph) the family. That's all.

ABDELAZIZ: I understand. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I hope you make it home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: That's just one driver. That's just one story, Max.

Right now, what we're looking at is a standoff. The police are on one side here and, of course, the truck drivers are on the other. We've heard that

mobile testing units should arrive in this location soon. But we have yet to see them.

And it's not just about the health and safety of these drivers. It's important to remember, they're living in terrible conditions, no food, no

water, no sanitation in the middle of a pandemic. I don't understand how that is not an outbreak waiting to happen.

But it's also about the very critical job they do, ferrying goods between this country and mainland Europe. Of course all of that now cut off while

they stand there, waiting. This is absolutely feeling like Britain, isolated, isolated from mainland Europe, isolated from the rest of the

world and these drivers, cut off from their families, their jobs, their livelihoods, unable to transport goods -- Max.

FOSTER: And you can relate, you can empathize, can't you, with how they must be so fed up with politicians, who keep talking and not resolving the

situation.

I'm wondering, how involved are they with the story?

Are they blaming the Brits for failing to organize things quickly enough today?

Or are they blaming the French for, you know, installing this blockade in the first place?

ABDELAZIZ: There is definitely a lot of political volleying, Max. I just want to illustrate one thing that we saw when we were filming that sound

bite.

We walked past a truck that had a sign on it that said, "Merry Christmas, France."

And it was said jeeringly. I spoke to the driver and he said, "Look, Merry Christmas, France."

[10:05:00]

ABDELAZIZ: He was angry. He was upset. And it wasn't just at the French. Everyone here is angry at both the French and the British. Most of the

drivers are from Eastern Europe. They feel marginalized. They feel disenfranchised. They feel they don't matter because they are not from

Western Europe. They feel like it is OK to be treated this way, to be left on the side of the street for days, without food, water and sanitation

because they are from Romania and Poland and Hungary and all of these other places.

So there's a sense that these politicians don't care about them. And for good reason. I mean, prime minister Boris Johnson stood in front of the

nation on Monday and said, there is only 175 truckers on the motorway and it will be solved in matter of hours.

Here I am, days later, still talking to you about it and I know that there's thousands upon thousands of truck drivers scattered all around. So

truly a sense that these people feel like they don't matter, like they -- getting home to their families doesn't matter.

Again, I just want to share one more story. I spoke to one trucker, do you know what he was ferrying across, Max?

Ventilators, he was bringing ventilators into London. And he told me, this is my reward for transporting ventilators -- Max.

FOSTER: It's just a terrible situation with people classically being caught up in politics here. And also all that food wastage as well that we

will have to deal with off the back of this as well.

So sympathy with many people there and I hope they manage to cope at this very sensitive time. Thank you, Salma.

Just so you know, we have that box there at the bottom of your screen, this is awaiting Matt Hancock, the U.K. health secretary, expected any moment

now to give an update on this fast-moving variant and Britain's response to it.

The new coronavirus variant has now shown up in Hong Kong. Local media reports two students who recently returned to Hong Kong from the U.K. were

found to be infected with it. And they could be in quarantine for three weeks.

Hong Kong now plans to increase mandatory quarantine time to 21 days for travelers from the U.K. This COVID variant has also been detected in

Australia, Iceland, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and in Italy as well.

On the other side of the world, the Trump administration says it will buy an extra 100 million vaccine doses from Pfizer.

Here is Matt Hancock the U.K. health secretary, meanwhile.

MATT HANCOCK, BRITISH HEALTH SECRETARY: Good afternoon and welcome to Downing Street for today's coronavirus briefing.

I'm joined by Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jenny Harries and Dr Susan Hopkins, the Chief Medical Advisor to Public Health England and NHS Test

and Trace.

We all know that 2020 has been a hard year. And it is ending in this festive period, which is going to be very different.

After all the efforts that we've gone through to control this virus -- and in many parts of the country, this virus is under control -- just as we've

got a tiered system in place that was able to control this virus, we've discovered a new, more contagious virus, a variant, that is spreading at a

dangerous rate.

And I know that the vast majority of people watching today and across the country understand what we need to do together to get through this. And so

today we're announcing further action within the tiering system and also some further progress on vaccines and on testing.

And I just wanted to say this before I set out the details of what we're going to have to put in place. I know these actions has consequences. I

know how difficult it is. But I also know that it is right to take the action that is necessary to control this virus.

Across the country, cases have risen 57 percent in the last week. The average COVID hospital admissions are 1,909 a day -- that's the highest

figure since mid-April.

There are 18,943 people in hospital with coronavirus right now. That's almost as many as there were at the peak.

And yesterday, there were 691 deaths from coronavirus were reported. That's 691 people who have died just before Christmas. And our hearts go out to

their families and loved ones as with who have died from this horrible disease.

I know the pain that this causes. So against this backdrop of rising infections, rising hospitalizations and rising numbers of people dying from

coronavirus, it is absolutely vital that we act.

We simply cannot have the kind of Christmas that we all yearn for. Of course, it's the social contact that makes Christmas so special. But it is

that social contact that the virus thrives on.

[10:10:00]

HANCOCK: And that's how the virus has spread from one person to another. So it's important that we all minimize our social contact as much as is

possible this Christmas. And that will help protect ourselves, our loved ones and the whole country.

We've got to keep our resolve. We've got to keep going through this. And there are four areas of our response that I want to update you on today

very specifically.

The first are those tiering decisions that I've just mentioned. We know that the 3-tiered system worked to control the old variant and is working

now in large parts of the country, especially in Northern England.

But, we also know that Tier 3 is not enough to control the new variant. This is not a hypothesis, it is a fact and we've seen it on the ground.

We have seen case rates rise in some of places close to where the current Tier 4 restrictions are, in places like East Anglia, where we've seen a

significant number of the new variant and we've seen case rates rise sharply.

It is therefore necessary to put more of the East and South East of England into Tier 4.

We are also taking action in parts of the South West, where there are some early signs of the new variant and where cases are rising. Even though case

rates in some of these areas are not as high as they are in the areas badly affected, in London, for instance, and in Kent, the direction is clear and,

in many cases, quite stark.

The doubling times are short. And we have learnt, we have learnt that, when it comes to being a matter of when, not if we take action, it is better to

act sooner.

So from one minute past midnight on Boxing Day, Sussex, Oxfordshire, Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, those parts of Essex not yet in Tier

4, Waverley in Surrey and Hampshire, including Portsmouth and Southampton but with the exception of the New Forest, will all be escalated to Tier 4.

Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, including the North Somerset Council area, Swindon, the Isle of Wight, the New Forest and Northamptonshire as

well as Cheshire and Warrington, will all be escalated to Tier 3.

And I'm afraid that Cornwall and Herefordshire have seen sharply rising rates and need to be escalated to Tier 2.

This is not news that anybody wants to deliver. And I am truly sorry for the disruption that it causes. But I think people know how important it is

that we take decisions like this to keep people safe and to protect the NHS.

The second piece of news I want to tell you about is some developments about another new strain of this virus. Of course, the fight against the

virus is a global effort. And we are constantly vigilant and looking around the world.

As part of our surveillance and thanks to the impressive genomic capability of the South Africans, we have detected two cases of another new variant of

coronavirus here in the U.K. Both are cases -- both are contacts of cases who have traveled from South Africa over the past few weeks.

The chief scientific advisor and the chief medical officer and others met their South African counterparts over the last day. And we are incredibly

grateful to the South African government for the rigor of their science and the openness and the transparency with which they have rightly acted, as we

did, when we discovered a new variant here.

This new variant is highly concerning, because it is yet more transmissible and it appears to have mutated further than the new variant that has been

discovered in the U.K. We have taken the following action.

First, we are quarantining cases and close contacts of cases found here in the U.K.

Second, we are placing immediate restrictions on travel from South Africa.

Finally and, most importantly, anyone in the U.K. who has been in South Africa in the past fortnight and anyone who has been in close contact of

someone who has been in South Africa in the last fortnight must quarantine immediately.

By quarantine, I mean they must restrict all contact with any other person whatsoever. We will be changing the law to give this legal effect

imminently. Now these measures are temporary.

[10:15:00]

HANCOCK: While we investigate this further new strain, which is shortly to be analyzed at Porton Down. And I want to thank everyone involved for the

seriousness with which I know they will take these new instructions.

I'd like to now move onto some more positive developments. The third thing I wanted to talk about is an update on testing. As you know, we continue

rapidly to expand testing capacity here in the U.K.

We are expanding community testing yet further in areas where the rate of infection is highest so we can identify people and especially identify the

around one in three people, who carry the virus without displaying any symptoms at all; 116 local areas have now signed up for this community

testing. And we are in discussion with more.

And these rapid turnaround tests are proving to be extremely effective at finding cases where we otherwise wouldn't. And I am today publishing an

assessment of the Liverpool community testing project, which shows how effective this can be.

I would urge anyone who has the opportunity to take part to protect their local area. And at the same time we are boosting rapid testing in care

homes, with a further 149 million pounds to support that effort.

So all those who work in care homes in England will receive two rapid tests a week, in addition to their weekly PCR test.

Finally, amid all of this difficulty, the great hope for 2021 is, of course, the vaccine. The vaccine is our route out of all this. And, however

tough this Christmas and this winter is going to be, we know that the transforming force of science is helping to find a way through.

I am delighted to be able to tell you that the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine, developed here in the U.K., has submitted its full data package to the MHRA

for approval. This is the next step toward a decision on the deployment of the vaccine, which is already being manufactured, including here in the

U.K.

We are, of course, continuing to deploy the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine, which is being delivered now from over 500 sites all across the U.K. And we are

adding more all the time and accelerating the rollout.

I am also delighted to be able to announce that we have begun vaccination in care homes. We know that people who live in care homes are amongst the

most vulnerable to this disease. And I'm delighted that we're able to do this.

Again, it is another enormous logistical challenge and I am very, very grateful to colleagues in the NHS and in the social care sector, who have

worked together so hard to make this happen.

This afternoon, it gives me great joy to tell you that the Chelsea pensioners will be vaccinated, along with care home residents right across

the country. I think we all need a bit of good news.

And the reality is, this vaccine program is the way we are going to get through this because every time somebody is vaccinated, our country becomes

a little bit safer. They become a little bit safer and we get a little bit closer to the life that we all want to get back to.

I sincerely hope that this is my last press conference before Christmas. And I want to just take a moment, firstly, to thank you and everybody

watching, for all that you have done and the sacrifices that you've made.

And I also want to thank my whole team, who have done so much, including those here, Susan and Jenny, but including the huge team in the NHS, in the

department and right across the board.

And as a country, we have been faced with these enormous challenges and it has been very tough. But I especially want to thank those who helped this

country to become the first in the world to roll out a clinically approved vaccine.

I want to thank all those who have helped us build a bigger capacity in genomic testing than anywhere else in the world and, of course, the biggest

overall testing capacity in Europe.

I want to thank our scientists who have discovered the first proven treatment for coronavirus. And I want to thank everybody working in the NHS

and in social care for the work that they've done this year and also for the work that's going to carry on this winter.

And especially to colleagues who working over Christmas, which, of course, is so important in the NHS and in social care, look, I know how hard 2020

has been for everybody.

And after delivering some really difficult news, if I may, I want to end on a reflection of where we are as a country.

[10:20:00]

HANCOCK: This Christmas and the start of 2021 is going to be tough. The new variant makes everything much harder because it spreads so much faster.

But we mustn't give up now. We know that we can control this virus. We know we can get through this together.

We're going to get through it by suppressing the virus, until a vaccine can make us safe. And that has been our strategy and that's what we must do.

We're not going to give up now, especially after so much sacrifice.

And I know that some of these decisions are tough. But I believe in -- that everybody, making the right decisions, and I believe that everybody will do

what is needed to keep themselves and others safe, especially this Christmas. And I know, from the bottom of my heart, that there are brighter

skies ahead.

And I'm now going to hand over to Jenny to give us an update on the data, especially on this -- the impact of this new variant -- Jenny.

DR. JENNY HARRIES, DEPUTY CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, ENGLAND: Thank you, secretary of state.

First slide, please.

So I'm just going to talk through about half a dozen slides, which highlight in graphical array, the comments which secretary of state has

just outlined. And as usual, the darker colors on the maps indicate higher rates or higher rates of change.

On this slide, we can see on the left-hand side that, in the last seven days -- this is the last full day case rates -- four weeks early case rates

up to the 17th of December -- they've continued to rise at a very rapid pace.

This is particularly in London, the South East, the East of England and in Wales. You can see, with the dark colors, which equate to more than 400

cases per 100,000 resident population, one of the things most important, it's not just how many cases there are but the rate of change.

And if we look to the right-hand side, you can see that the darker pink and the purple is where those changes are really starting to move more rapidly.

So as expected, it perhaps doesn't show up quite as well on the slide here. But as expected again, particularly in London, the South East, East of

England and Wales but you can also see that the color is starting to change through the bordering areas, particularly into Suffolk, Cambridge and

Norfolk and then trending down to the South West.

Next slide, please.

What we can see here is three lines, which are representing those areas, which are currently Tier 4 areas, so places like London. And that's the

dark black line. And you can see that, since September, there has been a rise. And then in November when the restrictions came in and we had a few

like the original COVID-19, you can see that start to decline.

But then fairly soon afterwards, in particular the start of this month, you can see an extraordinarily rapid rise in cases moving upwards.

The next, the dotted line, the purple dotted line, are those areas moving into Tier 4 and you can see the same shape of curve here. What we're trying

to do is identify where that rapid increase is coming, which is most likely due to the new variant.

And you can see that it's a parallel line to the areas where we currently know have very high proportions of new variant in the cases detected.

What's equally important, I think, is to look at the green dotted line. And these are areas in the rest of England. Obviously a month previously, we

have tended to see very dark colors at the North, North West, North East. And what you can see there is the rise during September, October, the

November restrictions coming in and quite a significant drop in that dotted green line.

So against our old version of COVID, if you like, the restrictions had effect. And what we're dealing with now is almost two different patterns,

one for the new variant and one for the old.

Next slide, please.

And here, this is clearer, I think, in this one. So these are cases, identified, with portion of cases which are positive for COVID-19 from

November. And then running in through to the middle of December.

The dark purple line is cases which are new variant compatible. And the green line are the cases. In some ways, this is reflecting the green and

purple lines on the original map. What you can see again is that the original version of COVID has been brought down from November. You can see

quite a sharp decline in cases and the leveling off but a very rapid rise in the new variant cases, which are moving forward at pace.

Next slide, please.

And, again, if we just look at the three most affected areas, you can see this very starkly; the green line, again, is other cases. You can see that

they've dipped from November.

[10:25:00]

HARRIES: The national restrictions at that time brought them down. There is some rise now. But the real sharp increase, which is what we're dealing

with, is the new variant compatible cases. And obviously these in the most affected areas. In other parts of England, we're starting to see a mixed

picture, where the other cases, the original COVID cases, have come down, have flattened.

But we're starting to see rises and what we're looking at is that very sharp incline in the rate of change.

Next slide, please.

And, of course, unfortunately, this then translates through to occupied beds with patients who are COVID positive. And you can see here that the

number of patients in hospital came right down over the summer period. It was rising steadily.

The November -- again, the November restrictions have dropped that. But now it's starting to rise very sharply, almost certainly with predominantly new

variant cases. And so we're now very close to the spring peak in terms of the numbers of patients in hospital.

Next slide, please.

And, again, this is just looking in London and looking at COVID positive occupied beds, again, heading very much towards the spring peak. You can

see the flattening off in the middle of November. But now steadily increasing upwards and causing a lot of pressure.

Mostly, obviously, we're trying to treat COVID patients. But every time the bed is occupied for a COVID patient, of course, we need to think through of

the impact in others seeking hospital treatment.

Thank you.

HANCOCK: Thank you very much.

We're now going to questions, firstly from the public and then from the media. The first question is a video, Tim from Huddleston.

QUESTION: Good afternoon. I am one of the U.K. residents that finds themselves trapped abroad after being given little to no notice to return

home. I now find myself stuck in Germany until next year.

What is being done to help U.K. residents like myself?

Thank you.

HANCOCK: Thank you, Tim.

Well, I can understand the frustration that you feel and others who are -- who are caught abroad by the measures that have been brought in to restrict

travel from the U.K.

Now obviously, we, as the U.K. government, want to see you able to come home. And we're having discussions with other governments right around the

world to ensure that that travel can safely happen.

So, for instance, you will have seen that there was an agreement reached with the French government. And also the European Union said that travel

should continue. But they want it to continue, understandably, in a safe way.

The problem with this new variant is that we are trying to restrict it from moving outside the areas where it is now at large, which, as you can see

from the maps, is broadly the South East and the East of England, including London.

So the short answer is we're working with our international colleagues to try to get you home, Tim, you and others who are caught abroad by this.

It's difficult and we will do everything we can to get you back.

The next question is from Catherine from South West London, also by video.

QUESTION: Good afternoon and Happy Christmas.

Given the new variation of COVID-19, will you consider a move to online learning for schools for a longer period than the five days currently

planned at the beginning of January term?

Also will you consider rolling out the vaccine for vulnerable teachers, who are putting our lives on the line to keep schools open during the pandemic?

Thank you.

HANCOCK: Thank you, Catherine. And Happy Christmas to you.

As you know we've put in place a new plan for the new year to ensure that there's testing in secondary schools to keep students safe but also to keep

teachers safe.

When it comes to the vaccine, just before I hand over to Jenny Harries to comment, what I'd say is that we follow strict clinical advice in terms of

the order in which people get vaccinated.

So if people are clinically vulnerable, whether they're teachers or not, they will get early access to the vaccine. And I think following that

clinical order of priority is very important.

FOSTER: Matt Hancock, health secretary there, with an update, quite an impromptu one. It was only organized, I think, this afternoon. And that is

because the numbers, as he was showing on his charts that he was pulling up there, of COVID cases in the U.K. linked to this new variant, is rising

sharply in more parts of England than just in and around London.

So he's putting large swaths of London into the top tier lockdown.

[10:30:00]

FOSTER: He also said they have identified a new, more transmissible strain of the virus, two cases linked to travel from South Africa. So travel

restrictions placed on South Africa by the U.K. as well. So two major developments.

Nima has been following this all week.

No great surprise but very worrying to hear about this new strain.

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And Dr. Jenny Harries, the deputy chief medical officer, was able to show us the

impact that not just this new strain, where there are only two cases, but the impact of the original variant of the virus, as we should be calling

it.

The original variant of the virus was having in terms of the spike in transmission rates, the spike of infection, 57 percent just in the last

week.

However, I think it is important at this point to sound a note of caution, which is that the government has consistently projected these as things

that have happened because of masses arising from situations out of their control.

The reality is, as we have continued to report at various stages of this pandemic, various times throughout this last year, experts have called for

tougher restrictions.

So the fact that the government is now saying that this variant only responds to tougher restrictions, it's going to be interesting to see what

the leader of the opposition here has to say about that, because they have consistently been calling for tougher restrictions.

So where would we be?

Would we be in a situation where Britain has the highest COVID-19 death rates in Europe if those tougher restrictions had been put in place from

the beginning?

We certainly wouldn't have been a place where people were expecting to have five days where they could mingle with three households, now to be told

they only have one, Max.

FOSTER: We should also point out that the British government, current British government, has this reputation for acting late. What they're doing

here -- and maybe he will pick up on this -- is they're seeing cases appear in parts of the country and then putting them into the top tier lockdown,

when there are some saying we should try to get ahead of this by putting the whole of England into the top tier lockdown.

ELBAGIR: And even before we were aware of this new variant, Max, back in September, when students went back to school, so many experts, so many

politicians, both on the Conservative Party's own benches and in the opposition, were calling for what they termed a circuit breaker lockdown.

Just go to the toughest possible restrictions. So whether that flood of infections that has always been expected, when people are allowed to mingle

once more with schools returning -- and it has felt like -- and experts definitely say this -- that we have been on the back foot since the

government failed to make that decision.

And then going into lockdown for six weeks up until December 2nd, coming out of lockdown just weeks before Christmas. And then telling people with

only two, three days before they are expecting to meet with family members that actually you can only -- you can only meet with one household.

And I think it's really important to stress the human toll of this, Max. There are so many households who have had really difficult years. And I

know that Minister Hancock said at the beginning that this is a tough thing to say and these are tough expectations of the British public.

But let's really pause here. People have lost loved ones. People's mental health has deteriorated. And Christmas was held out for them by this

government as a window of respite.

That window now continues to close. It's down to one day.

What support are those people going to be given?

You know, so many of us are speaking to friends and loved ones and hearing that hurt, Max. And it is a really difficult thing and it really cannot be

overemphasized.

FOSTER: OK. Nima in Downing Street, thank you very much indeed.

The other piece of news that came out of that was that AstraZeneca, one of the other big vaccines due to come to the market, has got all its data

together in order to send it to the U.K. regulator. And they are now in a position to decide whether or not it should go out and be injected into

people.

And that could happen very soon, if we look on the previous experience from the MHRA. So some positive news on the AstraZeneca vaccine coming through,

which is important, because it can be stored in lower temperatures than the other vaccines. So it can reach more people in theory.

We will be right back.

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[10:35:00]

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FOSTER: Now a Brexit trade deal is hanging on an $80 million difference between the U.K.'s offer on fishing quotas to the E.U. and what Brussels is

actually demanding.

To put this in perspective, that's less than the transfer value of French football among many others. As both sides argue over the price of fish,

European diplomatic sources telling CNN, the crunch talks to avert a no deal Brexit are stuck in stop and go mode.

London and Brussels are trying to seal a deal before talks break out for the Christmas holiday. If the Brexit transition period ends on New Year's

Day with no trade deal, Britain could be hit with more of the travel chaos we've been seeing over COVID fears, especially at ports.

The Russian parliament has just advanced a bill to protect the privacy of its security service. The country's lower house rushed to pass the bill

after leaked phone data and travel records led to two investigations by CNN and Bellingcat into the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

If approved, it would be illegal to reveal any personal details about security officers, judges, prosecutors, investigative committee members and

some military personnel. Let's get the latest from CNN's Fred Pleitgen live from Moscow.

They reacted very quickly to this.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They reacted quickly and sped things up even more especially after those CNN Bellingcat

investigations.

It's been a tough week for the Kremlin, also for the Russian security services, as those investigations, of course, revealed pretty much all of

the personal information of the agents that were part of those assassination teams, trying to -- or that poisoned Alexei Navalny, trying

to kill Alexei Navalny.

And a lot of that, of course, hinged, Max, if you will, on the phone records, on the records of cellphone tower communications but also on

flight records as well.

A lot of that data the Russians have now deemed was simply too easily available, especially for members of the security services. And that, of

course, really facilitated the entire investigation.

It's quite interesting to see how this was justified by the parliamentarians in Russian parliament who put this bill forward. I want to

read a part of the justification that they gave, because it pretty much fits tightly with those investigations that CNN and Bellingcat conducted.

I'm quoting here from the Russian parliamentarians.

They say, quote, "Increasingly often information about facts, events and circumstances of the private lives of law enforcement officers, regulatory

bodies and military personnel is being published without authorization online, which negatively affects -- in quotation marks -- "the exercise

their of their power."

So clearly they believe that a lot of the things that are being done are being made more difficult by the fact that this information is fairly

easily obtainable here in Russia, especially after coming off this really bad week.

One of the things that we do have to point out, Max, and I think it's very important, is that this law, the first reading of this law, actually took

place on December 8th, which was a little bit before the CNN Bellingcat investigation came out and revealing all this because this is a problem

that actually the Russians -- a problem for the Russian intelligence services -- that they've been dealing with a little longer.

[10:40:00]

PLEITGEN: You will recall, for instance, in the Salisbury investigation that Bellingcat also did as well, some of the data there also came from

similar records. But certainly the process does appear to have sped up considerably -- Max.

FOSTER: OK, Fred in Moscow, thank you.

Well, the Atomic Flea is at it again, this time breaking records for the most goals ever scored for a single team. We'll have more with "WORLD

SPORT" next.

(WORLD SPORT)

[11:00:00]

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