Im sorry kelly welcome to the program the United States is well on its way to becoming the do epicenter of the cove of 19 pandemic with nearly 70000 confirmed cases the country trails only italy and china for the highest number of infections coronaviruses also wreaking havoc on the countrys economy a record 3200000 people filed for unemployment claims just last week the crisis has hit the countrys biggest city new york particularly hard. Times square is rarely if ever as empty as this. And its a similar story on 5th avenue to new york as the epicenter of the outbreak in the u. S. A 3rd of all cases in the country are from here its an extraordinary situation and one of the worlds greatest cities businesses are letting staff go many hospitals are overstretched theres a shortage of tens of thousands of respirators across the state what were seeing right now is huge challenges and intense stress in particular on our Hospital Capacity on the men and women who do such amazing work in our Health Care System and clearly on the supplies and equipment that we need to make sure we can keep moving forward the biggest financial stimulus package in u. S. History is set to become law after its passage through congress 2 trillion dollars to ease the Economic Impact of the corona Virus OutbreakPresident Trump says he will sign it these images demonstrate how serious the situation is a temporary morgue outside a new york hospital. U. S. Media reports say morgues on the east coast are set to hit capacity soon across the u. S. More than a 1000 people have died of the virus. Lets get more now were joined by d. W. Stefan simons in washington havent we we saw the scenes there from new york and overwhelming situation there how are authorities coping. Well trying the best they can i think its fair to say the governor of new york cuomo just as we speak is giving his press briefing with giving new numbers and information and his biggest complaint actually was that the 150000000000. 02 trillion stimulus package if you like that went just through the senate last night is just not enough for other states those 150000000000. 00 are supposed to go to the states and help them with essential corona virus related expenses but that is what cuomo said is not the point here hes concerned about lost revenue for the state which is of course the main income source for a state to deal with emergencies like this so that is a major complaint and and a big problem and then as you pointed out in the piece new york respirators ventilators ventilators where they need 15000 and they have i guess deliver and theyre looking at a delivery of 4000 and thats not going to cut it and that makes things worse in new york and we are looking at desperate pleas in fact from the governor in order to get more of those respirators jeff and why is the infection rate so high in new york. Well new york is new york you know millions of People Living there and of course lots of visitors every day and every every month before. The government hears restricted air travel from 1st china and then from other countries the European Union of course so its a big melting pot i wouldnt say that that the local governments reacted actually too late you could say they did because the whole entire federal government also was late as you know with the reaction to a increasing coronavirus threat and crisis however then new york was a fairly quick to really implement draconian measures so theyre trying their best but new york is definitely still a hotbed and the red zone in the United States but there are others to come thats what the experts say and unprecedented 2. 2 trillion rescue package we know cleared the senate its expected to be voted out in the house on friday. How far will this likely go in order to ease the strain not only on americans but also on doctors who are really on the front lines here. Yeah yeah you know i wish i could tell you hope 2 trillion dollars stimulus package or help package and that will be it everything will be fixed but experts con in this political observers other experts you ask around and everybody says that is probably just a bandaid for now this will help tremendously its better than 0 of course it will help people it would help. States and governments and state governments and the hospitals and medical workers to get critical equipment. But its just a temporary fix this economy is in shock and i think experts are coming to the conclusion as well as the administration that there is more needed further down the line Stefan Simons in washington thank you. Japan is banning arrivals from 21. 00 European Countries and setting up a Coronavirus Task force says it warns that the epidemic could spread rapidly and widely 40 new cases have been confirmed bringing the countrys total to 1300 but there is concern that many in japan have been slow to get the message about curbing the spread of the virus. Enjoying the outdoors people in tokyo have been taking to the citys parks to soak up the spring weather and admired the seasonal Cherry Blossom crowds gather in public spaces despite appeals by the authorities to help contain the corona Virus Outbreak. So you remove the what you are most people here than i expected this is the right policeman might come and tell us to leave if its. Understood. That you have a single good thing like been inside the house for a long time so it is you to be outside. It here tonight. On thursday came a stern warning from tokyos governor urging people to avoid nonessential outings the middle q is that a crucial juncture it faces the risk of an explosive spread of the coronavirus. The call immediately prompted residents to queue up at supermarkets to stock up on food and supplies. He will continue this repairs and couldnt get anything i was so shocked when i had to come out again and brother was able to buy things today. With packed crowds moving from tokyo as parks to cash registers warnings of a looming National Crisis have grown all the louder. Well the European Parliament in brussels has been debating special measures to cushion the Economic Impact of the pandemic and right now e. U. Leaders are meeting Via Video Conference to discuss steps to mitigate the crisis in a speech to lawmakers European Commission president ursula fonda line expressed her dismay at Member States lack of solidarity including decisions to close borders when europe really needed only for one spirit too many initially gave only for me response. And when europe really needed to prove that this is not only a fair weather you when youre in too many initially refused to share their umbrella but it was not long before some felt the consequences of their own uncoordinated action a successful new feel response can only be coordinated if our internal market and our showing in the area were of the way it should be a crisis without borders cannot be resolved by putting barriers between us and e. U. Correspondent bound to regard as following todays developments for us in brussels banta pretty strong condemnation that we just heard there from the European Commission president hu is she referring to. I imagine if you were thinking about germany and france these 2 countries refused the very beginning of the growing across as the supply of medical equipment to other e. U. Countries this ben has no been lifted but they also the Czech Republic and poland which close the borders so vigorously that supply chains for food got interrupted and there was left on the line that cannot be but many members of the Parliament Said lets not. Blame games now we have to look for but theres no time for that we have to talk about the next step of through. The which is the financial because somebody has to feed the bill now for the shutdown of the economy as. We have even leaders discussing the way forward on a Video Conference any idea about what solutions they could come up with here. But there are 9 countries within the euro zone the currency zone that demand the issue of corona or euro bonds that means common debt that is everybody is responsible for that so this would make taking out loans for countries like spain france and italy much easier and cheaper but on the other hand other countries like germany and austria would have to pay more this is a very thorny issue and many states that argue we already have many common fiscal instruments and plays that use them for lets keep the powder dry a corona bones of the very last step in the future tell us a little bit more about the socalled khurana bonds i mean these are essentially euro bonds rebranded here we have opposition from countries like austria germany the netherlands why are they opposed. The more southern countries like germany austria and all those than other than say the poorer countries would borrow our good ratings to know these countries rich countries are not paying anything for the debt on the Financial Markets and the other countries have to pay and if you have then the middle way both parties have to pay and germany would also have to be much more for its that the new loans that have to be taken out no and this is something that the finance minister so far refused but its not excluded that in the end after a couple of months or even in the year this is really necessary because then theres no other chance then getting money because italy and spain might be cut off from the Financial Markets like greece has been a couple of years ago bantry got in brussels thank about. In germany people look forward to asparagus arriving in the shops because usually here in the country it means that its a sign of spring but supplies of the tasty vegetable may be scarce this year because of the coronavirus asparagus is mostly harvested by workers from other countries but with borders closed they cant get to germany and farmers fear that their crops will be left to rot in the fields the clock is ticking for german asparagus farmers closed borders means up to 300000 fruit pickers wont arrive from poland romania bulgaria all the balkans in time the moment is a Current Situation is a disaster how we supposed to hold face now. While germanys agriculture minister stresses that Food Supplies are safe and sufficient the government hopes tax breaks for people with spare time will help address the sorted of helping hands. These are where right out of that situation and we know about the sources of workers in the fields and its there so thats why on monday we decided to provide other opportunities to the people who are affected here in germany and to give more flexibility to seasonal workers. Flexible. In addition the government has launched a website to attract volunteers Wishful Thinking say many farmers. And yet we really need professionals from Eastern Europe we do a great job harvester started in the volunteers say they could work in the afternoon for a few hours or maybe on saturday or sunday or disparage this growth at least 7 centimeters a day it needs to be harvested daily. Asparagus farmers across germany are bracing themselves for having to let their fruit rot in the fields strawberries are next with more and more farmers fearing this blow to the supply chain could mean the end of their business. This is news you can get all the latest news and information around the clock on our website that is it dot com and you can also follow us on social media im sorry kelly in berlin ill be back again at the top of the hour in the meantime thank you so much for joining us here on news we have to see you again. Combating the corona pandemic. Where does research stand and. What are scientists learning. Background information and. Our daily corona update. With 19 special the next on d w. How does a virus spread. Why do we panic and when well. Try to do through the tactics and we couldnt read your show is called spectrum if you would like to me information on the crown a large or any other science topic you should really check out our podcast you can get it where ever you get your podcasts you can also find us and dot com look forward slash science. We have a simple message for all countries test. Theres. A simple message yes a simple solution are not sure and certainly not all countries have been employing it the fight against corona virus has multiple fronts testing tracing infection chains racing to create vaccines and treatments or seeing what already exists and what could be adapted to treat the Novel Coronavirus how should countries prioritize. Im joined on and those are the kinds of questions we want to answer in this d. W. 19 special its the same one scientists and government officials have a grappled with since the beginning of the outbreak now back to the message to test test and test south korea was one of the countries which followed the World Health Organizations advice most diligently and managed to flatten the curve heres how south korea did it. Hospital has created a new system for testing patients suspected of suffering from the corona virus coded 19 after an initial consultation patients enter a booth to have samples taken and talk to a medical technician using an intercom. So only young had developed a fever and other cold like symptoms and decided to get a test just to be safe. Manya gave border if you dont know that you have it the pandemic spreads even if youre a little anxious its good to have a test at 1st i was scared when i had about it but it wasnt as painful as i thought and it was actually kind of interesting a lot out of. The blue this are the brainchild of dr kim saying gil really designs were quickly put in service on march 10th the booth helped medical workers process patients 10 times faster than the traditional procedure. What got you prior to the introduction of the system patients were treated in large negative pressure reims which take a long time to sterilize and ventilate its inefficient and doctors and nurses had to meet people face to face and were nervous about exposure and tie it this physical separation is safe and enables print examinations. Dozens of hospitals in south korea and abroad have expressed interest in implementing a booth testing system although these prototypes are not scaled for manufacturing dr kim has shared his know how. Testing has been a key pillar to south koreas response to the corona Virus Outbreak seeking to flatten the curve and reduce the number of new cases without implementing a complete lockdown test kits manufactured here have been exploited to other countries to strengthen their response to the pandemic. Drive through testing has also been an innovative way south korea has battled the corona Virus Outbreak despite fewer coronavirus cases in south korea in recent days medical in turn on sue argues for rapid testing. The number of confirmed persons is gradually decreasing. The most important thing to get rid of the epidemic is to identify the suspect to patients as soon as possible and have them self isolate over steve necessary treatment if you have even a little fifi or suspected symptoms its recommended that you go to the hospital and get test it conducted it with some time after examining thousands of patients drive through and booth testing have only uncovered a few cases of the coronavirus but they have offered a lot of reassurance to a nervous population. Joining me now is al edwards he is a professor and immunologist at the university of reading in the u. K. Welcome now south koreas method seems to be working so why arent all affected countries doing mass testing if they can. Its a really good question i think that the video you just saw gives you some glimpses as to why testing itself is a very valuable tool but its quite labor intensive and it has to be done really carefully because if you do testing in a way that isnt properly and safely controlled there is a risk that you can also spread the virus or put your Health Workers at risk when they take those samples so its a delicate balance and it needs a lot of manpower well because of the complexity of this task we can imagine that not all countries are able to enroll this kind of mass testing what would you recommend for those countries so i think the most important thing is to spread the results you have wisely so whats really important is to 1st of all prioritize people who are in hospital and also Health Care Workers because these are the most Vulnerable People and also the most exposed people and by prioritizing the use of your testing results and by using that smartly as possible even if you have limited testing results its still incredibly value and it gives you so much data and so much information about whats going on what about home testing kits could they help at all yes theres a number of different technologies and tools out there. These can even be a simple i have one here at this little plastic that could potentially be used at home this kind of technology is going to be incredibly useful but it does have to be used very carefully so when you do a lab test you have the best possible accuracy if you do a home test theyre not quite as accurate but theyre more convenient so you have to make sure that you use the best possible science and medical practice to use these tests effectively rather than just using them without proper consideration. Now testing is of course one issue but how much of an issue is for example Global Access to vaccines and treatments going to be are we in danger of seeing a 1st come 1st serve the prochoice which could prioritize rich countries for example yeah and i think thats already happening to a degree with testing even the better of countries are getting 1st access to Testing Technology and unfortunately i could see the same thing happen with peas theres some really good news and some positive news which is that people seem to be incredibly open to sharing the information they have about improved treatments and thats vital everybody has that knowledge but whether we can see the same sharing of resources im not so sure about whether that resource in terms of ventilators or when vaccines start to be manufactured whether people will share them around im not sure whether thats going to happen well have to see. Information sharing as well as resource sharing its going to be vital thank you very much al edward he is a professor and immunologist at the university of reading in the u. K. Thanks for your insights. Now vaccines seem to interest many of you as youve been sending us your questions in the last few days our science correspondent Derek Williams has some answers for you take a look. Why will it take so long to come up with a vaccine the problem with developing any pharmaceutical product is that it has to go through an exhaustive Testing Process with the vaccine you 1st have to identify good potential candidates and that when astonishingly quickly this time within weeks of identifying the virus and sequencing its genome researchers begin talking about candidates but thats just the start you next have to test your candidate for safety usually you do it 1st in animals and then in increasingly large groups of humans but only after a candidate has proven Safety Developers usually begin looking at actually how effective it is so even if and when youre a candidate fulfills all of those criteria you still have to ramp up production to manufacture hundreds of millions or even billions of doses now there are ways to speed the entire process up a little bit for example by by running some of those trials in parallel rather than one after the other but that approach has drawbacks to and thats why most experts usually predict that we wont have a vaccine were ready to distribute on a wide scale for at least a year and a half. Why do people talk so much about a vaccine is a medication more important. Medications are of course important for limiting the impact of the virus on patients around the world but long term to defeat the disease we need whats called herd immunity and the best way to get that is through vaccines if we dont develop vaccines experts currently estimate that between 50 and 70 percent of us would have to get coated 19 before herd immunity kicked in and stopped the pandemic naturally but along the way it could potentially kill millions of people so a vaccine offers a safe alternative to achieving immunity in a large percentage of the population and thousands of prevention is really. Worth a pound of cure thats why although treatments are very important long term that seems our even more so is that research on how existing drugs affect 19. A range of potential drugs that might one day help treat kovac 19 are being trialled around the world but we dont really have many results for any of them so far the World Health Organization is looking at 3 candidates in particular that have shown some promise 1st its examining the effects of a stablished antimalarial drug song coronavirus symptoms that he chose sponsor trials are also ongoing for combinations of antivirals that have already been approved for treating h i v and finally one of the most promising substances is a compound called rendez if here it was originally developed as a potential treatment for ebola but it didnt work out for that disease as well as hoped retrospective testing however showed that it did affect replication in the summers by wrists so hopes are high that it might also effect that pathogens close relative the new coronavirus the best thing about all of these candidates is that most or all of the development has already been done for them so production could be ramped up quickly if they did prove effective and these Clinical Trials we should know soon if any of them work. Before we let you go we step away from the sobering world of tests and vaccines 20 old and lighter fare one restaurant in hanoi has created the Corona Burger so far only available in vietnam but it looks set to take off the world wide its a beef burger in a green tea stand by are shaped by the Restaurant Owner is there lighted with his creation he says business is good i know hopefully remind customers to wash their hands before eating. And there are swiss confectioners reminding us of the season but also of the times but Chocolate Easter bunnies a decorated with little face masks. And that was our d w 19 special for more do check out our social Media Channels im john thank you for watching and stay healthy everyone. Is. Made in germany. In the. Climate change. People. Want to do years today their future. D. W. Dot com for chemical city the making it. Clear cut. I think is everything challenging 1st and im big on the snow. So much different culture between here and there challenging for empathy. Looking. Through some of the same think it was worth it for me to come to germany. Got my license to work as a swimming instructor a congressman our 2 children other adults just one of the toughest. Whats your story take part charity on info migrants dot net. These days art is big business this piece of canvas for example went 4328000 euros and thats nothing out of the ordinary in fact priced