And by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Anchor this is bbc world news amica. Reporting from new york, i am laura trevelyan. Thousands ofd in the groin virus outbrea but as the cases dropped, governors on both coasts start t to plan reopen their economies. The french president says he will begin lifti the country locked on in midmay, but only if people do act responsibly. Bernie sanders endorses joe biden for president , as democrats unify against donald trum the bbcs katty kay joins us with analysis. And messages of hope for the graduating class of 2020, how a High School Senior used his tech olssk put o tn a mask and go p save lives, but i can do this during this dark time in our untry. For you watching on pbs and around the globe, welcome to bbc world news erica. It is another grim day of figures, more cases of coronavirus inmerica, 20 3000 people here have died, but the rate of new infections doesnt seem to be stabilizing, and west coast are now planning for the reopening of their states. The president says it is up to him and not them. Here is our bbc repter. Reporter new york has entered a new phase in its battle against the coronavus. After thest week yet, finally some good news. Iedl ddeaths and new infectionse down, as well as hospital and intensive care admissionw governor andomo of new york says while residents have to remain vigilant, he believes the worst is ov. Governor cuomo for the health care workers, for the rest of my thank you to them, and i was not sure that we could keep the tide from overwhelming our hospital capacity, and th did. Feel good about that, and i believe the worst is over if we continue to be smart. [sirens] reporter a number of s like connecticut and oklahoma, tawillte not reach their peak ul there are signs of stabilization across the country. I hope sometime th week, we and will be able to say you know youre athe peak when the next day is actually less than before. Re projections used by t evehite house say t in t rise until juneancingplace in the united states, more than 61,000 people projected to die from the vus by august. Attention is now focused on when and how to reopen. Governs have announced they will open together on a safe plan to ease restrictions in the region. On the west coast, califonnia, washingt and oregon announced a similar pact. Across the world, the message on how not to spread the virus has been the same, though with different, creative twists. The universal question now is how soon is too soon to go back to normal . Reporter bbc news. Laura now for more on the efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak, i am joined by an Emergency Room Physician and former Health Commissioner forhe city of baltimore. Th s m f being with us, an congratulations on the birth of your baby daughter, oout h heard that itl of this is stabilizing come but the worst is yeto come for some states in america . Dr. that. Is rig it does appear that for new york state, we are at or near the peak. I do not know that we should be s,celebrating t because even if we are at the peak, we still have a long way down, and we could also be plateauing. That still means a lot of death, lot of potentially preventable deaths, everyingle day, and the u. S. Is not just one community. In fact, we are many communities, so there are many communities thahave yet to reach their peak, many communities who have yet to figure out there are outbreaks happening in their backyard, and so we have a long wa to go. There are signs of hope of things being put into place, like these social distancing restrictions area they are working, but now is not the te ur so governors on both theions. East and west coast are starting to plan for the reopeng of their economy. Should they be cautious though . Dr. Wen they should be caious, all thelanning is important. What they are doing in terms of inking of metrics and capabilities is really important. There are some people who want to talk about datfine, except we starting with the dates. We should be staing wit what are the metrics that are necessary in order for reopening to occur . What are the capabilities weve must have ped . For example, we must have widespread testing and our health car stabilized, and we have to develop that Health Care Infrastructure so that people who test positive can be isolated, and we can also trace their contacts. In order for any reopening to occur, we have to have these measures in pla, and then we can talk about by what dates can these be t met, sonk it is fine to be doing the planning and a good thing we are not reacting but are planning to look ahead. Ura but how many hundreds of millionsf coronavirus tests would we ed here in the united o ates to really get bac wwoen tndho tt is a really god question. We know we need a lot more than we hav now. We need to be able to testrs evy who has symptoms, whereas right now in most places, you only get tested if youre hospalized and have severe symptoms, although it is not just that. These need to be made available, but it is not just abthe number. It is also about the type of testing. Testing needs to be available at the point of care. It needs to come back immediately. People shouldnt have to wait for days. That beats the purpose. And it has to go to the hospital to get the tt. You should be able to get the testsedor tir puoshichs ao fioreend t out b who is se to go back to work and schoolurnd so forth. Leana wen, thanks so much r being with us. One of the sta hard by s hithe outbreak is louisiana,yy of those ricanamericans. Joins us nwe are so horry ye hao do with tornadoes in your state as well as the coronavirus outbreak. Senator the virus is stillding . Spreading, but as theea previous r said, the peak has been reached. There is good news. Getting inf but what yeople do not what is the capacity at the hospital so overstretched at you could not take care of e ttho happen car accident, myocardial infarction, gunshot wound, etc. , so at least we still have capacity. The curve has flattened. It is going up elsewhere in the state, but overall, it looks better now than it did a few weeks ago. Laura are youor doing testing i made communities of color, given so many have died . Senator with theistribution of our state with the disease so started off i southeast louisiana, so new orleans parish, about 60 , and e reason it is higher among africanamericans is that most of the deaths have been in orlean parish, which is, as i described, but on the otheram hand, africaicans are particularly prone, white likely and most likely because they have higher incidence of diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, etc. There is moreseesting but fo on their communities in which the outbreaks occur, and those in my state, such as new orleans, shreve work, baton rouge, which have a lot of africanamericans who li there. Laura as a physicianre you concerned about rushing to reopen ther ountry . Senahere is a balance between your financial healthan your physical health, so you certainly do not want to rush, but you do not want to overly dey. As someones business goes bankrupt, i can tell you that has impact on their Emotional Health and maybe physical health and maybe their marriage and their children. So you want that balance, and that is what we are striving for. Laura h the whitese has said there is currently no plan to fire dr. Fauci. How important is dr. Fauci to the effort to contain coronavirus, and would you urge the president to keep him . Senator yes, would. I think dr. Fauci has become incredibly important. He is the head of the division of the National Institutes of health, which does all of this research, so, if you will, he is plugged in not only to his Research Effort but that across the rld. For a variety of reasons, i me. Whtaitmpetly hountse to keep dr. Fauci. Laura you have talked about the idea of a. Immunity passpo get is how we would all senator this is accumulating , evident decided, but accumulate evidence that if quite likelxposed, they are immune, at least for te u tdni. Measles, hepatitis. It is reported. U to school 25 years later, they can loo online, a, yes, vaccinated at birth, still immune, you canur enter school. Similarly, if someone were immune for coronavirus, then ideally, they could sw that after they are hired. Their employer cld look at it and say, you are immune. You can have a seat at the front desk. You will not be infected and will not infect other people. We n to have you six feet away from a coworker. Lets put you back at desk. It helps the individual, the business, and society. Laura senator cassidy, thank you so much for joiniha us. Senator you. Laura in france, pres macroniden said the country will begin to come outf lockdown. They will reopen and people will restaurants, and cinemas will remain shut. The president says it will be possible because there will be newiorirests f sy. Va aleilabour paris correspoy williams, reports. Lucy for months,un the inkable has become the barely thought about. The extension of the french quarantine restrictions tonight caused little surprise. In televised address, president macron said there would be no end to theot down here for another four weeks. President macron from 11 may, we will open schools. It s a priority for me. The Current Situation is widening inequity. Too many children, especially in our poor dtricts and rural areas cannot be helped by their parents whe the same way. Lucy also, several bars, including this one in central paris. It has been very hard. First, they had to close f the yellow vests protests and now the coronavirus. He agrees with the suggestion put forward by the french French Business association that people will ne to work more than usual after the lockdown. Even if it is a bit brutal. It will take an effort from all french people. I think if you were to ask everyone to wk perhaps one each day, maybe more than 40 hours a wee, then who will pick up the bill . Businesses . Bosses . Ers . Everyone musmake an effort. Lucy the french fince minister h already said the country is probably facing its worst recession since the second worldnd war,espite some signs of a crisis here might be easing, tonight, president macron said the lockdown would be extended again. In spain, meanwhile, europes first glimpsef rush hour after covid. Faceless commutersmore than just a cliche now. The demand for protection suggesting a certain nervousness. Few of those Wearing Masks already refuse the offer of a spare. Construction and manufacturing firms are among thosellowed to start work again in spain, but remains in quarantine. Italy is due to relax the rules 20,000. Mall number of firmss st r the challenge of enforcing national lockdowns, countries across europe are now beginning to fe the equally delicate task of how to end it. Lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. Laura france starts to move forward. In other news now from around the world, russia has reported its biggest daily increase in coronavirus cases so far, wh 2500 infections. In moscow, signs the Health Care System is already under with ambulances queuing outside hospitals over the weekend. President putin says the army may need to be called in to tackle the crisis. The u. S. Navy has announced that one o the sailors from the uss an tedesdm conavis. Has the captain was fired after a letter he wrote to officials went public. The public outcry for the resignation of the navy ,. Et severe estorms and tornadoes in southern u. S. Killed at least 19 people and caused widespread destruction as buildings were flattened and power lines brought down as they battled in several states. Millions live in areas ofwe her warnings, and they need to shelter while maintaining social distancing. Turning to u. S. Politics now, senator Bernie Sanders has endorsed his former rival, joe biden, for the democratic nomination for president. More on the significanceis of announcement. Here is the bbcs katty kay. Katty this is a sign of the times that this was not de at aut political rallyn the basement. The two men coming together for critical unity. I remember back in 2016, Bernie Sanders endorsing Hillary Clinton was pretty tepid. In fact, it took him early six days after presumptive nominee to actually get there. This time around, it has taken Bernie Sanders only five days, and as he put it, the reason he donald trump is, as he says, the most dangerous preside in american history, and he willo everything he can to try to get hi wout of tte house. Suor, sin n y applll have to come in and try to join me to get donald trump to be a oneterm president. E biden returned the complements, saying he would listen critically to Bernie Sanders supporters a his issues. The two now are going to form Democratic Task forces tong look at t like education and immigration, climate change, and, in ts critical moment, of course, health care. There is some sense among democrats that this may be a moment for some of those more progressive policies that Bernie Sanders has been advocating for mdeakedes to it into the mainstream of american life. Laur katty kay rep ting well, you are watching bbc world news america. Rogramming, a Silver Lining from mother nature, and a lockdown and some endangered species. Laura one of themes this ons facing governments around the world is when and how to lift restrictions on personal movements and public gatherings. Here is an update from our correspondence in south korea and singapore. Reporter here in southth korea, e has been no lockdown, no mandatory restriction, despite more than 10,000 people becoming infected. Instead, the government urged common sense. Staysi apart where pe, work from home, and avoid mass instead o, a controlling the movement of the population, it has aggrendively tracedested the virus. Silent streets and empty offices. Here in singapore, a partial lockdown has kicked in over the last few day because of a second wave of infections. We are not meant to leave our homes anymore unless it is for one of any of the 12 governmente fines or, worse, prisonh but co. Laura there are not many upsides to staying at home all of the time, as many of us in the u. S. And around the world are falling out, and in the u. K. , animals are enjoying the peace and quiet. With fewer cars on the road, a humble hedgehog may finally be catchi a break. Here is our correspondent, victoria hill. Victoria while so many of us are stuck indoors, lockdown has not stop the flurry of springtime activity outside. Open areas all quiet, and more o people p food in their yards and gardens. Shong up in some very domestic settings. So could nature be making the most out of lockdown . It is a very strange time for all of us. Homight adapt animals being adapting to it . Typically, with human hawildfeot l generally, so i tha lot of species will respond to thpaatul, many are klednnually e then this could be aacthe contributive fr in their decline, so Something Like lockdown of much less traffic could have a real imp take road traffic plummeted by almost three quarters during the first week of the stayathome order. U. K. Road traffic pmmeted. Conservationists point out that other usually shy birds and mammals could be easier to spot. What sort of animals do you think people might see in urban environments . Ask if you did go at exercising, and you are on your own, it is quite quiet, which means you may seen before, so part of yournot dailyxercise, that is great. I am happy to report seeing things out on my runsecause it s been really quiet. Animals such as foxes, hedgehogs, things like deer you might see, things usually quite foxy locksley. Urbance. Victoria many are sharing on e trust m forndangered species and others are asking people t spend some of their lockdown stimedying native wildlife. So just a view out of a window could help us stay connected with the Natural World at a time when our own world has become so much victoria gill, bbc news. Laura i can tell you that my dog does love quarantine. For High School Seniors across america, and i am the mot one, this is a difficult time. Onceilifetimen graduat, and coronavirus. Here is an idea. A student in indiana used his tech skills for the class of 2022 gettogethers. We arrived in this world after 9 11 happened, and now a global pandemic. It is our duty t at least trlook on the bright side and recognize that we all have the special bond for each oth. Dear class of 2020. Dea class of 2020. Of 2020. Lass i cannot put on a mask and go help save lives, but i can do this and lift somepirits during the start time in our country. I never imagined this going this big. This is one these experiences i will tell my kids, and i will live through it and be fine, these seniors, thela got their moments of high school taken away from them. We can look towards the memories we will make in college. I made sure that i h every box i kind of had set up in my mindhat the seniors would get something out of it, the underclassmen would get something out of it, parents, grandparents, that ee in the spectrum could get something out of it, and i hope i did that. Match for senior year. I want my fellow seniors to know they are all loved. I wish each and every senior the best of luck, wherever your future takes you. Laura a lovely idea. The easter weeke thehlights of footage of bo charlie andrea cathedral. Rforming at the andt we are j going to that now. Av maria laura in the italian tenors message of hope to those in lockdown has been viewed by millions online. You do not have to be a global supersr to be heard. She is a professional opera singer i portland, oregon. The soano held big conch a concert for her neighbors. As a freelancer, she is having trouble finding work in this very difficult moment. Well, i look forward to my neighbors brooklyn sounding that good and putting on a similar performance, and remeer, of course, you can find all of the days news on our website. Thank you so much for joining us here on bbc world news america. Take care, and have a good evening. Narrator funding for this presentation of this program is provided by. Language specialists teaching spanish, french and more. Raymond james. The freemadation. By judy and Peter Blum Kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for americas neglected needs. And by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Narrator yo re watching pbs. Mr. Rogers its a beautiful girl we are the curious. Wow man 1woma1 adventurous. N man 2 oh daniel tiger grrr woman 2 those venturing out for the first time. All bst off [rocket explosion] man 3 and those who have never lost our sense of wonder man 4 whoa man 5 are you seeing this . [quaing] vo we are the hungry. Cookie monster cookie man 6 the strong. Muhammad ali i must be the greatest vo the joyful. Bob ross a appy littleloud. Man 3 we believe there is mwaysweore u canerncov woman 3 we believe. Man 6 . In the capacity for goodness. Vo and the potential for greatness. Man 7 the torch has been passed to a new generation of americans. Man 1 pbs. Man 3 pbs. Girl pbs. Captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc woodruff good evening, im judy woodruff. On the newshour tonight, deaths in the u. S. Top 23,000, as the country wrestles with when to reopen and the white house faces as coronavirus shatters lives and livelihoods, families living off a small single income fear for their next meal. Its pretty terrifying for just about every family that re working with. And theyre trying so hard to keep their ks in a good place and stab and not worry their kids while their entire life is falling apart. Woodruff plus, how we got here the missed opportunities and mistakes that the Trump Administration made id19 gan its spread through the u. S. All that and more on tonights