The coronavirus outbreak is making it worse. Anchor hello. Authorities around the world are warning people to stayathome and abide by tough restrictions to movement is the coronavirus pandemic reaches a significant point. The official global death toll has now passed 100,000 with more than 1. 6 million cases confirmed. Experts believe the number of deaths attributed to the virus is deceptively low. The u. K. Has recorded europes highest ever number hospital fatalities in a single day with 980. In spain, the government says it is beginning to see results from its strict lockdown, but it does remain europes most affected country after italy with nearly 16,000 dying from the disease. So despite the success being seen in some countries, the World Health Organization has warned governments against prematurely rolling back restrictions aimed at containing the pandemic. It says while the rate of infection has been slowing in some countries, others are seeing an alarming surge in cases. I know that some countries are already planning to transition out of stayathome restrictions. W. H. O. Wants to see restrictions lifted as much as anyone. At the same time, lifting restrictions too quickly could lead to a deadly resurgence. The way down can be as dangerous as the way up, if not managed properly. Anchor u. S. President donald trump among those taking an optimistic view of the statistics. That his Daily Briefing on friday, he says the number of infections is slowing down, suggesting the country is getting closer to the peak. Pres. Trump we are seeing hospital admissions declining very substantially. Nationwide, the number of new cases per day is flattening substantially, suggesting we are near the peak. Our comprehensive strategy is working. Over time, our guidelines to slow the spread are decreasing the rate of new cases very substantially and will result in fewer hospital admissions. We are seeing that. Its incredible. With no exceptions, it is looking like it is lower. Anchor lets talk to john, live from chicago. The president sounding optimistic about ending opening a businesses across the u. S. John that is right. The president is constantly talking about how well the administration is doing. It is a selfserving complement. In today, it was more than a two hour session in which there was this constant tension is there often is between the president talking about how well they are doing and how close they are to opening businesses backup in the United States. And then youve got the Scientific Community which offers a more sober approach. In this case, the president seems to be pressing for opening businesses backup on may 1. He kept saying very, very soon. The end of april had been a target date for the president. At one point, it was easter which is this weekend. He went on to say that the death 60, 65,000be 50, americans. That is well below the 100,000 that had been previously predicted. And as he pointed out, the more than 2 million americans who could die if nothing had been done. Reportedly grousing to aids in the white house that this virus is hurting his presidency and his reelection chance. Offered angton post report from Oxford Economics said that it is definitely hurting his reelection chances and his favorability is going from 55 to 43 recently. They predict a drop in the u. S. Gross domestic product of about 4 and that unemployment now between 12 and 13 could stay around 10 through the fall. This is all happening just as joe biden has emerged as the clear opponent to the president. Trump has been running on the economy and it looks like the economy is not doing well under the virus. Anchor there is also a new report that the u. S. Government is predicting a spike in deaths this summer. That is if stayathome orders are lifted. What more do we know about that . John this is a report in the New York Times that summarizes a view by the department of Homeland Security and the department of health and human services. That outlines three possible options. One is that nothing happens. Two is there is a steady state, things happen as they are and the orders are lifted as planned around may 1. The other one is steadystate, plus 30 days. You extend the stayathome orders in which people stay in their houses and businesses are closed. They predict that if you do nothing, there would be Something Like 300,000 deaths and 195 million infections. Under a steady state, schools stayed closed, 25 people telework, that would result in 200,000 deaths. 160 Million People infected in a country of 380 million. 174,000 people in the icu. If you extend that essentially, the longer you extend it, the better the numbers are. But under the current scenario, they are seeing around 150 days out from those initial orders that came in midmarch keeping people at home and shutting down businesses, that is when the peak and death rate comes. This shows the kind of tradeoff between the economy and the human toll that the president has been talking about. Confronted with that in the news conference, he said staying home is also death, a different kind of death. That is in reference to the economy. The president is definitely fighting within his own administration to present a rosy face and try to get businesses back up and operating. Anchor john, thank you. The positive signs are starting to increase in spain and italy, but the italian Prime Minister says restrictions will be extended. Dominic kane has more from berlin. It is a stark example of what the coronavirus has done to this continent. The traditional Good Friday Service in rome and pope francis forced to reside over a ceremony with almost no congregation because the pandemic continues to kill thousands of people every day. We are particularly concerned by the large number of infections reported among Health Workers. In some countries, there are reports of up to 10 of Health Workers being infected. This is an alarming trend. Risk,ealth workers are at we are all at risk. Dominic but just as corona targets populations, so it attacks their economies which is agreedfinance ministers to a vast new credit package for those worst affected. Fast loans to governments and aid to companies. Around 3ad up to trillion euros. A step changed in the economic ordination within our union. Our emergency plan will economic and social fabric as we dive into a recession. Dominic but it is not enough for several stricken european states. Italy has long argued for welfare countries to guarantee the debt of the poor ones which this deal does not. The main battle that italy must carry on the table concerns the real sharing of the effort. Yes, the famous euro bonds. They must have a power proportionate to the numbers and resources that are required. Impact ofecause the the lockdown across Southern Europe is clear, in spain, the beaches are empty with no prospect of this changing anytime soon. On any normal good friday afternoon, you could expect this area of central berlin to be packed with tourists. All enjoying the sunshine, and yet corona means they cant. Those who are here are doing the exercise they are allowed to do but many of the shops around here are shut down. Even the most iconic hotel in berlin. Very low occupancy right now, all because of corona. Which is why the staff inside have taken to baking easter themed cakes to provide to the homeless, but such gestures alone cannot bring anything but a temporary respite. In a pandemic that shows no sign of stopping. Dominic kane, al jazeera, berlin. Anchor as we saw earlier, the death toll in the u. K. Is growing rapidly, but the government says there are signs the lockdown restrictions are starting to work. They warn it is vital people continue to adhere to the rules and stayathome. Jonah hull has more. Jonah here we all, almost three weeks into the u. K. s particularly restrictive lockdown measures introduced by the Prime MinisterBoris Johnson on march 23, just before he went ill. It is the easter weekend. Lovely sunny spring weather. If ever lockdown fatigue were to set in, you could expect it would happen now. I am in a london park in which social distancing looks to be practiced pretty sensibly. Perhaps not the same picture in every park across the country as this sunny weekend progresses, but the message from the government is very simple. Keep doing this. Keep these measures up. Stay indoors as much as possible. Exercise once a day. No picnicking, no sunbathing. This is the time of year when people normally come together, but however warm the weather, however tempting your local beach or park, we need everyone to stayathome. Because in hospitals across the are battlingstaff day and night to keep desperately sick people breathing. Jonah we have heard in the past 24 hours from the chief scientific advisor, also from the medical director of Public Health england both pointing to two very important metrics at the moment. The rate of transmission, rate of infection seems to be plateauing. It is not going up as it was. And the rate of hospital admissions seem to be coming down. Just two weeks ago, those were doubling every three days. They are now doubling every six or more days. Both of these metrics are evidence that the lockdown is working. The death toll is still terrifyingly high. They point out these numbers are largely people who would have contracted the virus before the lockdown came into place. And as long as these measures are kept in place, as long as the lockdown is rigidly observed, and it may well be extended, they could expect to see the numbers to begin to fall within the next couple of weeks. Anchor wartorn yemen has confirmed its first case of the coronavirus, propping fears an outbreak could ravage the countrys already ravaged health system. It was confirmed and the 12 hour curfew has been implemented to prevent the spread. The United Nations says an outbreak would be catastrophic. Deserted. A 12 hour curfew imposed. It is the moment many feared. Yemens first reported case of covid19 in the southeastern city. Yemeni medical officials have tweeted the person is in a stable condition in hospital. Health care workers know how dangerous the virus is in a country where half of all facilities have been destroyed by five years of war. Further north in the city, doctors are preparing wards to isolate anyone who shows sign of the illness. An Isolation Center was opened as a precaution against the virus and for any sudden cases. The center has four rooms. It also has 10 beds. But the number can be increased. A care unit has an artificial breathing machine and other intensive care equipment. Reporter the World Health Organization says it is assessing who may have been exposed to the virus. The charity save the children says there are 700 intensive care unit beds, including 60 for children and 500 ventilators, of a population of about 30 Million People. It came at the start of a two week ceasefire called by the coalition. It says it is to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. Both sides have accused one another of violating the ceasefire. Spokesman told al jazeera they consider the announcement a media and political stunt and want a comprehensive deal. We were very clear before the corona pandemic. We wanted the war to stop completely in the siege to be fully lifted. The siege makes yemen to weak to fight the pandemic. We expressed doubts about the intentions of the saudis who proved to have committed themselves to their unilaterally announced truce. Reporter analysts believe the saudis a are looking for a safe way to get out of the war. The pause started as the Security Council held an emergency meeting via videoconference. The u. N. Secretary general says he wants to work towards a ceasefire in all conflicts during the pandemic. Many fear in a country where millions face famine and lack access to clean water, it is impossible to follow simple rules to prevent the spread of the infection. You are watching al jazeera live from london. Still ahead Health Experts are worried about an antimalarial drug some doctors have been said has been effected on covid19 patients. The u. S. Small businesses turning to the internet to survive the coronavirus shutdown. Anchor first, the worlds top Oil Producing nations have agreed on the need to stabilize the price of oil which has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Energy minister set the worlds 20 largest economies discussed the deal by videoconference and agreed to establish a focus group to establish a coordinated response. It follows thursdays agreement by opec and its allies to cut Global Production by 10 . The pact was stalled after mexico failed to agree to its share of cuts. President trump since said the u. S. Will further reduce its output to help mexico. A professor of Political Science at Brown University and author he says it is unrealistic to believe the deal will stabilize the will market anytime soon. Oil markets have actually fallen on news of the deal as opposed to rising as opec plus had hoped it would happen. They were looking for a boost of up to 50 a barrel. In fact, prices are going into reverse. That is striking because there are two things that are happening because of whats happening here. One is that while the deal does contain some substantive cuts, most of whats being announced are socalled market cuts. Meaning that these are the kinds of things that are going to happen, deal or no deal. These are decisions made by individual producers reacting to the change in Market Conditions that are ramping down because of lower oil prices. So, in some sense, this is more hype than real substance. The second thing that matters for the prices is the fact that there is a persistent overhang in supply, right . So, the expected shortfall in demand over the next two months 25 million toike 30 Million Barrels a day. This deal is 10 million to 15 Million Barrels a day. It only goes part of the way to addressing that massive demand shock. Were continuing to see oversupply and thats going to drive prices likely downward as inventory continues to build. It is significant in the sense that saudi arabia and a few of the gulf monarchies are changing their strategy to a certain degree, but much of whats happening here is market cuts. This is going to happen anyway, especially in the United States. Anchor scientists in the u. S. Have begun testing an antimalarial drug that is a potential treatment for coronavirus patients. President trump has touted the benefits of hydroxychloroquine despite warnings from Health Experts about its long list of side effects. Its efficacy in curing covid19 remains unproven. We have more from new jersey. Reporter it is being touted as the miracle drug to cure people infected with coronavirus. Doctors who have tried it on Covid Patients are saying hydroxychloroquine has shown a potential as a preventative and, blocking coronavirus could suppress it. Doctors support its use are also relying on some studies that show similar. There is some small clinical studies that have come up. The one in france in particular, very small. Nothing kind of study that would ever be viewed as enough evidence to cause the drug to be labeled for covid19 therapy, but it did suggest therapeutic benefits. Reporter hydroxychloroquine has been around for over 70 years and is approved by the food and drug administration, or fda, to treat malaria, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis. Fda approved the use of hydroxychloroquine on what is called an off label basis. Meaning that doctors can prescribe it to Covid Patients with the understanding that the fda will not even guarantee if it will work and also cant say if there will be negative side effects. Most doctors say it is far too early to know with the true results are. Many doctors are skeptical. We still need a lot more studies to be done to actually see the efficacy. If it actually works. Right now, it is too early to tell that yes, we have something that is working and treating very well. I do support the use of doctors trying this on Covid Patients. Or do you think from your standpoint, it should all wait until it has been fully vetted . I dont want people to have their hopes up that this is the golden standard. We found the silver bullet, if you will. Thats not the case. Gabriel it is also unclear how the drug might react to people with other conditions. In a perfect storm, im fragile. My potassium is low. My magnesium is low. I happen to be on another medicine that is agitating. And now i add hydroxychloroquine to the mix that could be an explosive combination. Gabriel until a proven Coronavirus Vaccine is found, doctors will search for whatever might work. Some businesses in tokyo have been asked to close as japan scrambles to contain the coronavirus outbreak. The citys governor have been at loggerheads with the government which has been reluctant to impose measures that would hurt the economy. Experts say that measures are not adequate and it could be too little, too late. We report from the japanese capital. Reporter rush hour in central tokyo. There is little sign of social distancing with most Japanese Companies working normally. That may change in the coming days as the country tries to reduce persontoperson contact by 80 . But the strategy of achieving that without a complete lockdown has left many experts skeptical in the space of escalating infections. The decision not to enforce downng shops and also shut some sort of transportation. Without that measure, just asking people to stay at home is very weak. Reporter the state of Emergency Powers now allows tokyo and other large prefectures to ask people to stayathome until and tell businesses to close. A city of 14 Million People, too few accounts for 20 of japans total economic activity. Closing businesses will hurt the whole country and Prime Minister abe is determined to limit the damage. Abe has been locked in the dispute with the citys governor about how many businesses must close. The governor believes more drastic action is needed and more quickly. Im going to ask businesses to close down and appeal for their cooperation. Reporter parts of tokyo are clearly quieter. This family has been running this restaurant for hundred years. They continue to operate despite falling customer numbers. If we got compensation, we could close our shop for now but because we dont know whats going to happen, we have to earn what we can. Not knowing what you can and cannot do is the biggest problem. Reporter the government has been criticized for doing too little, too late in tackling the virus. And there are fears japan could be facing a much bigger hidden outbreak. When we talk about economic policies all day long, but unless we basically flatten the curve, it is almost like trying to fix a Drainage Pipe while you still have your faucet open. Reporter for many in tokyo, there is a double uncertainty of how big a health risk they are facing and what that will do to the health of their businesses. Voting has begun in south koreas parliamentary election with extra precaution being taken because of the coronavirus. The election is on wednesday, but officials are hoping people will take advantage of early voting to ease congestion at the polls. All voters are required to wear masks, using sanitizers and wear plastic gloves. South korea has received international praise for its handling of the pandemic. 211 people have died and more than 10,000 cases have been confirmed. Theres growing concern about how the pandemic could impact novembers u. S. President ial election. Many democrats are calling for a standardized mailin balloting as an alternative. Dozens of states have already proposed postponed i marys. On wednesday, Bernie Sanders dropped out of the race to become the aquatic nominee. That leaves joe biden is the only challenger to donald trump. To discuss that situation in greater detail, im joined by the Deputy Editor of the Congressional Quarterly magazine, joining us via skype from washington. Taking a look at your website and one of your headlines is democracy on the ropes the pandemics threats to the 2020 election. Talk us through what that threat is and how it will all play out. We saw a vivid demonstration of what that might be this week when wisconsin voters were asked to go to the polls and vote election at amary time when everyone is very fearful of the spread of the virus. So looking ahead to november, what situation will we be in . Will the virus still be spreading . Will people still be fearful . If so, will states have taken steps to allow people to vote remotely by mail . Anchor yeah, the power though to postpone the election in november, should it come to that, rests with congress. Worries about trump trying to stop the election of november are unfounded . Shawn you are right that the plain language of the law indicates that the power to postpone or change the date of the election lies with congress. But, the president would have the power to declare some polling places closed if he felt they were at Public Health risk in those areas. So, people are very concerned about that. That could make a major difference in the election if people in those areas didnt have the option of voting by mail and were able to go to a polling place close to their homes. Anchor you are mentioning the voting by mail. That debate is gaining momentum over in the u. S. , yet the president seems to argue that that process would protect democrats should it happen and it poses an existential threat to the republican party. What is he basing that on . As of today, more than 50 million americans voted by mail in the 2016 election. Shawn i think the president is running a base campaign. A campaign that is reliant on his most ardent supporters coming out in force on election day and voting for him. It is not in his interest for there to be a huge electoral turnout. It is in his interest for his people to show up whatever way that happens. Anchor what does this all mean, the impact of coronavirus we have already discussed some of the primaries. Wisconsin went ahead but there are others that have been delayed. The does that mean for conventions later this year . Shawn it seems very unlikely we will see the sort of conventions we have seen in the past, with rowdy crowds of partisans on the floor of the Convention Hall hooting and hollering and routing on their candidate. The democrats have already, former Vice President joe biden has said it seems very likely that the convention would be a subdued virtual online affair. S nowwith the convention 5, 6 months away, it is hard to tell what situation we will be in at that time. Anchor we will have to wait and see. Shawn, we thank you speaking to us from washington. Much more ahead on the newshour, including south africas lockdown appears to be limiting the spread of the coronavirus but many are worried what it will cost the countrys embattled economy. Details coming up. Some very nice warm and sunny weather across much of central europe, but highpressure still in control. Temperatures above the average in most places, but that is keeping all of this whether, the clouds and showers well across the north and northwest. You see a band of clouds trailing into northern spain. Not quite managing to reach the particular northern spot in spain. Quite a bit of clouds here. Mist coming off the water but a few more showers in the forecast through saturday across the same region. The clouds and showers likely south of madrid. Clouds across northern sections of the u. K. And certainly bringing some rain showers into the coastal areas of norway and northern sections of denmark. A little stronger and heavier through sunday. The winds colder from the north and wrapping around those coastal areas. Some rain working its way across the Western Areas and scattered showers across regions of the u. K. And into Western Areas of france and down into spain and portugal. Temperature wise, it is still pretty warm. About 10 to 11 degrees above average. Dipping down on monday with some more scattered showers in your forecast. Zurich staying warm but cocooler on mononday. Anchor hello again. The top stories on the al jazeera newshour. The global death toll of the coronavirus pandemic has passed 100,000 with more than 1. 6 million confirmed cases. Experts believe the number of deaths attributed to the virus is low. The World Health Organization has warned governments against prematurely rolling back restrictions. It says while the rate of infection has been slowing in some countries, others are seeing an alarming surge in cases. Energy ministers in the worlds top will producing nations met via teleconference. There are concerns about how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting the Mental Health of frontline medical workers, particularly those who are seeing many people die every day. We spoke to a doctor about this. The National Director of primary care which provides health care for elderly people. He is joining us from tampa, florida. Thanks for your time with us. How are you coping . Well, im actually pleasantly surprised to see the morale of Health Care Professionals in general be better than really anyone would expect given the circumstances. We see it every day in our Centers Across the country as well as the hospitals we partner with. Anchor do you worry about any longterm effects on your colleagues toy yourself, Mental Health . I am seeing a lot of actions, people rising up to this occasion, especially people in health care. Many of us got into health care to rise up in situations like this. Some of the actions i am seeing a people, caretakers, really is nothing short of heroic. Anchor give us a sense of that heroism. What has it been like for you and your colleagues dealing with the coronavirus and providing care for patients . Dr. Syed i am seeing things in the Health Care World i never saw before. Im seeing doctors and nurses working with food banks to have food delivered to our patients. We deal with the geriatric patient population. Our average patient is about 72. To hear the stories about our care Team Delivering food to the patients, have ring groceries being delivered, even toilet paper delivered, it is really you would never expect that to happen. Anchor how are some of those seniors that you have been helping out how have they been coping . Dr. Syed every single one of our patients, they receive at least one phone call on the weekly basis. We call them love calls. My father is one of the patients. He says that is the gold standard. This should be the gold standard. The way the doctors and clinics call the patients regularly. It allows us to stay on top, not only keep the relationship strong but also keep us ahead of the game if they start mentioning subtle clues like i woke up today and i was not feeling well. That allows the doctor to probe and see if they need to be brought in. Anchor that is a really wonderful thing to hear from you. Do you think that the impact of the coronavirus do you think it is going to have an impact on care Going Forward in the way that should be delivered in the future . Dr. Syed i think what this has shown us, at least for us, we have gone from 90 in person visits to 90 virtual visits. We have realized the power of just communicating via telephone or via videoconferencing. I think in all, it will allow the doctorpatient relationship to be much more intimate and it will make a lot of those conversations, like endoflife conversations much more humane, much more personal. Anchor on that note, on a personal note, i understand you have had a relative who passed away on monday. So the trauma of that must be hard to bear in the circumstances. Dr. Syed it is a devastating situation. My cousin had both his mother and father over the weekend admitted with shortness of breath in new york. Away onuncle passed monday. His flu test came back positive. The covid test was negative. But his wife, her test came back the day before yesterday positive for covid. Im thinking although his test was negative for covid, i believe it was a false negative. In fact, we are asking for prayers for their family as well as everyone else who is suffering. My aunt just got intubated earlier today. Anchor we are terribly sorry to hear that, but we thank you very much for speaking to us in these circumstances from florida. Thank you very much. Dr. Syed thank you for having me. Anchor south africa says its coronavirus lockdown has been successful and has extended it until the end of the month. The president has said to the average daily increase of cases has dropped to around 4 . The measures are already hitting the economy and experts fear millions of jobs could be lost. We report from johannesburg. The richest squaremile in africa grinds to a halt. While the Johannesburg Stock Exchange continues to operate, not much else does. South africa is two weeks into a lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus. While progress is being made in fighting the disease, the Economic Impact is devastating for millions of south africans. This is one of dozens of businesses in johannesburg that has to close its doors. The owner says customer numbers were down by more than 90 even before the lockdown started. He says recovery will take a long time. Its 100 y is what they were. Our income is 0. Did is had an extremely strong impact on us. We are digging into reserves. Africas Central Bank Says the lockdown has so far led to the economy contracting by 2. 6 . It estimates more than 300,000 jobs will be lost and 1600 Small Businesses wont survive. But economists believe that estimate is far too low and the number of unemployed will be in the millions. During the Global Financial drop ande had 1. 5 gdp we lost one million jobs. What we are seeing now is six times worse than what happened during the Global Financial crisis. If you consider what is going to happen to the economy over the next 18 months. Reporter the president says while the governments priority is to save lives, it also has to save the economy from collapse. Then Employment Insurance Fund has set aside 2 billion for jobless people. Tens of millions of dollars will be spent on Small Business debt relief and hundreds of millions more on helping small farmers. The president says ending the lockdown too soon or abruptly would risk a massive and uncontrollable resurgence of covid19. But as million stay home to be safe, many worry about how they will pay their bills, if there businesses will survive, and just how long south africa will take to resuscitate its already ailing economy. There is concert in mexico there could be many hidden victims of the pandemic. Womens rights advocates say the country has a bad track record with genderbased violence and the outbreak is only making things worse. John holman reports. John mexico already had a big problem, famous sites. At least 10 women arqule the day. Last month, tens of thousands of women took to the streets and also held a National Strike to protest. Things were supposed to change. But then coronavirus truck. After the optimism of just a month ago, some believe now things could instead be getting worse. It is this type of crisis to ask everyone to stay home has the potential of increasing violence against women. John the citizens counsel for mexico city, joint government and civil site initiative, has calls to their helpline of Domestic Abuse have gone up by 25 . They have been hiring for the past two months to deal with the uptick. Getn this callcenter, we for help every day and we have psychologists and lawyers to support the victims if she wants to press charges. John the National Network of womens shelters has had a 60 increase in calls for help. They say this is exacerbating an already chronic problem. There is a pandemic here, apart from covid19. A pandemic we have had for years and that has not been attended to. The states neglected it and the women who have been murdered are mothers, dauaughters, friends, mexican citizens the state has failed. John the shelters say just when they needed it, the money they get from the government has been held off. The head of that government does not himself believe covid19 has affected Domestic Abuse. Should say without evidence that now that people are in their houses there is more violence. That is not happening. John those calling for help say differently. Instead of a refuge in their homes, they y are finding themselves facing threats inside and out. John holman, al jazeera, mexico city. Anchor farmers in the philippines are struggling to get by because of the countrys lockdown. Filipino farmers are among the poorest people in the nation and the security measures have left many unable to sell their produce. Reporter our visit to this farming cooperative is welcomed, but there are clear protocols. The province is considered one of the philippines biggest food granaries. The price of grain has more than doubled after last years drop in prices. Thats being welcomed. But he says the markets are volatile and farmers are worried about the future. We are scared for what might happen next because of this lockdown. We are still waiting for the machine from the government that we were supposed to get. They increased it last year. Reporter the Philippine Government has imposed strict measures to clamp down on the spread of the covid19 pandemic. Putting the entire region under what it calls an enhanced community quarantine. It is home to more than 60 million filipinos and the closure of businesses has led to a sudden loss of work that is devastating families here. Twohectare a pepper and tomato farm and it is affected. Do, they even dictate the price. Reporter at least two warehouses, they say, have closed down. Now farmers have to queue first base at trading posts like this one. Before the lockdown, this was just an md parking lot. Now this has become a temporary drop off point for farmers who are desperate to sell their vegetables. Those who are able to sell say they are grateful to get anything and others say they end up taking their produce back to their farms where it is left to rot. Some farm owners say they dont want to harvest anymore. Filipino farmers are among the poorest of people in the philippines. Most are in debt and they say they are no longer able to pay the creditors. An extension of the lockdown is upsetting many here who believe it will devastate them. They say they need help and they need it now. Small Business Owners across the United States are trying out new methods to help them survive the virus. Some are turning to the internet. Others are waiting on congress to decide whether to free up 250 million to help keep them afloat. Reporter even before the covid19 pandemic triggered a state of emergency in virginia, forcing nonessential businesses to close upward facing dog. Reporter the owners of this yoga studio was doing classes online. Making that initial choice to right away start streaming things helped our team through this. And it helps us generate a lot of content we can share and continue to interact with clients. Never fight to achieve down, a a few doors martial arts studio has turned to videos to keep its students on track. Hands. Reporter Master Instructor says not being handson means relying on extra help. Our parents and family have been very resilient and creative in which they train. Parents are even more inclined to practice the techniques with them so they do in a sense get some sense of sparring and practice. Orter they are concerned the rent, utilities and paychecks are still due. Even though we are running dark right now, that is not mean those payments go away or are completely eliminated. We need to make sure we do our very best to have some business for people to come back to. Reporter the pandemic is also challenging arts organizations to rethink how they engage with visitors and the broader community. Right now, the only way to experience the Boca Raton Museum of art in florida is to visit its online exhibitions or take a virtual class. This is causing us to do to rethink the entire practice in the presentation we make with the public. The role ofrole, art in society . We have to make it even more compelling case like we never had before. The mantra has to be creativity has not been canceled. All of us, we have no idea how this is going to end, when this is going to end. Keep supporting each other come up lifting each other and checking in with people. Your neighbors. And deep a deep breath trust that people will support the businesses and organizations that enrich their lives now and after the pandemic is over. Anchor in some other news now efforts to eradicate ebola in the democratic republic of congo has suffered a setback. Throughout Fourth Organization had planned to declare the outbreak over on monday, but had to call off the announcement after a new case was discovered. The person who was diagnosed died on thursday. The epidemic has lasted almost two years and killed more than 2000 people. President says the countrys troops will no longer take part in military operations outside national borders. It follows the ending of an offensive against boko haram which left more than 50 soldiers debt. We have more from neighboring senegal. Reporter the announcement was made on national television. The president of chet announcing no troops will be deployed outside of chad. This comes just after the president led on the ground an offensive against boko haram in the area. Days ago, he announced he was frustrated with his counterpart, the nigerian president and the nigerians troop inability to tackle boko haram in the region. Chad is the second largest contributor in troops in the u. N. Peacekeeping ststabilizing force in mali where armed groups and as al qaeda affiliates the Islamic State and the greater sahara are stepping up their operation. So, the country in the region is at a tipping point. It is struggling. It has launched several aerial operations, 83 in the last week, to try to stem out the violence. The announcement that chad is pulling out its troops does not bode well for the region and there is fear there could be more violence as chad troops return home. Anchor tensions between poland and russia rising in the lead up to events planned to mark the end of world war ii. Warsaw is accusing muska of trying to rewrite history as it remembers the thousands of polish officers killed by soviet secret police 80 years ago. We report from where the massacre took place. Reporter in this russian forest, mass graves filled with the bodies of polish officers for discovered. It showsmorial site the truth Joseph Stalin always denied. The massacre on hitlers t roops. Only after the collapse of the soviet union did russia acknowledge the executions carried out by stalins secret police. Leading up to the 80th massacre,y of the statements on russian state tv began to question this, causing an angry response from poland. And local activists have also demanded the removal of memorial plaques remembering the polish victims. Tell one is allowed to untrue things about our history. One,ll prove one by amounting all other things reporter what did you say to pull it when you are rewriting history and changing facts . We dont agree with that. Reporter 80 years after the massacre still causes controversy between russia and poland, russia is preparing to celebrate the 75th anniversary of its victory in world war ii, but the government is being accused of changing historical fact by promoting a narrative. And critics say president putin is not only angry with his neighbor but also turning back the clock on reconciliation. When the European Parliament last year stated the soviet at fault as not to starting the Second World War, president putin responded with anger, blaming poland instead. This is not a question to us. This is the question to them. Why are they doing it . Why call does poland have when it advances a thesis that the ussr was equally guilty and starting the Second World War . This is absurd. Reporter with the estimated 27 million deaths, the soviet union lost more people during world war ii than any other nation. The defeat of the nazis is commemorated every year with a parade in moscows red square but some say putins obsession with the history of world war ii has everything to do with modernday politics. Warsaw doesnt have anything else to offer total failing economy, stagnation and destruction of our national culture. The only thing possible is the use some outstatanding achievevements from the past beginning about the price that was paid and have a leadership acted and they acted awfully. Reporter the russian government has not officially changed its conclusion that stalin was responsible for the massacre but sources have told al jazeera they believe without the support of top officials, attempts to rewrite this dark chapter would not have been possible. Up on theming newshour Cathedrale Notre Dame reopens for an intimate Good Friday Service. Anchor hello again. Good friday service has been held in paris Notre Dame Cathedral nearly a year after it was devastated by fire. Only seven people attended because the french capital remains under coronavirus lockdown. Natosha butler reports. Natosha the sound of a violin echoed around notre dame. The musician dressed in protective clothing because the cathedral is not fully safe after the fires a year ago. Ceremony withday the ancient representation of the crown of thorns that have been rescued by firefighters. In lockdown because of the coronavirus crisis, only seven people were allowed to attend. In this unusual time, we ask you, god, for all those who are victims of this terrible illness, those who are grieving, love each other. Natosha this errani offered an opportunity for a rare glimpse inside notre dame since renovation work again last year. The fire destroyed its roof, spire, and some of its intricate stainedglass windows. The site of the medieval and gothic splendor shock people around the world. Nearly 1 billion in donations have so far been pledged to restore the cathedral, but none of the french governments coronavirus restriction, rebuilding work has been halted. The construction site was closed indefinitely at the beginning of the confinement. Like most construction sites in the country, public authorities made this wise decision. Natosha chuhurches and otother places of worship remain open during the lockdown but the french government has banned services and religious gatherings in an exception was made for the ceremony in notre dame. The fire in notre dame was a moment of National Crisis that brought people together. One year on and another crisis is creating a sense of national solidarity. For catholics in france, this easter is clearly unusual. Obliged to stay indoors because of the coronavirus, they are unable to attend church or travel to spend time with family and friends. For many, the ceremony in notre dame will be a symbol of hope, revival and a moment of contemplation in such difficult times. Natacha natacha butler, al jazeera. Anchor thank you for watching the newshour. We are back in just a moment with more news. birds calling [narrator] long ago, russian people believed that when an old woman died, her soul became a butterfly, which they named babochka