Life well planned. The freeman foundation. 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. And this is bbc world news america. Europe has overtaken the United States in the number of new covid cases. The continent is heading helter skelter into a second wave of covid infections. Governmes respond with a stricter measure. There is a curfew in paris coming up. Restaurants are shut in barcelona and more mass mandates across the continent, but is it all too little too late . Few politicians have done well during covid, but new zealands Prime Minister has in hopes this weekends election will reward her with a second term in office. Ot police in thailand clashed with demonstrators protesting against the king and Prime Minister what has been said by this movement cannot be unsaid. They are out there in a surprising number and are saying they agree witthem. Katty welcome to world news america on pbs and around t globe. The European Union is now reporting more daily covid cases than thenited states. The World Health Organization warned today the european governments must impose tough new restrictions in order to save lives. In france, tha means a curfew will come into force on saturday in nine citiesincluding paris, and millions of french people will not be allowed to leave their homes from 9 00 p. M. Until 6 00 in the morning. Timeoves slowly in the cafes around, but student social life virtually unchanged for centuries has accelerated infections in cities like paris, marseilles, and lyon. This person agrees the curfew is for them, but will it work . I dont think it will work that much. If i did not have, i think i would go out with people and have parties at 20, 21 to 6 00 a. M. The curfews are being imposed on frances worst to places. The paris re and eight other cities, including marseils, lyon, and lille. Hotspots that span the length or breadth. These may be targeted restrictions but together add up to a national problem. What the government is desperate to avoid is a national solution. Some medics are already calling for another nationwide lockdown. For several months now, we have adopted a strategy. We have opted for targeted measures city by city, area by area, rather than generalized bans. We rely on trusts of local officials, first and foremost the mayors. I want to say again without that we will not succeed. The government has been careful to consult local leaders after accusations it was sidelining them last month. But there is still a lot opposition. The mayor of marseilles has said she is very angry about the curfews. We know where infections happen, she said, companies, canteens, public transports. They are doing this in the wrong ple. Almost half of the life support beds in paris are already full of covid patient. Staff were preparing for a marathon, not a sprint. One nurse broke down describing the last six month. For us, it is not numbers, he said. It is names and faces. Katty that is the situation in france, but this is happening right across europe. Lots of Different Countries are taking measures. As europe cracked down on socializing to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, experts in the u. S. Are warning of a possible third wave of new cases here. Look at this trend. The first wave hit on april 10. The number spiked again over the summer. On july 19 alone, almost 67,000 reported infections. Now it looks like we may have a third wave. Texas and california have seen big rises over the past week. Some midwest states, which were largely spared in the spring and summer, are now experiencing alarming spikes. Illinois reported its highest 70 average ever, more than 20,000 infections. In wisconsin, the numbers have risen so much that overwhelmed Health Officials have built a temporary hospital to handle the overflow of patients. Could america be heading in europes direction . Joining me now is the dean of Brown Universitys school of public health. Thank you for joining me. These shutdowns in europe are incredibly political and they are very unpopular. Where do you fall on whether european governments are getting this right in their response . Should they be having curfewsn restaurants and bars and shutting down hospitality places . Is that where the problem is coming from . Dr. Jha thank you for having me on. The number of cases started risingn europe at the end of july, early august. Certainly in spain, franc. Basically they have donat this c measures are clearly needed if you do not want to have tens of thousands of people getting infected, hospitalized, and dying. What we know is the virus spreads indoors. It spreads when people are not wearing masks. Indoor bars and restaurants are very much culprits in this, but other indoor gatherings are as well. Katty katty do you think European Countries are going to have to go for more blanket full National Lockdowns . Is that inevitable fr where you sit . Dr. Jha i do not think it is inevitable yet, but the problem here is they waited for two months and have done little to address this. This is a virus that once it Gains Momentum takes incredible effort to slow down and stop. I think if they act aggressively now and shut down things that clearly are propagating infections, they can avoid the blanket lockdown. But they do not have a lot of time to lo here. Katty i guess that leads me to my of questioning. Is america behind europe . Are we just waiting to be with europe . It seems like we have been open for a couple months. We have not doneh. Are we going to expect to have what germany, france, the u. K. Have got now . Dr. Jha the disadvantage america has is it is starting off at a higher baseline. We are 50,000 cases a day right now. Ev in germanys latest bike, it is much lower than americas caseload adjusted for population. I happen making the same case to american policymakers that there is no time to lose. If you wait a month or two, you will find yourself with very unappetizing choices. Katty are those policymakers listening to that case . Dr. Jha some are. The problem with this is the decisions they have to make now like shutting down bars and curtailing Indoor Dining feel politically painful and hospitals are not yet full. The action is always, lets wait unl the hospitals get full. The problem is by the time hospitals get full,ou have many weeks of infections already built into the community. You are in big trouble. It is always hard for people. Katt that is the argument i hear against shutdowns. That actually the mortality rate seems to have declined and we do not have lots of people going to hospital. You are saying the mortality rate could pick up again. Dr. Jha yes. We have played this movie over and over again. What happens is young people start up with infections because they are the ones going to bars and nightclubs. They get infected. The case is spike, and then they infect their parents, uncles, aunts, grandparents, and that usually takes a few more weeks. Those people get infected, get sick, and eventually end up in the hospital. It all can take a while. The problem with that is that it gives everybody the sort of illusion that somehow the virus is no longer so lethal. It is still the same virus we had in march. Katty ok. Thank you very much for joining us. Dr. Jha thank you. Katty people here in america look at what is happening in europe because you cannot have a failure of imagination. There is an image of what could happen if measures are not taken, if we do take measures ourselves to protect ourselves. New zealanders will vote this weekend in the countrys general election. If the polls are right, she is expected to stay in power. On wednesday they made their final pitches in a televised event. The election is being seen as a referendum on the Prime Ministers handling of the coronavirus. She was virtually unknown when she became Prime Minister, but a tumult was firstterm established Justin Arde Ardern a leader. She has been tested time and time again, specially by the christchurch terror attacks. It is clear this is one of new zealands darkest days. Jacinda arder Jacinda Arden grieved with the families. She united the nation at the most tragic times. Manyf those directly affected by the shooting may be migrants to new zealand. They may even be refugees here. They have chosen to make new zealand their home, and it is their home. They are as. Us. New zealands success in containing the spread of covid19 has given the Prime Minister a firm lead in the polls. Thanks to an early and strict lockdown, the country has one of the lowest death rates globally. She has absolutely risen to the occasion and has done so with a level of fundamental decency and grace and humanity, which even people who are not going to vote for her party on october 17 will recognize as the marks of someone i suspect will go down as one of the great Prime Ministers of new zealand. The Jacinda Ardern brand is inevitably a big focus of this election. Many have sent her leadership style based on kindness and compassion has changed the political rhetoric in the country. During the covid19 lockdown, she addressed New Zealanders directly and said it would take a team of 5 million to get through it. Despite her message unity, there are still those who feel left behind. Agnes, a single mother of three, has struggled for years, getting by on food grants. She says there have been times when she could not afford School Lunches or uniforms for her kids. In the last three years, they promised they were going to reform the poverty issue we are having. Where is that promise . Nothing. My message to the governors, stop speaking of kindness and start doing something about it. Hoping to dislodge labor is the national party. But the polls suggest it will take more than divine intervention for its leader Judith Collins to be theext Prime Minister. Whoever voters choose on saturday will face the same struggle as every leader around the world, getting their countrys economy back on track with a Global Pandemic still looming large. Katty lets get more on that election. I am join to bite and a white, a political journalist in auckland. Thank you for joining us. Whenever i asked people which countries have got it right, they point to two countries, taiwan and new zealand. Jacinda ardern in particular is held up as the poster child for managing the coronavirus. Is she as lauded at home as she is abroad . Well, if you look at our political polls, she absolutely has been seen as a figure who has pushed the virus out of new zealand. After our first lockdow that was in march through may, her polling ratings went sky high. It kind of evened out since then. But going to election tomorrow, it looks clear the labor government is going to stay. Katty do New Zealanders feel the country is out of the woods now . After our first lockdown, i think that was the general feeling. We did have a resurgence a couple months later in our largest city, auckland. The whole city plunged into lockdown again. I think New Zealanders are slightly more on edge than they were previously, knowing that this virus is something that can come back and can really impact our enomy and our livelihoods. Katty i guess the question is, Prime Minister ardern handled the virus well, and can she now handle the economic recovery just as well . Because that is what, if she is reelected, what she has to deal with next year, right . Yes. Firstly, if you look at new zealand, we are an island nation. It was easy to close our borders early, so that made a huge difference in the way that we responded, the way new zealand responded to the covid pandemic. But moving onto our economy, the Opposition Party was generally handling economics quite well. Looking into the virus and future, the public shifted their view and is starting to trust the labour party, the main governing party more. In looking after our economy, looking after the unemployment rates, the businesses really struggling, that has been a major focus. A lot of policies have focused on trying to get people back to rk and trying to start business, so we can look forward and really deal with the economic crisis that is coming and that we are in at the moment. Katty ok. Anna white joining us from auckland. Thank you so much for joining our program. Interesting. Although things are back to normal pretty much in new zealand, they are still suffering economically because global economies are intercnected and new zealand nnot isolate itself economically from other countr ies problems. The France Public Health director and former Prime Minister have an investigation into the governments response into the covid crisis deepens. Some 90 complaint lodged by doctors, nursing homes, and local authorities over the governments handling of the pandemic, including acquisitions of involuntary homicide and endangering life. Two catholic priests have gone on trial in the vatican. It is the first time the city state has prosecuted allegations of sexual abuse. Martinelli is accused of sexually assaulting an altar boy. The other is charged with covering up the alleged assault. Neither man has submitted a plea or commented on the case. Singapore and hong kong, two of asias biggest financial hubs come have agree set up a coronavirus avel bubble within the next few weeks. The singaporean tranc transport minister said they would be mandatory covid19 testing. What countries have had small numbers deaths from the coronavirus. You are watching bbc world news america. Still to come on this program, the Trump Campaign sales into miami to try to win over the latino vote in the key state of florida, but which way will the election sway that state . Katty the russians have approved not one but two coronavirus vaccines. The second one has completed its earlystage test but has not yet been subjected to largescale trials. There is some apprehension among some people about this latest development. Our moscow correspondent has the details for us. The information from the phase ii trials has not yet been made plic was of course questions still exist. It is interesting in terms of the public mood here. A lot of people are quite skeptical. A lot of people in surveys suggested they would not be willing to have the vaccine just yet. They are rather dubious about how effective it could be or how safe it is. Interesting that there has been aig push by officials here. Any people saying publicly they have had the vaccine. Most famously, president putins own daughter hennounced had the first vaccine. A big push from the official side in the public. Generally, some skepticism. Katty mass protests are taking place in thailand as public anger ills onto the streets where thousands of prodemocracy demonstrators ignoring an emergency decree that bans large gatherings. The demotrators are calling for the resignation of the countrys Prime Minister and for democratic reforms. Here is our reporter from kok. More public gatherings are now banned. Plenty of yng thais were prepared to come out and challenge that in bangkoks downtown. Free our friends they shouted, reacting to the news that the most highprofile leaders of the protest movement, which has shaken up the country with its radical demands, were arrested and taken out of the city in what looks like a concerted effort to shut the movement down. As their numbers build, they pushed forward against lines of police, w seemed unsure how tough they could be. With one surge, they occupied the entire intersection. At this point, the police pushed back. Some escape to the pressure, some even thinking protesters. Thanking protesters. This first day of the protest ban is not going well with the parties. One of the few leaders lead the crowd in a chant of we are not afraid. Like a lot of people here, he believes what ppens next largely depends on the king. Do you think the king is listening to you . I cannot answer that easily. We would like his majesty to address that himself. We do not want to overthrow. But in the future, we want the monarchy to live in harmony with the people. What has been fed by this movement cannot now be unfed. The comments about the monarchy, the demands that the king and other parts of the government must be accountable to the people, must be accountable to electoral authorities. They are out there with a surprising number of thais now saying that we with them. Past experience teaches us the authorities will get the upper hand for now. But time, youth, and passion are on the side of those seeking to transform this country. Bbc news, bangkok. Katty violent scenes in bangkok. All this week, we have been looking at how the u. S. President ial election is playing out in key battleground sta now it is florida. There, the socalled latino vote counts for a lot of the electorate. And with weeks until the polling day, democrats and republicans are working hard to win the affection of hispanic voters. From miami, here is our north american editor, jon sopel. Jon this is Donald Trumps hispanic armada, making a splash against miamis famous skyline. Around 200 boats. It is chaotic, noisy, and exuberant. If every election throws up a new way of campaigning, this is 2020, the boat parade. The president s star eric is the star attraction. How are you feeling . You tell me how it looks. Is there love in this country or is there left in this country . We will win this thing. 2020. Jon if you look in the polls, donald trump is facing very strong headwinds. In keyattleground states, he is down. Among hispanic voters, his head is above water. In this critical state, that could be a vital lifeline. The hispanic and latino vote in florida is critical. Many these latinos have already seen what the rhetoric is on the left side pushing socialism, free stuff. They dont want it. They are hardworking americans that are here, and they want the freedom to choose. They wt donald trump. Jon both