But critics warn that this may really be immense to undermine european unity. Im sure welcome to the program the u. S. Senate has approved the biggest stimulus package in the countrys history to try and cushion the economic blow from the coronavirus pandemic the legislation will provide 2 trillion dollars to help stabilize businesses and households hit hard by the outbreak the package which is expected to be approved by the house of representatives on friday comes as the numbers of infections souls and Health Care Workers say they dont have the supplies they need as the u. S. Seems to be becoming the new epicenter of the pandemic. And long line of drivers all waiting to be tested for the coronavirus this is florida but they keep getting longer right across america. The number of confirmed infections is gathering pace along with the number of those known to have died from the virus as the scale of the outbreak becomes increasingly clear doctors are worried about their own safety in time we. Dared to come to walk by and by being scared we are trained to see who i am and were committed to doing mad doctors say hospitals nationwide overwhelmed and theres not enough protective gear there are people that literally are wearing bandanas because they have Nothing Better to protect themselves from the respiratory droplets of patients who are in. And i think its a National Shame the u. S. President donald trump downplayed the dangers of a pandemic for weeks before changing his tone but he has criticized the shutdowns advocated by Infectious Disease experts to bring the outbreak under control for not going to let the cure of the worse than the problem. At the end of the 15 day period will make a decision as to which way we want to go d where we want to go the timing and essentially were referring to the timing of the opening of the century the opening of our country this was a medical problem were not going to let it turn into a long lasting financial problem an increasing number of states have closed down nonessential businesses heating i mean as hard this restaurant is trying to keep going by serving takeaways but i own a young mint owns 2 other eateries and pays 12000. 00 a month just in rent. Hes had to lay off most of his 25 stone off. This just taking it all us surprise and also off our feet we dont know how to deal with this every day is a new challenge for us is very challenging and for the most wise very terrible. We will get through this is the message from one bar owner in california people who have lost their jobs can get a free meal here. A small team does the cooking. Very scared owner tom stop it is struggling to make sense of whats happening here in hollywood he has to pay rent of a 1000. 00 a day. Im concerned. All we can do is help each of them help each other and hope for help from washington. Well germanys parliament the bundestag has also approved a sweeping rescue package to try and cushion the economic damage caused by the pandemic the measures will support the countrys Health Care Infrastructure and pump billions of euros into struggling businesses and in a historic move has voted to scrap limits on government borrowing a parliament in crisis mode the bundestag has changed its rules to allow decisions to be taken with fewer members present the normal those who were there sat at a safe distance from each other. Parliamentary president volved. Called on deputies to show support for the key workers who were helping to keep the country going. To ireland. And they didnt express thanks and respect to the doctors care workers and those in the health and security or floridas who are being tested to their limits every day. Thank you those who will do anything goes i think we all agree we should include in our banks those who day after day and in spite of the greater risk of infection they face ensure that people have the supplies they need. In just one day the blue sky because green lighted government plans to take on more debt this year than ever before the crisis package includes an emergency budget of 156000000000 euros 50000000000 to keep Small Businesses of bloat and money for hospitals expecting a wave of coronavirus patients. Finance minister all our short standing in for chancellor merkel is at home in self isolation acknowledged these are just getting take some pics but he said the country can afford it germanys strict rules on government borrowing are suspended for now. Were believing that were facing a crisis unprecedented in our postwar history is this war greater than all those we have faced recently tight lipped on and its a challenge to humankind as a home. For the gunson mentioned. Theres no script for dealing with the pandemic said childs but the government will do everything to reduce its impact on the economy is. The most in essence and 1st we have to ensure that theres a Good Health Care provision for people who are sick from the coronavirus and ensure those treating them are protected by 2nd we must protect the livelihoods of people affected by the crisis thirdly we must stabilize our economy and preserve jobs that. Despite the unparalleled measures when it came to the vote opposition parties rallied behind the governments plan but no one inside the bundestag or elsewhere could yet be sure if it will work. Lets get more from Political Correspondent kate brady welcome kate so walk us through what these gigantic sums of aid mean for germany. Well phil basically it was a very significant move yesterday for germany the government rather the bundestag the parliament should i say voted effectively to suspend germanys debt break policy or block 0 as its come to be known here in germany and effectively that means that the German Government can now take on new debt and as we heard their own report thats to the tune of some 156000000000 euros now of course to put that into perspective thats about a 3rd almost a 3rd of the entire german budget for this year but this 156000000000. 00 euros is actually part of a much bigger Financial Aid package which is also being agreed by the government and thats amounts to some so 750000000000 euros in that as we heard there again in the report this is to support all kinds of Large BusinessesSmall Businesses self employed will see a welfare payments also relaxed and people for example who are struggling to pay rent right now and in their bills will also be supported so theres a very wide range of measures and Financial Support thats included in this rescue package that aims at least to act as a cushion to the Economic Impact of coronavirus here in germany. Domestically. Doing internationally to address the pandemic. Well at the moment if you look at least in terms of medical assistance germany is already starting to do its part its taken in several patients from italy and france for example where hospital beds are becoming increasingly scarce to see the high number of cases there but financially speaking its a very different story of course the the German Government german leaders are taking part in a utah the latest round of which is going to take place later today and thats mainly regarded in the e. U. Financial response to support e. U. States affected by corona virus but one of the latest more controversial issues is this idea of corona badens the idea of joint farms and 9 of the 27. 00 e. U. States have now called for mutual ised debt across the e. U. And that is something that the more frugal states like germany and the netherlands and austria for example are simply opposed to right now obviously something that we could see change as the pandemic develops and of course who knows as well how what the e. U. Will look like in the aftermath of coronavirus but of course anyone that was getting particularly optimistic about german spending now that theyve suspended its infamous black 0 certainly should not get too excited when it comes to their role in the e. U. And e. U. Spending. Thank you. I mean walking through some more of the latest developments in the corona virus pandemic 3 months into the outbreak and the global death toll from covet 19 related illnesses as past 21000 russia is holding all flights into and out of the country for friday president putin has also postponed the National Vote on constitutional changes that would allow him to remain in office until 2036 this comes after authorities reported the 1st 2 russian coronavirus deaths and the number of Regional Governors in brazil defying president balls in our hours call for a lockdown measures to be lifted they say his instruction intended to exert pressure on the economy runs counter to Health Experts recommendations those are some of the other stories making news around the world to the man accused of carrying out new zealands the worst mass shooting in modern history has changed his plea to guilty in white supremacist is accused of opening fire on 2 mosques in christchurch killing 51 people and injuring dozens more foreign minister just in the representatives of the Muslim Community expressed relief at the change of play. Because of Us Government has collapsed over its response to the coronavirus pandemic the Prime Minister lost the confidence votes just 7 weeks after taking power the move could take the country to pearlie elections. Prince charles the ad to the british throne has tested positive for the corona virus the 71 year old is showing mild symptoms and is self isolating out of while a state in scotland his wife camilla has tested negative. For russia has used more than a dozen militia planes to carry medical aid to italy supplies to help combat the coronavirus pandemic were dispatched following a plea from the countrys Prime Minister but there are concerns that russia is using it as a Political Tool to try and gain influence in the e. U. This footage of Russian Military planes landing in italy was sent directly to us and to many other Media Outlets by the Russian Defense ministry in an operation dubbed from russia with love moscow has provided italy with special disinfection vehicles medical equipment and around 100 military specialists they reportedly have 1st hand experience fighting outbreaks of other Infectious Diseases. Russian authorities may be keen on showing off their aid operations but in moscow not everyone agrees with the governments policy even if so far only a few 100 cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in russia itself and that we should have everyone here but we need to help our own country 1st. And we have to help everyone we can whether its syria or its really because the good the river out welcome back to us. Makes me want to just russia have enough ospital does russia pay its stock to snuff what you will which i dont understand why we are helping europe as its. Good. But on state t. V. Aid from russia and china is presented as a moral victory over the e. U. This is essentially a collets of the european idea of a transition to a different political culture into change values all those pretty words about solidarity mutual support common values humanity and human rights they are all gone with the wind. Nina while in brussels officials are pushing back against criticism that countries arent helping each other enough i would help if we. Look at that from a controversial point of view chain there was help in the past chinas helping in the present russia is not being affected thank god for them and here in the situation that can bring hope to one of the countries in europe which is the most affected italy critics accuse moscow with pursuing a hidden agenda offering aid in return for room support to lift ease sanctions against moscow but the kremlin spokesman insists that all russia is trying to do is help. You know thats it youre up to date ill be back at the top of the hour d. W. Covered 19 special report is up next dont forget you can get. Information around the clock on our web site. Of the day. Combating the pandemic. Where does research stand. What are scientists learning. Background information and. Our daily corona. 19 special next on d w. How does a virus spread. Why the repayment and when will. Produce through the tax and weekly radio show is called spectrum if you would like and the information on the coronavirus or any other science topic we should really check out our podcast so you can get it wherever you go your podcast can also find us at. Science. This is the w. s covert 19 special from berlin after originating in asia reaching europe and northern america coded 19 is now quickly spreading across the african continent over the weekend the number craddick republic of congo registered its 1st death from the virus now the country has closed its borders and declared a state of emergency president felix. Says the country as at war with an invisible adversary. Life has been suspended and the country has gone into lockdown closing bars and restaurants and now most flights to and from kinshasa are bad and in this 900. 00 special were looking at how african countries are preparing for the upcoming challenge on their already Vulnerable Health care systems. Im john thanks for joining us corona virus is sweeping across africa but the true number of cases is unknown as mass testing has not yet been rolled out heres some of the latest information we have for you the number of confirmed cases in africa shot past the 2000 mark on wednesday now the majority of the continents 54 countries have registered infections ivory coast and senegal have both declared states of emergency and south africa will begin a lockdown starting thursday. Joining us from abroad seville in the republic of congo is michel yeah hes the Program Manager for Emergency Response at the World Health Organization in africa also here is edwards hes a professor and immunologists Reading University welcome to you both michele ill start with you what sort of advisory has the w h o given africa if any. The advisory in fact he went through different steps the 1st step is for iran the containment face is. To prevent local transmission on as much as possible so this helps to detect day. Cases now that we have a serious inc a local transmission on it we have it in more than 15 countries in africa now the nest is a how to scale up quickly to be able to contain the. Situation and also to start preparing for of a mitigation phase nikky guess on phase is equivalent to a Wide Community spread that con is a layer of ice trash they had have this is like what we are seeing now in your European Countries now they are all the jets are also predicting that african countries fell experienced their peak number of infections this summer now how prepared would you say the continent is you spoke of upscaling the capacities michel. I would say thats the 1st step culture respect from quite well by did that thing they split out the cases thats where important to not freak out but 5 a nest is where we need to mobilize maw and we need more at fault we need more support in most of the african countries because it is a step that they will have to deal with and out of people needing intensive have in their system in many african and for fossett it is you dont have such capacity so they need to think about how to scale up with from temporary treatment such as how to get assessed or are suggesting provide also rescued out to the machine how to get access to protective equipment so at this level countries are less prepared because they are locking the ressources most of them have them for up a preparedness and Response Plan but the supplies for example is one of the major challenge to fulfill the spot that is utterly gente because we are moving to are they wide contamination in many countries already. Now michelle spoke at there of the white contamination do you alice see the crisis in africa reaching a similar level to what were seeing here in europe how would that look like. I think i think you know that thats what weve you know ive been thinking about exactly that since way back you know when we were hearing about the outbreak 1st of all and we han in china i think one positive is i think the much work has gone on to try and expand for example diagnostic Testing Services across africa and weve learnt a great deal from programs to tackle big infection has such as hiv and malaria so for example simple Rapid Testing technology is now relatively quick and appropriate to drawl out so we have these sorts of tests here which can be done without in the burra 3 theyre not perfect but theyre very easy to scale out what im hoping is that what weve learnt from those kinds of activities those kinds of Public Health activities will help to deal with early identification and early containment in these states but it is a huge problem given that we cant contain outbreaks very effectively in europe i think will be the same in any other country across the world now testing of course 8 important part of the response to the current virus michel would you say that people are taking the gravity of the situation there in africa seriously. I think most of the. National party to is taking it seriously if we look at all the states often meant tennessee declare is on that we will start to recall in many african countries that up taking in serious you nest is really for they hold population on and im not sure that they have. This level of it wellness as well as. Taking that seriously in most of the african communities there is a lot of room us going to run including mens fault for treats men so there is they work to be done and from what we learn from a born out it is that it does need to be fully on board and for that they need to have appropriate information to increase the awareness that they need to be fully engaged for them to play iran if we have a Community Wide transmission is the Community Behavior that to me in part on the way they desist will spread fast within this community and i think learning from europe is time now to take some of the measures for Public Affairs we for food and gauge went off the community to listen or down the spread and objective is to flatten the. Big thats well. Take control weve this think up our cities thank you very much michel yeah hes the Program Manager for Emergency Response at the World Health Organization and africa also here is al ed burns he is a professor and immunologists at Reading University thank you both. Now around the world celebrities have inundated us with their song and dance numbers often from home and with mixed reception but ugandan musician turned politician bobby wine has seen his own take widely shared its a music video reminding everyone about how to purge the spread of the coronavirus wash your hands and keep your distance have a listen. Never got. There but were now joined by our correspondent joy during beer out shes standing by for us in Nairobi Kenya joy we just listened to bobby winds up rap slash Public Service message there for us what sort of a role do pop culture and social media have in getting the word out. A lot actually because when you look at the African Demographics at the moment big population happen to fall between the ages of 35 going down and this major concern for most of people right now are focusing or making sure that the young people get the message because the older generation at the moment does not have access to technology on a large scale and they are or happen to be the most vulnerable demographic when it comes to the spread of the coronavirus or corbett 19 so social media and pop culture is playing a humongous role in spreading the message to last of the young people on the african continent and in kenya and uganda as well particularly so young people acting as multipliers of the message there now that message itself it seems quite simple wash your hands stay home but neither of those things are easy for everyone. Indeed access to water is not readily available to millions of people around the african continent and that in itself is a challenge especially in the informal settlements in a lot of areas the rural parts of africa say in kenya today what the government is trying to do is ask the water supply has to be a little bit and weave their customers not who shop their bills and also and do not switch off there was a connections in a bid to help people plot and of of the Coronavirus Spread that water will be readily available to the people and that even though they might be having a rear is this still going to be able to wash their hands and maybe take care of that problem at a later date and also the government has tried as much as possible to go to areas where theres not enough access to water to ties them and also provide water when necessary thank you very much our correspondent a joy there for us in nairobi. And that was our d. W. Covert 19 special on africa thank you for watching and will that bobby wine play us out for more check out our social Media Channels im genoud malone stay healthy everyone. But anything done ever thought it was beyond their god never got a name out there im going to get my hair back out above him on that time again im. Sure of. What unites. What divides. Us lets try to force. What binds the continent together. The answers and stories aplenty. Spotlight on people. Focus. Next on d. W. Is a master of the art of confrontation this is rove a veteran of verbal combat doesnt mean youre going to see some yachts fly the undisputed champion of tough political talk to try to frighten people you know crucified everybody understand that its absolutely true the conflict zone and join Tim Sebastian as he holds the powerful to account this is a big failure whichever way you like to spin the conflict zone. 60 minutes. Whats the secret behind this classic. Is it the sound. As soon as you hear beethoven lose your mind or the story behind the music. Heads for needy jews great to see. The bad. Not in. The it starts beeping on. To. The at. Hello and a warm welcome to our Program Thanks for joining us today europes coastlines are littered with ticking time bombs remnants from the 2nd world war that are becoming ever more dangerous in the north and baltic seas alone around 1600000 tons of war ammunition lie on the seabed like this huge underwater might