al jazeera. every. hundreds more coronavirus deaths in spain but hospitals are overwhelmed and the army now asking nato partners for testing kits and protective equipment for health start. hello again i'm just on the attack and this is al jazeera live from doha also coming up russia's president chris burns an upcoming vote on constitutional reforms as the country tries to stem the spread of the virus. indian police crack down on

people violating a curfew as more than a 1000000000 people go under lockdown for 21 days over the pandemic. and the u.s. senate approves a 2 trillion dollar rescue package to help people and businesses deal with the economic strain of the coronavirus. issues or war. now spain has had its west day yet of the coronavirus pandemic with more than 700 new deaths that means it's now passed the death toll of china in the past 24 hours the number of deaths has surged to almost 3500 and nearly 48000 people have been infected only italy has now seen a great loss of life let's speak tomorrow who is there live for us in the capital madrid moscow yet another shop rise in the death toll talk to us about that the

trajectory that with or it is a talking about here. yes well as you mention and according to these health minister figures all about around 8000 people have been infected of corona virus and 738 people have died in only 24 hours in the past state health ministers sources say that we are reaching the peak of the curve of this corona virus pandemic but mary many spaniards out except tickle because most of them are staying at home with corona virus symptoms and we don't have any test kits total of all the population. as we've been talking about we've also seen the military out and about disinfecting facilities also now assisting with maintaining this lockdown how's that all going well 1 in the spanish government has asked through the defense ministry tonight nato to provide how soon as possible testing keep spent elaters

and protecting gear that this is becoming or one of the most important problems that spain is facing to combat the explain demi masahiro that live for us in madrid thank you so much for that update. well in russia the president out of a appears and has postponed a constitutional referendum due to the outbreak the vote was intended to extend his time in office in his televised speech prison quote on russians to stay at home and he also pledged economic assistance to those in need and he has offered assurance that the government would help people weather the storm because it will go there then you're pretty of them you know thanks to the measures already taken we can stop this virus becoming widespread our state has already been seriously affected by it if you look at our geographical position it is objective we not possible to stop it but we can do its work in a professional way our main priority is to help the lives of our citizens with medical assistance and preventative measures well let's talk correspondents at

vasant who's live for us now in moscow a step very much a focus on the economy and creation speech even as he's been urging social distancing measures. exactly he actually believes spoke about any health measures during his his nation the white address which was actually the 1st time he has addressed the whole nation during this corona crisis because the authorities until now were always saying that they were doing a much better job at the containing the virus and all for that there were less much less cases than anywhere else but in the last 24 hours we see a spike in official cases and that's only the tip of the iceberg as many virally just and other experts have been telling us so finally and also obviously reluctantly britain is now addressing the nation telling them to stay at home for one week at just one week he has also not specified how these measures will be

observed or enforced it's not clear if the very wide ranging face recognition system that's in place here in moscow will be used for this and he also spoke about politics about this constitutional vote about the amendments that will keep him in power for much longer after his final term will end in 2024 he has now said that he will postpone this vote indefinitely and then most of the time he was talking about any social economic measures that will keep the population happy because he's very worried that there will be panic and of course people have been struggling here it cannot make their incomes have been going down in recent years so he extensively offered all kinds of of measures to make sure that people can go about their normal lives and have an income so again it's not clear how do you. will be implemented and it's also not for sure it's not a lock down or anything like that for the moment and step i see that the army has

now been ordered to do drills as well to prepare for the onslaught of the virus and we've now seen this largest one day increase in terms of of infections and deaths well it's our infections i mean to say how concerned are the authorities there not only the central government but also the local authorities. well what is interesting here is that officially nobody has died of corona virus in russia which of course is a very strange a way of a strange fact that is coming from from the government so there's a lot of this belief distrust in the government and there are fischler statements some doctors are saying that maybe the coronavirus patients are being classified as something else maybe as pneumonia or any other disease so there is a lot of distrust and people expect that the the real problem is

a lot bigger and again yes britain has says that there will be military drill starting today for the next 3 days to make sure that the military is ready for a possible a bigger outbreak of for of the virus also the authorities are building a huge hospital in the outskirts of moscow where 500 patients should be able to be treated next month but it's all over very small and symbolic measures if you know that the health care system here in russia has declined seriously over the last couple of years with lots of doctors being laid off and hospitals close so many are worried that if indeed this situation gets really serious here that if the health care system can actually cope with it steadfast in our correspondent in moscow thank you for that update step well european union leaders are pledging to take steps to get life back to normal that even as many countries continue to be overwhelmed by the pandemic in italy police in rome

are stopping all vehicles now at roadblocks to make sure that people have a reason to move around the city under the national lockdown people are only permitted to go to want to go grocery shopping or for health reasons. well in india people are being punished for going out after they were ordered to stay at home for nearly 3 weeks to fight the spread of the virus across the country police have been stopping people there on the streets and some lockdown violators are being physically punished all public transport has been suspended but grocery stores and pharmacies do remain open people are also allowed to go out for essential work during the lockdown elizabeth purana says the lockdown has been driving panic buying among the middle class and leaving poor indians without most of the country is quiet today that after the scenes we saw the prime minister modi announced the lockdown when lots of people around the country were rushing to grocery stores

panic buying and you know even those prime minister modi said that people would still be allowed to go out to get essential supplies and we had delis chief minister had hold a press conference a few hours ago saying that it's the government's responsibility to provide for people and that by crowd in places people are defeating the point of a lockdown asking people not to do that and so things are quieter today but it's so important to remember that you know panic buying and hoarding it's a very middle class thing and there are so many people in india who aren't middle class and in fact the places that we are seeing crowds today the homeless shelters that can no longer you know we've been hearing from homeless shelters that say they only have about 2 days' worth of supplies left and that's because they're not just looking after the homeless now but by the very leonie in india who are daily wage earners who live a hand to mouth existence and because they can no longer work i mean they can no

longer look after themselves. now saudi arabia has also impose tougher measures to contain the outbreak off to one person died there it's barring entry or exit from riyadh and the 2 holy cities of mecca and medina king solomon has also ordered a 21 day curfew in 3 cities and movement between all provinces has now been suspended 767 cases have been confirmed well iran is also reporting another big rise in the number of infections 2000 on wednesday raises the total there to more than 27000 around hof of all government employees are staying at home in the west affected country in that region the health ministry says the number of cases is likely to rise because of improved testing and screening iran's leaders are blaming us sanctions for the lack of equipment to stop the spread robbie has the latest from the capital. many here who have criticized the government's response

would say that the government hasn't been direct kone in nuff we've seen another spike today in the overall number of cases almost 450 more cases in the last 24 hours we've seen another 143 people die in the last 24 hours so certainly the trend continues and this seems to be taking up we've been hearing murmurs from health officials throughout the week that the situation may be worse than it appears than then maybe government officials are talking about and that might be why we've heard from president hassan rouhani one of the strongest statements he's made since this public health crisis began he announced during a cabinet meeting earlier this morning a proposal to place a ban on intercity travel a strict ban on any people travelling in between cities in this country an hour later his spokesman came to the cameras came to the media and announced that that had been confirmed that that had been finalised that it was now enforceable law that the country within the next 242-4848 hours officials in the country the

security apparatus will begin enforcing a ban on intercity travel now this is a very significant development the government officials the president the interior minister is advising people who may have travelled abroad for the persian new year i'm sorry had to have travelled within the country during the persian new year they have been advised to start coming home the messages go home now don't wait until the end of the holiday you may have faced fines or restrictions. now still ahead on al-jazeera homeless in america we'll tell you what's being done to protect them during the coronavirus condemning. and gunmen storm and. killing 25 people i saw it was behind the attack.

and i was about to be a bit of a chill wind blowing through northern china temperature in beijing will drop by 10 degrees as this thing's a cold front comes out of the interior the clouds the south of that is various lumps of sun to storms and rain significant in china being squeezed across to south korea and honshu so the temperature down to live degrees beijing is the daytime high i will be a cloudy day but that sun will tend to come out the temperatures drop the south will hands go from $20.00 to $30.00 and the humid weather has been squashed south of that so through grandaunt heavy rain seems likely in the 4 thunderstorms hong kong just on the edge of it you might get a dry day visiting to be humid castell showers seem likely significant rains on his way through honshu just getting there but not reaching tokyo during friday so after this an increasing share seems like in southern philippines as a good spread elsewhere through borneo and jobs in sumatra and occasion we see them in thailand cambodia and vietnam they develop daily of course inland not significant just yet it's still mostly dry as it is through near pakistan but for

pakistan in particular you've got rain potential in the south maybe in karate significant further north as well and that becomes even more significant hole during friday. join me steve clemons on the bottom line for your weekly take on u.s. politics and society i'm changing but the institutions frequently don't the system itself is set up to benefit those who understand the people who actually believe things that are not true that is a crisis for democracy is a crisis of concentration the bottom line on al-jazeera the u.s. is always of interest the people who run the world people pay attention to what you know does it is very good to bring the news to the world from here.

and again you're watching al-jazeera a reminder of our top stories this hour spain has had its west day yet of the corona virus pandemic with more than $700.00 new deaths that means it's now passed the death toll of china in the past 24 hours the number of deaths has surged to almost 3500. russia's vladimir putin has postponed a constitutional referendum due to the outbreak the vote was intended to extend the president's time in office and has called on russians to stay at home and pledged economic assistance to the reason. people in india are being punished for going out after they were ordered to stay home for nearly 3 weeks to fight the spread of the virus across the country police have been stopping those who are on the streets.

well the u.s. senate is expected to vote on a 2 trillion dollars package to combat the corona virus outbreak after days of discussions and setback congress and the white house finally reached a deal on the funds they're keeping the wilds biggest economy afloat and helping frontline medical workers they remain follows days of arguments with democrats accusing republicans of prioritizing profits of a whack a health the senate has reached a bipartisan agreement on a historic relief package for this pandemic it will rush new resources onto the front lines of our nation's health care fight and it will inject trillions of dollars of cash into the economy as fast as possible to help american workers families small businesses and to make it through this interruption and emerge on the other side ready to shore. but let's take you to this live event from

u.n. headquarters in new york the u.n. secretary general is about to hold a video conference to discuss the latest developments on the coronavirus antonio guitar as will be joined by the head of the world health organization and officials from the u.n. agencies let's listen in and reported in countries already faces medical terry in crisis we expect these numbers to rise. to it from our sun actually the united posters on this is a service focused on it is really at that essential humanitarian relief operations continue while we also respond to this pandemic we're w.h.o. is in the lead now i would like to invite the united nations secretary general to take the floor the secretary general oversees. the will face is an unprecedented spetz the 19th and that because directly the. disparate suffering is

up to billions of lives and then to the what we call government did is menacing the whole of humanity and sort of the whole of humanity must fight. individual country responses are not going to be enough wealthy countries stronger systems are buckling under the pressure but now the violence is around the countries already in the midst of humanitarian crises caused by conflicts that's what substance and climate change these are places where people have been forced to flee their homes because of bombs violence of flights leaving on the plastic sheets in fields or crammed into refugee camps or information. they do not have homes in which to socially distance or soft isolates them a clean water and soap with it's to the most basic act of self protection against the violence washing their hands and so they become critically ill they have no way of accessing the health care system that can provide the hospital beds and the ventilators. we must come to the aid of the author of prague millions upon millions

of people one least able to protect themselves this is a matter of basic human soul. and it is also crucial for combating of violence the world is obvious truong and weakest health system if you do not act decisively now i fear the virus will establish a foothold in the most fragile countries leaving the world vulnerable as it continues to circle the planet's spaniards no margin for its spaniards no market employers this is the moment to step up for the vulnerable. and pencils with disabilities face particular disproportional $36.00 and require an all out effort to save their lives and protect their future it's also aware of the event this rise is having on the world's women across many fronts in particular losses and one of the most serious the burdens of end date and labor not and heighten the exposure to the message violence today we are launching get to know your u.s.

dollars global humanitarian response plan to fund the fight against poverty 19 in the world's poorest. to be organized by the un is office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs this interagency plan brings together existing to peoples from the world also nice nation and that the u.n. part in those and that it defies new needs as well. properly funded it will save many lives and our humanitarian agencies and n.g.o.s we deliberately supplies for testing and with medical the quitman to treat the sick while protecting else workers the plan also includes additional measures to support those communities that continue to gentles the open their homes and towns the refugees and displaced persons we need to act now to stem the impact of 19 in already father police military and contexts and we need to maintain support for existing humanitarian response plans on which 100000000 people the pens if such funding is that hurted

the consequences could be catastrophic the further spread of business and then in charities later levels of china. and that both the ability of these countries to come back to. let us do everything we can to prevent corporate 19 from wrecking of parking places that limits house passage the answer is yes at the same time we are doing our utmost to plan for there and responds to any recovery in the countries on the globe and that we need it most so that we achieve a new sustainable and inclusive economy that leaves no one behind i've asked united nations 7 or 8000 u.n. country teams to support countries around the world you know the rest of the social economic implication of this pandemic and we were required in adequate funding mechanisms but now now we ask you to support these humanitarian response plan that is a necessity for global security it is

a moral imperative and in everyone's interests and it is a crucial part of winning these fights i appeal to governments to give it their full support thank you. thank you mr secretary general we now have the director general of w.h.o. dr temperance over to you. thank you. for your excellence is an attorney general colleagues mark and henrietta i'm pleased to join colleagues at this very critical moment in the fight against the corner pandemic i want to begin by beata rating the secretary general's comments that now is the time for sit for solidarity in the face of this threat to all of humanity. as you

know the fund any kinds accelerated over the last 2 weeks and while covered 9000 is a threat to people everywhere what's in it most important most worrying is the danger the virus poses to people already affected by crisis people and communities that are already uprooted due to conflict displacement the climate crisis or other disease outbreaks are the ones we must urgently prioritize despite their resilience they do need our help today and this new plan lays out what has happened what has to happen right now in order to save lives and slow the spread of this virus i implore leaders to stand together and heed this up he'll join me the secretary general's call since this outbreak was identified them to join our partners had been ramping up set of valence and lab

testing across low and middle income countries we have brought scientists together to boost funding in the research and development agnostic's treatments and the future but we have communicated online via the media and in person with many women leaders to ensure that the partitions i'd celebrative and populations are sensitized. and we have worked with business leaders to ensure the supply chains are working and bottlenecks are overcome then to globally monita and response plan builds on that effort and set as a 6 point action plan for how to prepare and respond to this emergency 1st the public advice to be effectively prepared for the critical measures that are needed to help suppress the spread and protect vulnerable groups like the edible

elderly and those with underlying health conditions 2nd ramp up surveillance and lab testing so that those with the virus can be identified quickly and isolated safely helping to break the chain of transmission said pretty tight treatment for those of the highest risk of severe illness and 4th slow suppress and stop trying to submission to reduce the burden on health care facilities this means safe and wishing testing isolating cases and contract dressing encouraging community level physically stunting and suspension of must gatherings and international travel for many on our planet following even this basic advice is a struggle but with we as

a global community my society to make it possible 5th we are building the ship as we say him and it's critical that we continue to share learnings and inhibitions so that we can improve set of illinois prevention and treatment. and ensure equitable access for the poorest to all research and development breaks loose and finally we need to protect the health and the money turns up like jane so that our frontline workers are protected and able to travel freely gave lifesaving care our message to all countries is clear if this were me moan but this plan politically and financially today and we can save lives and slow the spread of this pandemic history will judge us on how we responded to the

poorest communities in their darkest hour let's act together and right now thank you for all you've been listening to the head of the wilds health organization and a video conference from geneva appealing for the public to be prepared for critical measures and we've also heard from u.n. secretary general antonio terra's he's with launching a $2000000000.00 campaign for a joint humanitarian coronavirus response has been emphasizing what both men have been emphasizing the need to support vulnerable health systems let's speak now to james bay is out there from atlanta to who's at u.n. headquarters in new york james is the w.h.o. unlikely to get all the money that it needs here. what it's not just the w.h.o. the w.h.o. is asking for money as part of a u.n. system wide appeal because it goes beyond health systems it goes to all parts of the humanitarian system what there the case they're making here is that yes every

country is suffering every country right now is looking to its own problems and trying to deal with them but if you look at it that way then clearly what's not happening is what normally happens in the u.n. system which is the wealthiest countries help the poorest countries and particularly conflict zones refugee camps places with very poor health systems and that's why they're saying to all the countries in the world we know that you are suffering but we want you to dig deep to come up with money to fund a plan the u.n. has a plan and it wants money to fund that plan so that this does not kill so many people in some of the most vulnerable places on earth what would the u.n. do with this money well before this appeal event this virtual event started one of those who is addressing the pier which is the emergency relief coordinator of the u.n. mark local i spoke to him now we spoke remotely we're both in new york but it's

very unusual times you're seeing this appeal took place as a virtual appeal the only person in the u.n. headquarters a couple floors behind below me in a bunker studio as the secretary general and mr local spoke to me in the interview from his home that's not far away from the u.n. and told me what the u.n. is going to do with this money. firstly we're going to scale up testing the provision of equipment all the medical support secondly we're going to scale up water and sanitation and hygiene programs as we know that one of the ways people can protect themselves a bit from this is by having good personal hygiene wakening to scale up information particularly on social distancing and all the thing other things people can do to protect themselves getting the virus rather paper and then another really crucial thing so we're going to do is try to compensate for the declining availability of commercial airlines by scaling up the operation of the un's own humanitarian as

there are thousands and thousands of aid workers who we can put to work on this problem in these vulnerable countries but we need to be able to get them and supplies and equipment in there now the u.n. is all about a multilateral response to things getting the rich countries to help the poor ones but right now every country seems to be just focusing alone omero own problems because they also severe and it's right that every country focuses 1st on its own problems it's entirely right they do that but it's also raw and actually the most intelligent strategy to do a little bit for those countries which are going to find it hardest to cope because the truth about this virus this disease is that nobody is going to be safe until everybody is safe so a smart strategy even for the richest countries has to do a little bit for these most vulnerable ones and that is something we all seeing

that we've had a lot of encouragement from the donors to launch this appeal where launching for this 1st $2000000000.00 to deal with the problem we're seeing that polman around the world including here in the u.s. are providing a little bit of money for the international dimensions of the crisis alongside the bulk of resources for the national effort so a small thing to do is focus 1st on the national situation but do a little bit internationally as well. the emergency relief coordinator of the united nations marlo cox speaking to me there a little earlier the u.n. has just launched its global humanitarian appeal for 2000000000 dollars for the coronavirus to help the poorest people the most vulnerable people on earth worth noting that he said the 1st $2000000000.00 because i think they know they're going to need more money but it's already a very big ass to ask the sort of money of nations well nations right now some of

the wealthiest nations on earth even where we are here u.n. headquarters in new york are struggling to deal with their own problems at this stage indeed out of a magic at a james bay is that with all the latest from new york thank you james many restrictions have been eased in china's province the initial epicenter of this corona virus outbreak most residents will now be allowed to leave for the 1st time in nearly 2 months the lockdown in the provincial capital will remain in place that's until april 8th the foreign ministry says the majority of the new cases in the country are from people returning from abroad well that's it for me the news will continue here on al-jazeera after the bottom line stay with us. how much is the coronavirus on the stock market chaos affecting the race to the

white house will it be too by the sound to secure the democratic nomination i believe we can be down. follow all the developments in the u.s. election campaign on al jazeera. hi i'm steve clements and i have a question in a time when handshakes rallies fundraisers and door knocking have all been cancelled what happens to the american election campaign this year let's get to the bottom line. but how fast things are changing around us here's how we started last week's show across the u.s. so far about 5000 cases of coronavirus have been recorded today that number stands at closer 250000 still rising listen to where the u.s. president was just 3 and a half weeks ago we have the greatest greatest tourism country in the world so instead of leaving our country leaving are sure to stay here and again.