that document for the 1st story we listen to after the war saying you'll europeans go build united states of you but we will not be with you we meet with global news makers and talk about the stories that matter on al-jazeera the or the or our. this is al-jazeera. or the i'm home i had seen and this is the al-jazeera news our life from london coming up. here as governor is stronger action to get the state supply of ventilators where they need to be. the i.m.f. warns that be coronavirus will have a bigger impact on the world economy and the 2008 financial crisis. along the exhibition center opens its doors as the country's latest hospital. and the

scramble for face musts worldwide shortage of essential medical equipment triggers a 1000000000 more. people are going to die in the near term due to a lack of ventilators that was the warning from the governor of new york in the us his states is the worst hates in the country with the number of cases breaking the 100000 threshold in the past 24 hours meanwhile it's been revealed a massive hospital ship berthed in new york city to take a ferry is a non-corporate patients so far treated only 20 well in london the 1st patients can now use a new 4000 bed facility set up in a convention center the nightingale hospital was created in just. 9 days was comes

as the u.k. is nice in more than 3 sizes current virus deaths where i was brewing after 2 countries accuse the us of hijacking deliveries of protective equipment both france and germany say hundreds of thousands of face masks were diverted to america and canada is investigating similar claims and to underline the global scale of the crisis the heads of the international monetary fund says the world economy is coming to a stop and facing a bigger recession and it's so in 2008 financial crisis forget test the vaccine that's a separate project that's not where people are going to die in the near term people going to die in the near term because they walk into a hospital and there's no bed with a ventilator because there's either no bed or no staff or no people or no ventilator that is what is going to happen was the governor of new york andrew

cuomo speaking earlier gabriel elizondo is in new york for al-jazeera he says that regular hospital admissions are done. it was the navy ship called the comfort that was sent to new york harbor last week last friday that giant giant ship other we all saw images of it's one of 2 essentially floating hospitals it has a capacity for about 750 beds for and then 750 patients and that's what it is supposed to be used for but as of now we think that all we think that are patients that are on there are just a little bit over 20 c.m.'s yourself why well that shift ship was intended to be for non coronavirus patients to clear out hospital beds for coronavirus patients in new york here's a problem though with nobody on the streets very few people driving crime down there just aren't a lot of people going to the hospital in new york or people getting sick or

anything other than coronavirus so there's just not a lot of people going to that ship and it wasn't designed for with its mission wasn't to hold coronavirus patients how will that change we don't know that's up to the navy that's up to the white house but as of now there's a little bit of confusion on what exactly that ship will be used for but as of now at least it's only got a couple dozen patients so have to see in the coming days and perhaps even weeks if they decide to change things and open that up for patients that are infected with chronic virus or not i guess you sense the situation a new york hospital ship in a desperate need for supplies from the governor we are expected to hear from president trump see repeat the live pictures now from the white house press room as soon as that briefing starts we will of course come back crossed skiffy the very latest on the situation in the us fast becoming the least this global hot spots in

the coronavirus battle. meanwhile the heads of the international monetary fund says the coronavirus pandemic has brought the world economy to a standstill christina georgieva. issued advanced economies with the demands to help developing countries where the coming financial storm in a joint news conference with the world health organization she said the world is heading towards a recession that will be far deeper than at the peak of the financial crisis 12 years ago. we know that in many countries health systems are weak. we know that in fight even in flight to safety a lot of capital has left the merging economies the developing quote nearly $90000000000.00 had flown out this is way more danger in the global financial

crisis. across europe the death toll from cope with 1000 continues to rise in france nearly released figures that include previously unaccounted for deaths outside hospitals have raised the national death toll by more than a 1000 large death tolls also continue to be reports a daily in both italy and spain brannon reports now on the situation across europe . whereas we now can only speak to her mother through a distant window 85 year old concepcion lives in a barcelona nursing home where half of the elderly residents have been isolated with suspected coronavirus but if concepcion tests positive and is isolated herself in rio may never see her again. these are the people who have gone through a lot they have got war post war actually don't die like this it's very sad very sad they don't deserve it. on friday the european union executive admitted it's

struggling to procure large numbers of ventilators quickly and member states are scrambling to manufacture their own with spain seeing new fatalities exceed 900 for the 2nd consecutive day the spanish prime minister visited a ventilator factory. going to the shooter. with this visit i don't just want to pay tribute to the work of this company and all its workers but also to the company's workers and professionals who have been working these weeks against the clock to save lives or as europe grapples with a virus that is yet to hit its infectious peak here governments are struggling to expand medical facilities while at the same time reducing the chance that their citizens will actually need them germany's disease control chief says social distancing is having a measurable impact but there is still a shortfall in equipment. great for the respirators and intensive care capacities

have been increased but in my opinion i still can't be sure that it will be enough personally i think it won't but i'll be glad if i am wrong. so prevention and avoidance remain the priority and the world health organization is urging vigilance if countries right to lift restrictions too quickly. that virus good research and they call to make impact could be even more a c.v.s. and prolonged police have been questioning passengers at montana station one of paris's main rail terminals at the start of the traditional easter holiday inspired many to head for their country homes passengers traveling without justification and paperwork face a 145 dollar fine and with warm spring weather forecast across europe this weekend there is great concern among thora he's the people's discipline and patience will slip i think so but also not overdo with us good weather some of you will want to barbecue of course you can but do it with the people who live with it under the

same roof and if you do not invite your friends neighbors or relatives to remember that picnics in the park even with the family are not allowed to despite weeks of social restrictions and stay at home orders the virus pandemic in europe is not yet at its peak and people are being warned that the longer they can abide by the lockdown orders the shorter they will have to be in force paul brennan al-jazeera. well u.k. has reported to the $700.00 new deaths taking the total 3 and a half cents right cames a new hospital was opened in the capital just over a week after work on it began when a whole reports now from london it's the u.k.'s biggest hospital with eventual capacity for 4000 covered 19 patients built inside a london conference center it took just 9 days to construct with the help of army engineers dramatically expanding the critical care bed count and other similar sites are on the way prince charles cut the virtual ribbon from his scottish

residence having recovered from a buyout of corona virus. a creation of this hospital is about. the results of an extraordinary collaboration and partnership between n.h.s. managers the military and all those involved to create a sense on a scale that has never been seen before in the united. someone who hasn't yet recovered is boris johnson do you back at work today a week after announcing he got the virus johnson still has a temperature so there was another video message instead as a good looking prime minister continues to self isolate inside downing street i think in the last i still have one of the sins of the mind a symptom of i have a celeb a temperature and so in accordance with government advice i must continue myself isolation until that symptom itself goes the prime minister's call was amplified by

the health minister who earlier warned the u.k. peak may arrive sooner than expected perhaps within the next few weeks and work continues just about everywhere to prepare for it here in north west london the grim business of setting up a temporary morgue beside a criminal room you can just make out the twin peaks of 2 refrigerated structures above the fence over there london accounts for around a 3rd of the u. case total numbers of infections and deaths and new research by scientists at imperial college suggest the actual london numbers could be much higher than advertised researches say that huge gaps in testing capacity that the government is now trying to close plus high numbers a very mild or asymptomatic cases mean that one in 15 londoners or around 600000 people may have or have had the disease that's 60 times more than the number

of registered cases in london extrapolate that across the country and the spread of corona virus appears far wider than anyone thought jonah how al-jazeera lumbered. plenty more still to come on the news hour including. u.s. service sector suffers a record decline living hundreds of thousands of workers but that its employment. in kenya is for exports with or as global demand drops dramatically amid the coronavirus and demick. close unemployment's in the u.s. grows as an unprecedented greats jobs in the service industry are being decimated bars for restaurants and hotels have been forced to close and retailers are also having to lay off staff in states like florida where tourism is a key financial driver the economic landscape is facing dramatic change and to

gallagher reports from miami. under normal circumstances a st roche market in miami's design district is packed with paying customers now staff are helping to feed those in need and prepare meals with donations from hotels delis another businesses whose doors and now closed this is a concerted effort by the very industry forced to lay off staff unclear what the future holds workers in florida's mammoth service industry are among the hardest hit and efforts are underway to raise money to help them survive a pandemic that's left many without an income we knew that we needed to do something right away so we got all the biggest shops in miami involved and that was the only reason we were able to all the small fast we raced 70000 this week alone from small donors and. without corporate sponsorship which has been amazing the whole community is really. everybody has been amazing florida thrives on tourism

but from the keys to the beaches of miami an eerie quiet has descended on the state that sees over 100000000 visitors a year. president donald trump's darrelle golf club is among those forced to lay off staff advocates for those that work in the service and hospitality business say this is a crisis unlike any other after times our workers barely get by and folks are working for you know $9101112.00 an hour they don't have any savings there we have a lot of members who are 2 or 3 jobs these are incredibly hard working. when you have wages that are in that level you are barely able to pay your rent. some are trying to adapt to a rapidly changing economic reality hundreds of thousands of others are desperate to get financial help from a state benefit system unprepared for

a crisis on this scale florida's unemployment claims system is overwhelmed with out of work workers saying websites have crashed and phone calls don't get answered the system designed by republican leaders has been criticized for reducing the amount of unemployment tax paid by businesses benefits to a meager with payments only getting $275.00 a week is sort of around 400000 people have managed to file a claim it's not known how many have tried and failed the 2 trillion dollars aid package announced by the u.s. government is designed to help those hit by the coronavirus pandemic the state like many is struggling to get cash into the hands of those that need it most randy gallacher is live for us in miami andy of course some people lose their jobs in the u.s. they often lose their access to health care so this would appear to be something of a double blow at this concerning time just how are people coping there.

well they're not in essence because these are people that aren't paid very well in the 1st place and many of them depending on the kind of employer they work for may not get health insurance in the 1st place it's worth remembering 27000000 americans before coronavirus even hit the shores didn't have health insurance now if you are laid off there are some government programs that can help out things like medicaid and a program called cobra but you have to pay for those medical programs see talking about people as you heard the lady who represents people in that industry talking about the don't have any savings and are now facing this horrible situation where a they may not have health care may not be able to afford health care and they've lost their jobs to topple that off the florida welfare system where you log on to try and get benefits is basically crashed this state's governor rod to sound as a saying he's throwing all the resources as it out it as he can to help people out

but this is a desperate situation and remember coming out of this before this all happened florida had historically low unemployment rates now the national rate is about 4.4 percent but experts say it could in effect be double that because the latest job figures showing 700000 people now out of work often 2 weeks ago and those preceding 2 weeks many more people have now filed and some experts say the unemployment rate may eventually get up to 14 percent which is about 23000000 americans who are not just facing a future without jobs but as you said without the prospect of any health care. and to go there joining us live from miami thank you. but the u.k. government is planning to issue immunity passports when it ends its cruelness fire is locked in the certificates will be issued to people who are no longer at risk of contracts in the virus because they already have it controversial scheme would exempt holders from restrictions on their activity to get more i'm joined by harvey

lars larssen rather she's the director of the backseat confidence project at the london school of hygiene and tropical medicine good to have you with us on the news hour it seems optimistic almost seems rather complex as well. how did this work just to start us off with this immunity passport scheme how do you see this working. well i it's a concept now it's not it's not something that's going to be kicking off soon you need to have a valid tests and these are antibody tests that show that you've been exposed in developed immunity. the idea the principle of it is is an important one day idea that you know particularly when it comes to front line workers that you don't have to say they don't have to stay under a lockdown for 2 weeks i. suspect suspecting they might have virus.

instead could go back to work straight away if if it was clear that they had been exposed and were immune and given that we're kind of at the beginning of a rapidly escalating trend here we're going to need people on their toes the idea of doing that testing population why. you know it's needs to be looked at but also to have the right test and also we've this is a brand new virus it's it's we're barely into our 4th month then it's ravaged the world already. and we don't know how long and unity is it could be a short term immunity and it could be longer so it's you know there will be some initial immunity so it's good for initially getting people back to work in in situations like frontline health workers but we really don't know how long

this could be effective it seems there are many unanswered questions here but this this question of trying to determine who has had the virus and you can get back into the workforce is a pressing one but if we don't bring the cart before the horse here given that this is these antibody tests that governments worldwide it's a clamoring for the they don't appear to work it do they. well we don't have enough of them tested and right now i think and even more pressing need is getting tested getting tests for people who are actively ill and to have enough of those to go around and get health workers tested because if you've already had the test and you've been confirmed you know you've had it and you can wait till you've got the antibodies later for those who it was unclear whether you had. it because there's such a that's the other comp complicated part is you can have it be even asymptomatic or

have mild cases and you can have extremely serious cases so it's not always clear who's had it or not so also getting tests for active virus is also in imminent important right now you mentioned that we were at the beginning of this virus for so learning an awful lot about it's it do we know at this stage how long people are immune for it's the ready indication of that atoll what sort of concrete things do we know that we can gain any kind of hope from because people who are in locks and you're desperate to have life to return to normal are looking for some kernel of good news and if there is an indication that you have immunity for 6 months or these tests eventually could let them at their homes and back to work. it would seem rather important so is there any good news that we've discovered this stage of the could that could help us here. well we certainly

don't have 6 months because we haven't even had the virus for 6 months so i think the most we can look at is all eyes on china to see i mean because they were. the front line the 1st the 1st line of this acute virus and that's the population we need to be watching because one can they be reinfected i mean right now there's a bit of there's anxiety there because they may go there's worry that there's going to be no other outbreak and there are some locked down places how much faith how much faith do you put in the numbers coming from china because there has been a lot of controversy in recent days about the have they been done playing the number of fatalities i mean given that to so much reliance on the data coming from china are you confident you can rely on it well we can we can only go with the numbers that we have but in terms of trying to see and follow how long and any

kind of immunity it last they were the 1st to have it so that is the longest we can know if we're looking at people here in the u.k. that will even be a shorter period of time so when when we try to understand how long you have immunity you need people to have been through the virus and recovered from it and then you have to watch over time and we don't have that time yet we're haven't really entered that phase we have a lot a lot to learn ahead of us ok for a long way yet to go but so hopefully some hope for me as well my horizon eventually the larson joining us from the london school of hygiene and tropical medicine thank you so much for joining us and thank you for all the work that science is such as yourself are doing at this park area is time. thanks for much.

now a bidding war is being waged between countries and even cities in the same nations for vital protective equipment medical staff desperately need several countries and are accusing the us of underhand tactics to get hold of thousands face masks an american company which makes masks in china admitted in the past few hours the white house asked it to stop supplying other countries such as the story. there's not enough protective gear to go around countries are scrambling to get hold of supplies especially face masks under soon as possible but some governments are being accused of using unscrupulous tactics and paying inflated prices to get their share. and then is accusing the u.s. of carrying out modern piracy at bangkok's airport and diverting a shipment of mass destined to germany for itself then these are marked the must

marked of the whole world is buying them right know it's worth gold at the moment it's sometimes very very difficult to plan things in advance and that sometimes deliveries that were thought to be secured suddenly don't arrive as planned the heads of 3 regions and some of the worst hit coronavirus areas in france have accused the united states of affectively hijacking millions of master shanghai airport they were made in china and destined for france then it's alleged the us paid $3.00 to $4.00 times the going rate to obtain the us denies the allegations but it's need is great. as the more than a 1000000 people diagnosed with the virus globally the u.s. has the highest number of infections and like many other countries is struggling to find enough protective equipment donald trump is under pressure new york and at the center of the virus will run short of ventilates is in a few days. despite u.s. strange relations by russia and china president donald trump says they'll take whatever he can get. it was

a very nice offer from president putin i spoke to him the other night as a child you and they had access to medical equipment things and i'll take it while you are with al jazeera live from london we're going to take you know it straight to the white house where donald trump is beginning the daily coronavirus update let's listen and have kevin say a few words so cabin please. thank you mr president and i would like to thank you and based of california governor newsome says it work that you're doing together is being working very closely has been affective in california as well vice president the president you know today mr president want to thank you especially for. work as secretary newton has done specially for small businesses just today alone so bank of america had more than 10000 lives. in 2 hours before anybody is in small business and 1st of all business when i was 20 years old you don't have income

coming in right now you get a loan but for your rent paying your employees and paying your utilities is a grant that's part of the cares act and i think you're going to find that a lot of small business is going to hire people back to keep them afloat for the next 2 months to get this economy moving again as we get through this virus i just want to thank you for richard thank you. for talking about. the case thank you very much everybody and i want to start by saying that their hearts go out to. people of new york as they bear the brunt of the cholera virus pandemic in america that seems to be the hot spot right now but you have some others as you know that are very very bad and louisiana is getting hit very hard parts of michigan are getting hit very very hard new jersey is. is surprisingly it's like cher greater than anybody would have thought the doing

a really good job governors doing a really good job there. new york 1st responders e.m.t. his doctors nurses it showing incredible courage under pressure they're the best in the world we will take every action and will spare no resource financial medical scientific we will not spare anything will. get back into shape the empire state the governor is doing an excellent job they're all working very hard together and at the request of the governor as you know the javits center we have 2500 beds and we're going to allow that to be a. system where this horrible disease can be looked after the patients can be looked after that was going to be for regular medical problems such as accidents and you know it's very interesting the governor's tell me we don't have too many accidents in the 1st few people driving.

so we're going to put that facility into play which is a big facility the ship will be staying the way it is but we're putting that facility into play to help them and today also the c.d.c. is announcing additional steps americans can take to defend against the transmission of the virus from recent studies we know that. the transmission from individuals without symptoms is playing a more significant role in the spread of the virus than previously understood so you don't seem to have symptoms and it still gets transferred in light of these studies the c.d.c. is advise in the use of non-medical cloth face covering as an additional voluntary public health measures so it's voluntary you don't have to do it they suggested for a period of time but this is voluntary i don't think i'm going to be doing it

but you have a lot of ways you can look at it as follows the c.d.c. is recommending that americans were a basic cloth or fabric masks that can be either purchased online or simply made at home from a bully material that did have a home these face coverings can be easily washed or reuse i want to emphasize that the c.d.c. is not recommending the use of medical grade or surgical grade masks and we want that to be used for a great medical people that are swer can so hard and do in some job medical protective gear must be reserved for the frontline health care workers who are performing those vital services the new mask guidelines also do not replace c.d.c.'s guidance on social distancing including staying in your home one possible standing at least 6 feet apart for a period of time again we're going to all come back together here would all come back together and practicing hand hygiene which we should do anyway

a lot of things i think are going to spill over shaking hands maybe will stay with our country for a long time be on this one of the one of our great doctors was tell me that as you know we have flus every year and the number of people. killed by the flu is very substantial said that if they didn't shake hands that number would be substantially lower so maybe it'll stay maybe some of these things long term will be good but those guidelines are still the best in the save this way to avoid the infection so with the masks it's going to be. really a voluntary thing you can do it you don't have to do it i'm choosing not to do it but some people may want to do it and that's ok it may be good probably will that make it a recommendations only recommendations voluntary. we're also taking action to

ensure the cost of no barrier to any american seeking testing or treatment of the coronavirus the largest insurer nationwide the blue cross blue shield system has now announced that it will not require any co-pays which is really something that's a tremendous statement from patients of the virus treatment for the next 60 days similar to the commitments of cigna humanity anthem. great companies and they're all doing the same thing so co-pays for them to do that is it's a big statement he appreciated today i can so proudly announce that hospitals and health care providers treating uninsured corona virus patients will be reimbursed by the federal government using funds from the economic relief package congress passed less month that was as per the question yesterday and actually the day before yesterday this should alleviate any concern uninsured americans may have

about seeking the coronavirus treatment so that's i think answers the question pretty well and very much in the favor of our great people i'm also signing a directive invoking the defense production active prohibit export of scarce health and medical supplies by unscrupulous actors and profiteers the security and secretary the secretary of homeland security will work with thema to prevent the export of a 95 respirators surgical mask gloves and other personal protective equipment we need these items immediately for domestic use we have to have them but we've done really well with. the purchase of items and you'll be hearing about that shortly we've already leverage the d.p.a. to stop the hoarding and price gouging of crucial supplies. yes under that authority this week the department of health and human services worker with the

department of justice took custody of nearly 200095 respirators 130000 surgical masks 600000 gloves as well as bottles many many many bottles and disinfectant sprays that were being courted all of this material is now being given to health care workers most of it's already been given out and we've given a lot to new york a lot to new jersey a lot of other places in addition to ensure that health care workers in new york have the protective equipment they need the federal government. in the name of the department of defense is providing about 8100000 in 95 respirators department of defense and we've already given 200000 of them to new york city mayor de blasio needed them very badly so we got them to mid to

plus in new york city they were very grateful 8100000 and we're going to be increasing that number from 8100000 to more that's a lot of in 95 respirators today my team spoke with the c.e.o. of our shin or health and the c.e.o. of el c.m.c. the 2 largest health systems in new orleans they said they feel that they currently have enough ventilators i think a lot of people are going to have enough ventilators and masks and appreciate what we did and all of the things we've been doing with them working with them. the c.e.o. of our share warner thomas who's really been fantastic i have to say indicated a need 423-0000 surgical gowns an unstructured fema to deliver them tomorrow so that i have the 230000 that's louisiana new orleans 230000 surgical gowns they'll have them by tomorrow. we're expanding the role of

the armed forces in our response effort because no one is better prepared to win a war than the united states military and we are in a war the invisible enemy remember over 9000 retired army medical personnel have answered their nation's call and are now supporting field hospitals and medical facilities all across the country like what i just told you that governor cuomo requested we do something in javits where we take it over and we're going to have that manned by the military because it's very tough to get people more people into the new york area so we're going to have it manned by the military javits center national guard members have been activated to help states build new treatment centers and assist in the same as distribution of medical supplies that includes national guard the national guard is assisting very strongly because the states

were in many cases unable to have the delivery capability from warehouses and other places that we. put the supplies so i've given approval to use the national guards of various national guards in the different states and they're doing a fantastic job of not only protecting people but delivering material the army corps of engineers has assessed more than 100 facilities at all 50 states and is rapidly building temporary hospitals and alternative care sites in many states in new york new jersey michigan pennsylvania arizona california colorado florida illinois new mexico oregon washington wisconsin ohio. they're doing a lot of work and just those states plus additional that are being will be announced probably tomorrow but they're doing some job the army corps of engineers

what a job they're doing and fema what a job they're doing as we deploy the power of our military we're also deploying the skill of our doctors scientists and medical researchers we continue to study the effectiveness of hydroxy flora quinn and other therapies in the treatment of prevention of the virus and we will keep the american people fully informed enough awnings hydroxy plurk when. i don't know it's looking like it's having some good results i hope that that would be a phenomenal thing but we have it right now in approximately now it's increased to 1500 people i spoke with doctors occurred in new york terrific guy by the way it's we're doing a good job and i spoke to governor cuomo last evening and this morning about it so it's been there for about 3 and a half days but i think and with many other places it's being tested to and we have a tremendous supply of it we've ordered it in the case that it works and. it's

could have some pretty big impacts and we'll see what happens my administration is also working to get relief to american workers and businesses in day one of the paycheck protection program as kevin said more than 3 point $5000000000.00 in guaranteed loans have been processed to help small businesses keep their workers employed during the unprecedented time this unprecedented time and. bank of america has been incredible of the big banks bank of america has really stepped forward and done a great and then you have the community banks the smaller banks and we're already at 3500000000 dollars going out to. incredible people but that's way ahead of schedule the s.b.a. and the treasurer work it around the clock and our banking partners are really incredible and they're ensuring that the money gets to small businesses as quickly

as possible and then the small business in turn take care of employees that they would have had to let go and now they'll keep them and that's good and then they can open for business and they're going to have their employees and we'll try and get back to where we were eventually we're going to supersede where we were the energy industry has been especially hard hit in the crisis this afternoon i met with greg garland a phillips 66 dave hager of devon energy harold hamm of continental resources jeff hildebrand of hill corp energy vicki hall of occidental petroleum mike summers of the american petroleum institute kelsey warren of energy transfer partners mike worth of chevron and darrin woods of exxon mobil i informed them that we will be making space available in the strategic petroleum reserve to let american produce a store surplus oil that can be sold at

a later time there's a tremendous abundance of oil. primarily because of the virus the viruses just stop the demand of everything polluting oil so we're working with our great energy companies are great companies employ tens of thousands hundreds of thousands of people and they've kept america. really going for a long time and no big price hikes no big anything and they just kept it going and now they got it but with all the jobs and all of the good that they do we're going to make sure that they stay in good shape america is engaged in a historic battle to safeguard the lives of our citizens our future society our greatest weapon is the discipline and determination of every citizen to stay at home and stay healthy for a long time and we want them to stay healthy for a long time so stay at home this is ending this will end you'll see some bad things

and then he goes he's a really good things and it's not going to be too long we will heal our citizens and we will care for our neighbors and we will unleash the full might of the united states of america to vanquish the virus and with that i'd like to ask mike pence to come up vice presidents a few words and we'll have a couple of other. quick talks on a couple of subjects who will take questions and it's a beautiful friday in washington d.c. . and our country's a great place and we're getting better we're getting better very quickly this was artificially induced we just said they said close it down you have to close it and we closed it down and we're healing we're going to get it better fast so mike if you could come up to save you. thank you mr president the president just outlined a number of the decision that he made today the unanimous recommendation of the

white house coronavirus task force. in addition to some good news dr deborah burch will reflect on a moment and some of the areas across america where we see evidence that the mitigation efforts the american people putting into practice the president's coronavirus guidelines are are having a positive effect in fact and today california and washington state where the coronavirus 1st emerged in our country remain the cases remain at a steady but low rate and we know as governor newsome said yesterday that they're not out of the woods yet we continue to flow resources but we want to commend the people in those states and all across the country we're putting into practice the social distancing and all the measures that state and local leaders are advising and that. and that the president has been advising in the coronavirus guidelines

for america. we're also continuing to track significant outbreaks in new york state new orleans detroit chicago and boston and as president indicated we're prioritizing resources to support health care workers and to support those that are dealing with the coronavirus in those communities on the subject of testing now more than 1400000 tests have been performed across the country and as you all are aware some 266000 americans have tested positive for the corona virus. abbott instruments which now can perform a 15 minute test across the country have literally 800000 of their machines across the nation today but at the president's direction fema is acquiring over 1200 more machines to distribute to every state public health lab in america and also to our indian health care service and the big news of course over the last few days was

that the f.d.a. once again in near record time has approved an antibody test developed by cell x. and we're continuing on the white house coronavirus task force to examine ways that we can scale up these rapid tests in these innovative new tests not just to meet this moment but to lay foundation for testing across the nation in the months ahead as president mentioned he met with energy executives today and continues to engage with leaders of businesses all across the nation we also help to hold a teleconference today with commercial retailers on the president's behalf we thank them for the way that people that operate malls and shopping centers around the country have have had have embraced and enacted the coronavirus guidelines for america has had enormous impact on their businesses and their industries but i heard i heard from them there their patriotic commitment to put

the health of their associates and their customers 1st and it was deeply inspiring on the subject of supplies the president detailed our work in that space it continues to this day part of our air bridge we had a flight arrive from china today to columbus ohio we continue to work each and every day watching the data about cases to ensure that in particular not just the personal protective equipment is available for the health care workers that are on the front line. but also the ventilators are available as the as as this epidemic makes its way through through regions and communities we're literally working hour by hour day by day to make sure that patients families and health care providers have the equipment and the support that they need as the president mentioned we've we've seen over a 1000000000 and a half dollars of loans go out through the paycheck protection program today we

have available for questions the head of the c.d.c. today to speak about the new guidance on cloth face coverings and secretary a's are in a few moments we'll explain. just how the president's decision to make sure that no american will ever have to worry about paying for testing or for coronavirus treatment i'm pleased to report at the president's direction medicaid and medicare already expanded to coronavirus treatment and testing early on and of course the president just indicated how major insurance companies across the country are not just waiving co-pays on testing but they're now waiving co-pays for at least 60 days on any any coronavirus treatment but now a secretary is our will numerate and i will make sure that any american even those that have no insurance will be able to receive treatment in a hospital and never have to worry about the bill i just give

a gentle reminder to every american if there is evidence across the country that you're putting into practice. the coronavirus guidelines for america every american has a role to play and i want to thank you on behalf of the president and and all of the american people for the way that you're stepping forward here gauging in the social distancing and doing the things that will slow the spread we encourage you to keep on keepin on we will get through this america. we will get through the coronavirus to the. a day of the new health renewed prosperity that the president always described but will get through there sooner and will be through there when we work together. but. thank you mr vice president mr president thank you for your words of discipline and determination i guess that really describes what we're asking every american to really be

disciplined about these guidelines and really determined to stay in that space of execution you know we are just in week 3. of this full guidance measure and we really do appreciate the work of the citizens of california and washington state because we do see that there curve is different there curve is different from new york new jersey and connecticut and we really believe that the work that every citizen is doing in those states is making a difference and it will make a difference for the front line health care providers we also are deeply grateful despite the way their curve looks today they continue to get ready for a different potential so that they can ensure that patients if they do get sick have options and availability to all the front line health care workers in the what we have referred to as hot zones areas where the number of cases are quite

significant the new orleans the new york city metro area including new jersey and connecticut the incredible work that the frontline health care workers are providing we really working now at a much more granular level talking directly to hospitals to ensure that they have the supplies that they need in coordination with state and local governments and to work i think we discussed it yesterday but i think it was quite clear also in reiterated by governor cuomo today that we have to support one another as each of these different metro areas and other areas move through their peak of new infections. when we talked about it at the beginning of this week we talked about this week and next week being incredibly difficult and we want to recognize the number of americans who have lost their lives to this virus and recognize the

sacrifice that health care providers are making both in their care and i think where i'm very uplifted by hearing their messages to families and their compassion for others to provide that kind of support to the individuals in the hospital we continue to watch in addition the chicago area the detroit area and have some developing concerns around colorado the district of columbia and pennsylvania so as you can see each of these will follow their own curves it will be getting more and more of those case over time information in a very granular way to each and every one of us so that we can follow these epidemic epidemiologic curves as each of these states counties and communities move through this together and solidarity and really ensuring that we can move supplies creatively around the country to meet the needs of both the frontline health care providers but also every american who needs our support right now thank you thank

you. well thank you mr president for your continued leadership as we battle the coronavirus 1st i want to thank all of the members of the h.h.s. team and the front line health care workers across america including those who those service workers who serve in our hospitals our health care facilities those who clean those who deliver those who stalk the show ok we're going to this white house briefing for the moment it's taking that coronavirus task force briefing we have. several things that may be updated numbers one quarter of a 1000000 americans supposed to feel cool a virus. when 6800 americans have died of the virus so far and one of the main things to come out of this is new guidelines issued by the c.d.c.

the for americans to follow let's get more now from all to serious as she have the tansy he's in washington d.c. for us and has been following that briefing at lots to pick over there she had better ed 1st of all the that changing guidance from the c.d.c. they're no. good saying you can wear a cloth face mask it's voluntary and president trump says he's not going to do it what more can you tell us about this you know president didn't really seem to be hugely convinced by the new guidelines that has to be searched but the house going this debate we've been reporting on for several days now between those who say look these masks will prevent the spread of infection based not to keep you safe that's not the best you who are affecting others so there is going to be said however the argument against that assertion is what you thought well public misunderstand that i don't think ok what's free for we should get and maybe 5 parts surgical masks

which should be reserved for those who are treating people with the current virus those are fair people misunderstand the director and truly would lead to a lack of inhibition people that would cause i'm. also a reason to want you wearing a mask you may stop touching your face even more so these are so no debate going on and it appears no absolute cited by the c.d.c. at least but. there are all the tree all and only terribly there are lots of people if you feel like you want to do it do it side in a reality check out straight it's all it's all it's all amounted to bring you out you should wear a mask i want to go there beyond that there is some international implications are concerned with what we have and it's also to do with mosques donald trump announcing that they would be prohibiting x. walked off and 95 mosques and other personal protective equipment is pretty significant we know there's been

a spot where the last few days between preamble the producer of these mosques the white house and we it was reported earlier today that the white house ordered 3 m. to not export any of the and 95 mosques. manufacturing here in the u.s. have overcome i am going to cut you off there because the present is now taking questions i imagine this and 95 mask as she was something that's likely to come up let's listen back in at see that press conference i just don't want to be doing i don't know somehow sitting in the oval office behind that beautiful resolute desk the great resolute desk i think and wearing a face mask as a great presidents prime ministers dictators kings queens. i don't see it for myself i just i just maybe i'll change my mind but this will pass and hopefully it'll pass very quickly now with that being said if somebody

wants to. most people can just make something out of a certain material so it's very well designated it's very simple to do. i will be doing it personally it's a recommendation ok would you like to see the former surgeon general place. thank you mr president mr vice president mr secretary and 50 director redfield i especially want to thank the folks 'd at the c.d.c. and it's a great question that you ask if a fair question that you ask. i want to unpack the evolution of our guidance on math because it has been confusing to the american people 1st of all i want people to understand that the c.d.c. the world health organization my office in most public health and health organizations and professionals originally recommended against the general public wearing masks because based on the best evidence available at the time it was not

the that that would have a significant impact on whether or not a healthy person wearing a mask would contract coded 1000 we have always recommended that symptomatic people wear a mask because if you're coughing if you have a fever if you're symptomatic you could transmit disease to other people what is changed in our recommendation well it's important to know that we now know from recent studies that if they can if it can't portion of individuals with corona virus that lack symptoms they're what we call asymptomatic and that even those who have been truly become priests informatic meaning that they will develop symptoms in the future can transmit the virus to others before they show symptoms and it means that the virus can spread between people interacting in close proximity for example coughing speaking or sneezing even if those people were not exhibiting symptoms and light of this new evidence c.d.c. recommends in the task force recommends where in cloth face coverings in public the

public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain. these include places like grocery stores and pharmacies we especially recommend this in areas of significant community based transmission. it is critical and the president mentioned this the vice president mentioned this it's critical to emphasize that maintaining 6 feet of social distancing remains key to slowing the spread of the virus but c.d.c. additionally advising the use of simple cough coverings to slow the spread of the virus and to help people who may have the virus and do not know it. from transmitting it to others the cloth face coverings recommended or not surgical mask or in 95 respirators those are critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for health care workers and other medical 1st responders as recommended by the current c.d.c. guidance as the president also mentioned claw face covering fashion from household items are made at home from common materials that low cost can be used as an

additional voluntary public health measure and this recommendation compliments and does not replace the president's coronavirus guidelines for america 30 days to slow the spread which remains the cornerstone of our national effort to slow the spread of the virus c.d.c. is always always looking at the data we've told you that from the beginning dr burke said that every single press conference we're looking at the data we're evolving our recommendations and new recommendations will come as the evidence dictates so i want to say if you do choose to wear a face mask very important wash your hands 1st because you don't want to put on a face covering with a dirty hand do not touch your face while you are wearing the face covering because again you can take materials from the surface germs from the surface and bring it to your face if you choose to wear a face covering please please leave the in 95 mask the medical supplies for the medical professional health care workers and frontline workers know that this is

not a substitute for social distancing and remember this is all about me protecting you and you protecting me this is about us coming together as communities and if people voluntarily choose to. face to face covering they're wearing it to protect their neighbors from getting the coronavirus because again they could have a symptomatic spread so mr president thank you very much for that ship the opportunity where you're joining us here on al-jazeera as we're listening live to the white house cone of virus task force grief saying president trump is taking questions on the issue of face masks in the c.d.c. guidance instruct saying people they can voluntarily wear a close face covering but not the medical grade masks that is pro provoking much debate and discussion the.