al-jazeera. spurred on by president trump protesters keep the pressure on u.s. state governors to ease coronavirus lockdown restrictions. fully bacteria watching al-jazeera live from doha beaches in florida are reopened even as experts warn ending stay at home waters too soon could prove disastrous in trying to stop covert 19 also ahead in other news 15 prominent pro-democracy activists are released on bail in hong kong having been accused of organizing mass

protest will have a knife records plus. the stars come out for health care workers around the globe. thank you very much for joining us protests against sweeping stay at home orders across the u.s. have putting more pressure on state governments to ease restrictions meant to combat the spread of the coronavirus they're being spurred on by president donald trump who wants to get the economy back up and running addressing the media on saturday trump said they were positive signs the virus had passed its peak but experts are warning that moving too fast could prove disastrous and you got to get reports from miami. after weeks of stay at home odors hundreds flocked to the

reopened beaches in jacksonville florida the medical of this controversial move as essential activity even as a state hit more than 27000 coronavirus cases it's what authorities call a pathway back to normal life. but in other parts of the u.s. the scenes a very different across the country a small but growing protest movement is calling for restrictions to be eased from utah to wisconsin in both republican and democratic led states people are taking to the streets urging a return to normal life we are still a free country at least for now and people have to make a decision and that's their personal decision if they don't want to be 6 feet apart or 7 peter peter parker i can't i can't dictate to that to them despite declaring that individual governess are in charge president donald trump seemed to encourage the protests in a series of tweets on friday all 3 states have democratic governor as his tacit

support is seen as deeply political in a time of crisis i know it is there are a lot of protests out there and i just think that some of the governors have gotten carried away you know we have a lot of people that don't have to be told to do what they're doing they've been really. doing everything we best and in new york the epicenter of the pandemic measures to ease restrictions still far off the state's governor says this is no time to play politics how does the situation get worse and get worse quickly if you politicize all that emotion we can not go there. that's where i work so hard when anyone raises any political agenda to me i work so hard to distance myself from it. some states are beginning to ease restrictions many are still battling the coronavirus and testing is in short supply the desire

to get back to some kind of normal is clear the careful approach to doing so vital thank you very much a nation divided it was perhaps inevitable the politics would play a part no matter what challenges lie ahead throughout this crisis the mantra has been we're in it together but any sense of unity now seems to be falling apart conservatives believe the cure is worse than the disease others and used to be a more science based approach the fact remains many states a yet to peek in their coronavirus cases the decisions governors make now will be crucial but that hasn't stopped some trying to score political points gallacher al-jazeera miami florida and the u.s. president is being accused of stoking islamophobia after he raised questions about social distancing roles in mosques during the month of ramadan a white house correspondent kimberly hellcats has more there are increasing questions about a retreat by u.s.

president trump on saturday accusations he may be stoking islamophobia in the united states the reach we read let's see if authorities enforce the social distancing orders for mosques during ramadan like they did churches during easter i asked the president about this retreat here's what he had to say i didn't put it back go ahead please just think that the moms but it followed something like i think i just got a call with the moms i just had a call with ministers rabbis we had a tremendous go with the faith leaders no i don't think that at all i am somebody that believes in faith. and it matters not what your faith is but our politicians seem to treat different faiths very differently and they seem to think and i don't know what happened with their country but. the christian faith is treated much differently than it was and i think it's treated very unfairly now when it comes to enforcing social distancing the department of justice did take on the case of at

least one church in mississippi where worshipers attended in their automobiles with the car windows rolled up the department of justice said that these worshippers were simply exercising their right under the 1st amendment of the u.s. constitution now many in the united states watching very carefully to see if this same effort will be applied when it comes to those who may want to celebrate during ramadan which begins in the u.s. on thursday spain's coronavirus death toll has passed 20000 deaths a 3rd country to mark the unwelcome milestone after its me and the u.s. it reported another $565.00 deaths on saturday but the toll continues to rise at a snow a pace and tests have also shown a no infection rate a health care workers in madrid celebrated when part of a makeshift hospital was close to treating more than a 1000 patients by mr petrel sanchez says he will ask on

a man to extend the state of emergency until may 9th and will relax the confinement for children before that blemish movie thumping do not we are contemplating a slow march towards the new normality it will be slow we want to be progressive with maximum precautions with mockers and with criteria that can be evaluated in all territories to know exactly what the degree of the pandemic is want to know the evolution of the pandemic if it's controlled or not and consequently what steps we can take. israel will begin lifting its locked on from sunday after more than one month in operation prime minister benjamin netanyahu says restrictions will be relaxed in a gradual way some businesses will be allowed to reopen and controls and movement will be now south korea has announced its daily tally of new corona virus infections and for the 1st time in 2 months it's in the single digits just 8 new cases were confirmed over the past day south korea has been praised for its

widespread testing program despite the da more trend officials are warning of a possible renewed spread as people ease up on social distancing. health care facilities in latin america's worst affected countries are being pushed to their limits the corona virus outbreak in brazil is putting hospitals under increasing strain while in ecuador's forests has to kill the system is on the brink of collapse reports. coffins laid one next to the other in what the capital of war yes province called weed 19 has left thousands of people dead here in the past few weeks not only in gusty just father was one of them but when he went to the overwhelm or to recover him he opened a body back to find the person inside wasn't his father. i told them type the name of that man that's not my dad where is my father i asked they told me it's impossible to find him so come inside the morgue and see if it's him we open the

body bags and some of them are women but my dad wasn't there. coronavirus has cost the health care system in was acute a collapse the government revealed this week that almost 6700 people died the 1st 2 weeks of april when there is normally 1000 the problem is that most of those who died were not tested experts say that figures in latin america may not be realistic because there is not enough testing accessing testing kits it's a major challenge for most governments in the region more data is what will allow countries in latin america adapt to what is happening on the ground. an investigation carried out by a consortium of universities and researchers revealed that brazil is likely to have 12 times more cases of the new corona virus than he's being officially reported by the government this video from a now's in the state of our shows bodies lying next to patients being treated folk over 1000 hospitals in brazil's major cities are struggling to cope. i

came to the hospital with my brother and after that i did not receive any other information the clothes he was wearing were the clothes he kept a lack of hospital beds intensive care units and medical gear has been a major cause for concern not only in brazil but also in the region that's why experts say testing needs to increase to prevent the spread of the virus. i think testing needs to be more aggressive than in europe or southeast asia because we have a population that has preexisting conditions like diabetes high blood pressure and it's not only affecting their lowly testing is what allows you to plan accordingly if not it's like driving in the dark. most governments in the region say testing is a major challenge because of lack of logistics and resources and with cases on the rice it's a struggle that for most countries has just begun. now

authorities in iran have allowed some businesses to reopen with the government saying it's time to shift the focus back to the economy but some health experts are warning it may be too soon from tehran james ravi reports. after nearly 2 months of being closed because of the corona virus businesses in the iranian capital are waking up from their hibernation for main street shops like this in open areas the city's prime real estate it is business as usual but for covered markets where there are bottlenecks where dense crowds can gather the government says it's still too dangerous to open up any of the shops in those spaces but the traders we've spoken to in teheran is back alley bazaars they've told us that not only have they not made any money for months but it will take many more months to get back on their feet they say they too need to pay their rent and meet their expenses let alone try to turn a profit and that they hope that the government lifts the remaining control

measures entirely in the coming weeks now president hassan rouhani has championed the idea of what he calls smart distancing things start going back to normal but people simultaneously maintain strict rules of hygiene but iran's deputy health minister who contracted coby 1000 himself in recent days he said that iran is the country's achilles heel a weak point when it comes to fighting this fire its and government figures do suggest that the infection and death rates are going down and everyone here also hopes that it stays that way but the government has now effectively shifted the onus to put the onus on its people and after weeks of being indoors there is this isolation fatigue there is toward them so people here are ready to go back to work it's more crowded in downtown to run than it has been in weeks but there are also skeptical voices in the government that say the rush to reopen could backfire and that people in the country should be prepared for the possibility of a 2nd wave of the virus. still ahead on al-jazeera no jobs no money and no

food we look at the challenges facing iraq's economy and its citizens must. look. toward one world together at home the global concert to support halfway it's. i know that still the snow is coming down across more nolan and the east and areas of the united states this kidding away from the great lakes on into new england that is where the winter weather warnings have been however plenty of snow across the central plains this is denver this is actually some crab apple blossom and then across into nebraska laurel snow lying on the branches of this plum blossom but it will be clearing because the temperatures are on the rise what we watched on sunday

is once again across the southern states because we will be saying more potentially severe thunderstorms developing on the developed fairly rapidly and push across much of the southeast that's in the northeast the way we could still see want to areas of rain sleet some lake effect snow coming off of the lakes towards the east . across the west too on sunday but by monday that clay is but this is what happens our system in the south works this way up into the mid atlantic and works its way steadily up the eastern side of the u.s. so as to say washing out all the time for the next couple of days to see if any severe storms to develop and then quite a different picture across the caribbean and central america we've got a really quite calm picture on sunday just areas of scattered showers a cool to the north you can see that rain working its way pushing down into northern areas of florida further south on monday but again a fairly quiet picture a warming can cooed.

the great lock down to sink. in 25. seventh's pick the strain of the pandemic story. mean for gold. europe's colonial. just. know what's happening in our region we know how to get to places that others cannot the fires are still ongoing how do we make you tell the story is what can make it different. the the end. of the i. welcome back our top stories on al-jazeera this hour pressure is mounting on u.s. governors to ease coronavirus lockdown boozed with protests encouraged by donald

trump held in several states for the fair day in a row the president says some states will begin easing restrictions as early as monday spain's coronavirus death toll has passed $20000.00 is the 3rd country to mark the unwelcome mild so and after italy and the u.s. and turkey has replaced iran as a country with the highest recorded number of covert 1000 cases in the middle east more than 82000 infections have been confirmed that. are let's turn to other world news now and police in hong kong have released on bail 15 of the best known for democracy politicians and activists they're due to appear in court next month all are accused of organizing illegal rallies last year when months of mass anti-government protests turned hong kong streets into a battleground diego palin has our report. the list of her rested reads like the who's who upon const democratic movement among them are present and former legislative councillors prominent activist

a man known as the father of democracy in hong kong we are here to 81 year old martin lee is one of the architects of the basic law the city's many constitution which essentially safeguards the territories autonomy he had stepped away from the political spotlight in recent years but was vocal about his support for the protests last year. before i have no regrets for what i've done i feel proud to walk the path of democracy these outstanding young protesters. it's the 2nd time this year businessman and media tycoon jimmy lie has been arrested. they have been arrested on suspicion of organizing and taking part in illegal assembly the government has released a statement saying the arrests were made based on evidence and were in accordance to the law seems that government is coming out remind them that you have since you have to see the end of. a mask and continue and you've been in that time of crisis

during all these i have to make. on this of the movement the arrests come up to a week of turmoil in the legislative council members tussled with the opposition democrats for control of the weekly meeting agenda in an unusual move china's representative office in hong kong waded in to denounce the pro-democracy group the beijing liaison office monitors developments in hong kong and reports back to the chinese government but for the 1st time it's stated it has the right to supervise local affairs and is exempt from across in the constitution which restricts interference from any department directly under beijing's control. that's provoking we need fierce amongst democracy supporters already alarmed at china's tightening grip on hong kong since last june more than $7000.00 people have been arrested for their involvement in the protests many are charged with biting which

carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years. this year there has been a low in the protests mostly due to the karuna virus pandemic the government has banned all gatherings of more than 4 people to enforce social distancing but protesters and democracy activists say government leaders are making the most of the distracted public along with trying to wipe out the virus wiping out any dissent is the aim too they say. and let's get the latest now from david who joins us live from hong kong so a day via tell us 1st about what's likely to happen next and also what's been the response to these arrests. well foley there has been a much international interest and what is happening here in hong kong with the u.k. and the u.s. government have questioned the validity of these arrests particularly mentioning martin leno he has is very well known both in the international community and of

course here in hong kong and very well respected not just amongst the democracy camp but also among people who support beijing he has said that he he doesn't believe our he doesn't blame the hong kong government for his arrest he says that he believes it's beijing that's behind the directive to round up a prominent pro-democracy activist he also says that this is all part of the communist party trying to tighten its control on hong kong now as far as we action from the probate chain camp here that has been mostly muted that mostly just echoed what the hong kong government has said mainly being that this is all being done in accordance to the law and this is not politically motivated but i must mention quite an interesting development now the chinese state media has mentioned the arrest of all these prominent people on the micro-blogging site that way both the chinese government doesn't usually like any kind of discussion on how comes to mock

received democracy movements or anyone to do with democracy in hong kong but they seem to have allowed much chatter about this and predictably the kind of comments we're seeing are mainly from people who support the arrests who are calling for greater restrictions in hong kong and also are calling for greater support of hong kong's police hong kong is believed to be on the tail end of its crew on a virus outbreak there are still very strict social distancing measures in place the reaction from pro-democracy activists human rights activists have been mainly to call on people to support those who have been arrested but also saying that they're not calling for action right now due to the restrictions due to the fact that the government is battling the corona virus outbreak but they're calling on their supporters to be prepared thank you for that update dig upon in life for us in hong kong. now an investigation is underway in chad after

a fighter jet accidentally fired a missile killing 5 civilians including children this is a moment when the rocket shot out as the su $25.00 attack aircraft prepared to take off from an airbase in the capital gem maina the missile went through a fuel truck and naturally missed a french fighter jet before hitting the house bordering the international airports in libya forces loyal to the un recognized government of battling to recapture a stronghold of warlord holly for have to are the western city of tire who is where many of his men come from government forces say they killed 10 of have tossed fighters and captured dozens in retaliation after forces intensified shelling on residential areas in tripoli. had reports. rockets launched it boy of forces loyal to have to hit injured civilians in civil districts of libya's capital. the barrage of rockets was in the retaliation for the

offensive by those backing a deal and the recognize the government in tripoli to recapture horner. the city around 90 kilometers southeast of tripoli is have to the major stronghold in the west of the country and the operations headquarters of the year long campaign to capture the capital. and. we've launched this attack to cut the supply line coming to their positions in southern tripoli we advance to 27 kilometers inside the administers of borders of thought who are and are now in control of the area. where. government forces say they killed some pro half the fighters and captured dozens of prisoners in saturday's advance on top of whom. we had fallen from several axes we captured

a number of the forces weapons and military vehicles the move was ordered by our operation room we will win the battle. damage unity of have to his forces fighting in the suburban of southern tripoli come from tara who now many of them abandoned their battle to seize tripoli to return home to defend their city the pullout has helped the government forces make gains in other front lines past us forces it lost many areas along the coast of western libya last week the battle for the horn is seen as crucial because if it falls into the hands of the internationally recognized the government signals the dell and fall of have to as forces in the entire area. tripoli. to iraq now which has been hit by political instability that he thanked if he has

left it without a government and now a shot decline in oil prices is affecting its economy as they want to hold in right or some back to us for 13 years mohamed moved out his bike to work at the nearby power station and he has continued to do so despite not having been paid since the beginning of this year he is among hundreds of government contractors in baghdad who salaries have been delayed because of a deepening fiscal crisis brought a shot by the sharp decline in oil prices. i don't care about the oil prices if it's going up or going down because i don't get a benefit from it i just demand my salary it's the most basic right as an iraqi citizen with 3000000 employees the government is iraq's biggest employer thousands more like mohamed are subcontracted as part of government projects they are the 1st to feel the pinch as authorities are forced to tighten spending now they will be sure they're going to be if these projects can't get funded they will stop it as a result the salaries will also stop for the daily work is in addition to this

maybe the economic crisis will also impact the series of the permanent stuff the iraqi government relies on oil from the early 90 percent of its revenues. the 2020 draft budget with calculated at $56.00 per barrel with $6600000000.00 in oil income expected every month but in march iraq earned only $2990000000.00 at a price of $28.00 per barrel that has left over a $1000000000.00 short of the $4700000000.00 it needs for salaries and pensions alone cutting salaries is an unpopular measure so what other options that the government have borrowing is one but iraq is. so small base they discovered the 2nd way to do this is so the wars use less to support. things. 'd that.

come with that's a serious economic reforms the government has resisted such reforms in the past now matters have been further complicated by a political crisis months of protests have left the government leaderless and unable to prove to serious budget let alone mount a decisive response today come on the crisis the next government will have no choice but to introduce a stair to measures and that is likely to spark a new cycle of unrest mohamed doesn't have time to wait for a new government to put food on the table has been borrowing money from friends and family and taking credits at his local shop and if we stay like this without salaries we cannot provide food for our families we will see a decline in our living standards analysts say what iraq needs are structural reforms to diversify its economy create private sector jobs downsize its public sector and stop corruption but such reforms need time time iraq currently does not have simona fulton al jazeera. now some of the biggest names in the music industry

have joined forces for an online charity concert to honor health care workers around the world the event has raised $50000000.00 so far for the un's call the 1000 response fund it very good to be has a story. my. he's performed for huge crowds in stadiums but on saturday night stevie wonder sang from his living room the fans watching that as superstars of the music world were united in a common cause in a time of crisis. this time our leaders that we needed to strengthen the health care systems all round the world so that crises like this never happens again. the one world concert organized by lady gaga and the charity global citizen is the biggest

music events is the coronavirus shutdown concerts and spurred a flurry of live streamed performances by quarantine musicians who have been humbled by the bravery and selflessness of doctors nurses and other key workers. to those in the food industry the livery workers mail carriers and sanitation working so that we can be safe in our homes we thank you for yourself mr. black america disproportionate to be's essential parts of the workforce i do not have the luxury of working. this concert is being compared inevitably to live a the 1985 benefit organized by bob geldof to raise money for starving ethiopians the question of how much concepts such as these benefit the people they aim to help is always quickly debated but organizers say this concert is about entertainment and solidarity at a time when many people are living under lockdown what i'd like to do tonight if i

can and just give him the permission to pharma. bring. the concert has raised tens of millions of dollars safe for the un's k. $1000.00 response fund its all safe it is detention on health care workers who in many people's eyes other real stance victoria gave him be al-jazeera. clear again i'm fully back to go with the headlines on al-jazeera pressure is mounting on u.s. governors to ease coronavirus lock down roles with their protests encouraged by donald trump held in several states for the 3rd day in a row the president says some states will begin easing restrictions as early as

monday after order has started already as andy gallagher every for some miami while this is in jacksonville in the north of the state and the city's mayor basically declaring that going to the beach and swimming in the ocean were part of essential services so those beaches did reopen in the last 24 hours and were immediately crowded by people who've been locked away for the past few weeks i'm not sure whether it was policed in any way whether people were staying in groups of 10 or less but this is really going to the heart of what's happening in each of these states is becoming a politicized thing. spain's coronavirus death toll has fast 20000 it's the 3rd country to mark the unwelcome mind so and after italy and the us turkey meanwhile has replaced iran as a country with the highest recorded number of calls in $1000.00 cases in the middle east more than $82000.00 infections have been confirmed israel will begin lifting its lockdown from sunday more than a month after it started some businesses will be allowed to reopen and controls on

movement will be relaxed the coronavirus pandemic is putting hospitals in brazil under increasing strain a refrigeration unit was sent to a hospital in monohulls after this video emerged said to show bodies being kept in bags next to patients in other news 15 of hong kong's most prominent pro-democracy politicians and activists have been released on bail hours after they were arrested they're accused of organizing illegal rallies during months of anti-government protests last year and in chad an investigation is underway after a fighter jet accidentally fired a missile killing 5 civilians including children the missile went through a fuel truck and narrowly missed a french fighter jet before hitting a house near the capital say a fort that's it up to date with the headlines here on al jazeera more on our website on jazeera dot com counting the cost is next stay with us. as corona virus continues to devastate the united states the race to the white house goes on joe

biden has secured his place is the democratic nominee but can he beat trump joining us for continuing coverage of the u.s. election 2020 on al-jazeera. hello i'm daryn jordan this is counting the cost on al-jazeera your look at the world of business and economics this week the coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc across sub-saharan africa nations turn to the i.m.f. and world bank to see them through the crisis the biggest oil production cut in history but album on a case of the persian gulf about to blow their wealth and just how low oil prices.