the bill as amended is passed. >> one step closer to covid relief as u.s. president joe biden's even news stimulus package clears a partisan hurdle. we will tell you when americans should start receiving relieve checks. pope francis on the last leg of his historic trip to iraq, set to visit a church once destroyed by isis. plus, royal rumble. queen elizabeth will speak to her nation, then hours later it's harry and meghan's turn to open up with oprah. live from cnn world headquarters in atlanta, welcome to all of you watching here in the united states, canada and around the world, i'm kim brunhuber. this is "cnn newsroom." ♪

millions of american families and businesses trying to get through the pandemic are a big step closer to getting a desperately needed financial boost. the u.s. senate narrowly passed president biden's massive $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package on saturday. some of that money could start appearing in bank accounts before the end of the month. now, it includes $1,400 per person to those who qualify and unemployed americans could get a $300 increase to their jobless benefits through september 6th. this is biden's first major legislative win since his election even as senate republicans flatly rejected efforts to make it a bipartisan measure. >> now this bill returns to the house of representatives, which has done a great job from the beginning. we're hopeful we will find quick passage so it can be sent to my desk to be signed into law. >> cnn's jessica dean has more of what's included in the

stimulus bill and the next steps to getting it passed in the house. >> reporter: the senate passing this massive covid relief bill right along party lines, 50/49, but it passes a major hurdle. we now anticipate it goes over to the house where they plan to vote on the changes made on tuesday and then it goes to president biden's desk. president biden pledging that families will begin to receive those stimulus payments as soon as this month. and this is a massive bill. in addition to those $1,400 payments it also has money in it for reopening schools, for unemployment benefits, for state and local governments as well as vaccines and vaccine distribution, child tax credits are in here. it is a big bill that touches so many pieces of the american economy. here is majority leader chuck schumer on that partisan vote. >> now that we are in the majority they don't seem to want to work with us, but we're going to get it done any wajahat ali. we prefer them to work with us,

we want them to work with us, maybe they will change their minds after this, but we're going to get it done regardless because american needs it and that's what we did. we didn't stop, we didn't let anything get in our way. >> reporter: democrats staying unified to get this bill passed at one point the democratic senator from west virginia, senator jomana karadsheh had looked like they may lose him to an republican amendment on unemployment benefits t stalled out on the floor for nearly 12 hours as they worked that out and then senators were here overnight into saturday morning before they ultimately passed this bill. again, now it goes back to the house on tuesday and then over to president biden. jessica dean, cnn, capitol hill. all right. for more on this let's bring in natasha lindstaedt she is a professor of government at the university of essex. before we get to the politics behind the struggle to get it passed, what's the most

important plank in this bill for you? >> well, i think it's the anti-poverty aspect of the bill, the increasing the child tax credit from $2,000 to $3,000 to $3,600 depending on the anyone of your child. this is viewed as one of the largest anti-poverty bills in modern history. it will lift millions of people out of poverty and from an economic standpoint it will create all kinds of new consumers. so that was the aspect of the bill that i think is worth noting. this is really the an 'tithesiso trickle down economics. the idea we need to focus on lifting up the poor to get the economy going and also from a human level and from a societal level to care more about lifting those out of poverty. >> all right. so the public perception of this, the biden administration says, you know, they learned from obama's stimulus experience when they didn't do enough to sell americans on the benefits

of that huge stimulus so they vow not to make the same mistake, polls show that this is broadly popular, but what do they have to do to get americans fully behind this? >> i think biden is going to have to make a presidential tv address talking about the bill and explaining the benefits of the bill, but he already does have support. i mean, early support in february according to a quinnipiac university poll revealed there was 68% support, a more recent poll from monmouth university reveals it's about 60%. either way you have a strong majority that support this bill already. so what will be key for the democrats is just illustrating the important points of the bill and how this is going to really help the average american. >> all right. so let's get to the politics of this now. the amount of wrangling needed to get this through, you know, it might be a bit of hyperbole to say jomana karadsheh has more power than the president but it sure felt like it for all of those hours there. what does this sticky process --

for biden going forward in terms of getting the rest of his agenda passed? >> biden has several things to contend with. he has to contend with a highly polarized senate with the republicans not willing to support this. now, if we were to contrast this with the big covid bills that happened in march and december, that had some bipartisan support. this didn't have any bipartisan support. and he also has to contend with some moderate democrats who in the end really didn't want as much of the support to, for example, some of the stimulus checks, they wanted to change the eligibility. and so that really impacted the bill as well. and they weren't able to get the increase to the minimum wage passed, either. so biden has many things to contend with on the republican side they just weren't really willing to agree to anything. they came in february with a $618 billion proposal, that was way under the nearly $2 trillion. and they felt that the child tax

credits were a form of welfare. they felt that giving $130 billion to schools without stipulations for opening up the schools to in-person teaching was going to keep children at home more and they really disagreed with the idea of giving $350 billion in aid to state and local governments because they felt this was entirely partisan. ignoring the fact that even if the state was run by republican governor and they weren't in lockdown you still have many people that died, high death rates, which is a huge loss of humans, but also a huge loss to human capital. so they just disagreed on so many different issues here and from the democrats side they're saying this is just a knee-jerk reaction. this is an element of trumpism, the residue of trumpism where the republicans are just unwilling to compromise on issues that they might have been willing to compromise with in the past. >> okay. so as you say there is no hope of bipartisanship there.

there is a growing chorus, i guess, behind the idea that democrats may need to scrap the filibuster in order to get everything done but they may not even have the votes for that. >> right. they may not have the votes for that. that's why they're using this process known as reconciliation where they don't have to get the 60 votes to prevent a filibuster. they didn't like the fact that biden had preached unity and bipartisanship and decided to push through things anyway. the democrats are saying that's exactly what the republicans did when they were in power and this is the only way to really get the big policies that they want to achieve accomplished. >> yeah, but, i mean, immigration and election reform, those can't be accomplished by reconciliation so they will have to do something here. >> right. they're going to have to use the public support for reform of immigration, for example, to try to get these passed. there's also public support for

increasing the minimum wage up to $15, there's 60% support for that. they will have to use public opinion polls to show republicans if they want to get themselves reelected they're shooting themselves in the foot by not supporting some of these bills. >> many fights still ahead. thank you so much for joining us, natasha, appreciate it. >> thanks for having me. the race to vaccinate americans against the coronavirus is picking up steam as more people seem to be willing to roll up their sleeves. polls conducted by axios and ipsos shows vaccine hesitancy is declining. last september 13% of american adults said they would get a shot as soon as possible, that number more than doubled by december, then it jumped to 43% in early january, now 57% say they've already received it or will as soon as possible. vaccines are definitely in high demand in california. this vaccination site in valencia, look at all those cars

there, it's been at least 2,800 people per day according to officials. cnn's natasha chen explains how the effort to get more americans inoculated is speeding up. >> reporter: at the current pace of about 2 million vaccine doses administered per day, the u.s. could reach herd immunity by late summer through vaccinations alone. cnn analysis shows 70% of the u.s. population could be fully separated by the end of july and 85% by mid-september. experts estimate between 70% and 85% of the population must be protected to suppress the spread of coronavirus. >> you don't know how special this is. >> reporter: there's hope on the horizon for people like peggy who is fully vaccinated. she's hugging her son and daughter-in-law for the first time in a year. >> i keep saying to everybody is if you have a family that cares about you, you're already way

ahead. and my kids have been extremely wonderful. >> reporter: as many states are expanding vaccine eligibility beyond the elderly, dr. anthony fauci clarified it's better to vaccinate people ahead of their turn than to let doses go to waste due to canceled appointments or logistical issues. one challenge for vaccination sites is knowing how many doses they will get each week. fulton county, georgia, is one of the places about to get a huge boost in resources and predictability with the help of fema. a steady flow of vaccine shipments to ramp up vaccinations at mercedes-benz stadium. >> with this new initiative the vaccine is coming. we can handle, definitely, 6,000 a day. >> reporter: the state of california announced friday that theme parks in counties with lower virus spread can reopen at 15% capacity. to california residents only beginning april 1st. >> i really think it's time. i think enough people are starting to get vaccinated. i think california needs it. like look at how dead it is out

here. >> reporter: connecticut will keep the mask mandate and allow some restaurants to open with social distancing requirements. west virginia is doing the same but allowing bars under the relaxed rules, too. health experts are troubled by that. >> the one place you take your mask off is at restaurants and bars. why would you say we have a mask mandate but you can hold to full capacity. at the end of the day that's where you're going to see transmissions. >> reporter: meanwhile, some states are completely lifting mask mandates, mississippi, north dakota, iowa, montana and texas. where the governor there says it's safe to reopen at 100% starting wednesday. after announcing the relaxing of those restrictions texas governor greg abbott alleged without evidence that migrants coming into texas were exposing the state's residents to coronavirus. meanwhile, dr. anthony fauci said to msnbc today that undocumented people in the u.s. should get a vaccine when it's available to them. he said the department of homeland security made it clear there will be no punitive element associated with people

getting a vaccine. natasha chen, cnn, atlanta. covid variants are a real wild card right now. >> the variant of greatest concern right now to us americans is the b.1.1.7 variant, the variant first identified in the uk, and that variant is spreading very rapidly here. i mean, it is doubling in every ten days, it's spreading exponentially. that's not good. however, this variant is one for which the vaccines that we have seem to be extremely effective against. there are these other variants, the variants coming from south africa and brazil, the b-1351 and p 1, they are a bit more concerning. >> so here are some reasons why that variant from brazil in particular is more worrisome. it's now been detected in at least seven u.s. states and not only is it more contagious, it's apparently been able to reinfect people who have covered from other strains of the virus.

the governor of sao paulo says his region is on the brink of collapse as the variant threatens to overwhelm the health system. the house of windsor divided. prince harry and meghan are set to share their side of the drama inside the british royal family, plus the former aid to the late princess of wales compares the two situations. >> it has taken on a lot of trappings of a big media pr story, but at the heart of this are real people really hurting.

all right. to a busy final full day for the pope in iraq. he's arriving now at his next stop, a church in a christian down that had been destroyed by isis. it follows a visit to mosul. the pope led a prayer for the victims of war and earlier met with the kurdish region's religious and political leaders. those are live pictures we're seeing of the pope arriving. we will go to ben wedeman who joins me from erbil. the pope's presence in mosul seemed in congress given the not

so distant history there. >> it's incongruous, kim, on so many levels. what struck me just a few minutes ago was looking at pictures of him without a flak jacket riding through the streets of mosul in an open golf cart. it's unthinkable for anybody who has been in iraq for very long to see a leader of his statue seemingly exposed like that and able to actually move around. it was in mosul in the summer of 2014 that abu bakr al bad dghda who called upon his followers to conquer rome in his words. now we see the bishop of rome, another name for the pope, in the city of mosul itself. there is no sense of try um

fannism to his visit. he has been very careful throughout his time to show support and solidarity with the shrinking christian community here in iraq but also to extend a hand of fellowship, of brotherhood to the muslim community. yesterday, for instance, his program was largely dedicated to exactly that, first meeting with the grand ayatollah alleyi sist. now he is in a now, perhaps the largest christian town in iraq, where in the summer of 2014 isis forces initially bombarded the town. the inhabitants realized that they had no way to protect themselves, most of them fled elsewhere in iraq, including to here, erbil, in northern iraq.

and the city was liberated from isis in late 2016. we went to attend the first mass in 2017 in cqaraqosh. the church had been burnt, the main courtyard in the church of the immaculate conception that was used as a firing range by isis. so to see him going around foreign iraq like this is something that is hard to really digest, but it's something for iraqis as a good news story. this is a country where oftentimes people turn on the tv and the news is all bad, but at least for the last few days they've been able to crack a smile as they watch television.

kim? >> and as i say, we're watching live pictures of his arrival in qaraqosh. the message he is expected to deliver there to the christians who had been ex spelled from there and from other regions, he's saying they should return and rebuild. is that likely? >> hard to say because, yes, the spirit is very high at the moment but once he leaves iraqi christians and muslims, i can't zeedees, whoever, is going to go back to the realty of iraq today, which is covid, an economy in crisis, politics paralyzed by corruption and incompetence and those are realities that aren't going to go away after the pope leaves. speaking with christians here, many of them will tell you, kim, that so many people have left, keeping in mind that in 2003 there were about a million and a

half christians, maybe today 300,000. it's sort of the center of gravity has moved abroad. that their relatives whether they are in australia, canada, sweden, wherever, they send back pictures of their new lives, videos of their new lives and many people feel that their ties to this land despite centuries, m millennia of presence are starting to loosen as so many of their relatives have left. >> thank you so much, ben wedeman. we will follow along with this historic trip throughout the hours here. thank you again. well, eyes are on the british royal family today, first queen elizabeth and others are expected to celebrate commonwealth day in a special broadcast, but later the royal mood could get a little darker. prince harry and meghan won't be there, instead the duke and

duchess of sussex are sent to reveal what they really think in a hotly anticipated interview with oprah winfrey. the talk show host teased no topics were off the table including how this public hostility reminds prince harry of how his mother diana was treated. >> for me i'm just really relieved and happy to be sitting here talking to you with my wife by my side. because i can't begin to imagine what it must have been like for her going through this process by herself. my biggest concern was history repeating itself. >> the princess of whales was largely shunned by the royal family following her divorce from prince charles in 1996 and of course she died tragically in a car accident a year later while being pounded by paparazzi. all of this tension is playing out against the backdrop of an aging queen elizabeth and ailing prince phillip who has

been hospitalized by mid-f mid-february. anna stewart joins me from london. so much anticipation for tonight's interview. if you are not, you know, necessarily a royal watcher, why is this such a big deal? >> reporter: this is really significant because for the first time we're hearing from meghan, the duchess of sussex, on how it felt to be an outsider joining the royal family. it's a perspective that you very rarely get and in terms of this couple we have heard from prince harry, he gave a press statement last year, there have been a few written statements, he recently gave an interview to james corden and spoke about how the british press were destroying his mental health and he felt like he had to leave, but we haven't heard it from meghan. a lot of the focus on tonight will be on what she says and we have had of course some teaser clips. we know she does believe that the firm which is a term referring to the royal family played an active role she says in perpetuating falsehoods. a finger pointed at the british press but also perhaps at the royal family and that will be an

explosive insight. kim? >> tell me a bit more about the mood and reaction so far there in the uk. >> reporter: well, in the uk this week has been -- well, it's been deluge from prince phillip who is still in the hospital behind me and has been now for nearly three weeks to today is commonwealth celebrations for the oil family, we have the queen giving a recorded message on a tv in a few hours. so much attention has been in the run up from this interview with oprah winfrey. it split people's attention, on social media people really picking sides and not just between the sussexes and how the british press treated them which is how we saw it maybe a few weeks ago but increasingly people taking sides on whether they support the sussex or royal camp which is an extraordinary scenario to see. it won't broadcast in the uk until monday evening but we will be hearing a lot about it in the press tomorrow. no topics are off limits, what

is that oprah inn free has said. it is two hours long n addition to having insights into what happened in the royal family and any potential rift, we're looking for more information on the british press, racism in the uk, what meghan has to say about that, mental health, the parallels drawn between how she has been treated and how princess diana has been treated and this interview being that seminole moment as princess diana gave the interview to the bbc which had bombshells delivered, the line in which she said there were three people in that marriage. this is how significant this interview is being seen. >> just quickly before you go because you're there, any update on prince phillip's condition? >> reporter: i'm sad to say no updates on prince phillip but we did have good news last week, he underwent a procedure for a heart condition at a different hospital and two days later was transported back to this private, small hospital. we are being told he will be here for a number of days for

continued treatment. will he also an infection and is recuperating. i hope he is not reading the newspapers and that he is not going to be watching this interview because i think it would make for very difficult watching. >> absolutely. well said. thank you so much, anna stewart, in london. still to come on cnn, mask burning demonstrations across the state while some local leaders are supporting them. stay with us.

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♪ and welcome back to all of you watching here in the united states, canada and around the world. i'm kim brunhuber and you're watching "cnn newsroom." all right. more now on the pope's visit to iraq. these are live pictures here, he

is in the christian town of qaraqosh and has just arrived at a church that was attacked by isis. we will cnn's delia gallagher traveling with the pope and she joins us on the phone. tell us exactly about where you are, why the pope is stopping there, the symbolic meaning behind this visit. >> reporter: this is just an amazing moment the pope has just walked into the church of the immaculate conception in qaraqosh. this was a church that was used as a training camp essentially for isis. in fact, i'm talking to you from the courtyard where you can still see the bullet holes that they used to practice their firing. the church was largely destroyed, books burned, and the people obviously fled this town of qaraqosh which is the largest christian town in iraq. many of them have relatives who were killed, i've just been talking to some of them in the church.

they had to flee, their homes were destroyed, they began to come back, they went mainly to erbil nearby which is the capital of iraq, kurdistan, which is an autonomous region. they came here to start rebuilding torques try to find work. of course, not all of them have come back. refugees nearby in erbil and surrounding places. the pope has come here, just imagine under five years ago this place was overrun by isis and today the pope is here to encourage the christians to come back, to stay here. also talking to the iraqi authorities to help make that possible. and the people that i've spoken to so far have really shown a great desire to do that. it's difficult. this whole region is this morning he was in mosul in very poignant pictures amidst the rubble of mosul. you know, mosul always associated as the kind of headquarters for isis and there is the pope offering up a prayer

for the victims of war. this is the pope's third and final full day in iraq. it really has been a list rihn trip. people thought it wasn't going to happen but the pope was determined to make it happen. the iraqis have welcomed him every step of the way. >> we see him seated there in the church, still wasn't addressed the congregation there. the message to christians to come back, rebuild. the message for non-christians that interfaith tolerance and friendship. you're suggesting that will resonate you think beyond the meetings with the leaders? any sense of how it's being received by ordinary iraqi muslims. >> reporter: sure. that's a great point. obviously he has met with members of the muslimer community and the people i've been speaking to here say, look, we have muslim neighbors. everybody is mixed in together. obviously that's part of the reason the pope is here speaking to all sides. he had a very important meeting

yesterday withi al-sistani and apparently in that meeting the pope thanked him for lending his voice for christians and for unity of iraq and al-sistani said christians need to live like all iraqis in peace and security. that's according to al-sistani's office and with full constitutional rights which is one of the issues here. there may be some concrete outcomes from this trip. certainly in terms of the enthusiasm of the people, i can attest to that. what happens from here on in will be up to the iraqi authorities and to the people here, but certainly it has been an amazing weekend for pope francis and all the iraqis, i think, would agree with that. kim? >> absolutely. we're going to keep following this historic visit throughout our hours here on "cnn

newsroom." vatican correspondent delia gallagher traveling with the pope. thank you very much. we will be right back.

these are images from a mask burning rally in idaho. at least 24 of these rallies popped up across the state on saturday. grassroots movement called free idaho organized the event to protest mask wearing and other restrictions due to the pandemic. the group says it has the support of two state representatives who say it's time to reopen idaho and end covid mandates. idaho, by the way, doesn't require face masks, but strongly encourages it. in texas the state's mask mandate and other covid restrictions are set to end on wednesday. governor greg abbott issued the executive order earlier this week. the republican's decision has triggered sharply divided reactions across the state. cnn's ed lavandera spoke to some

small business owners with drastically different views on how it will impact their lively hoods. >> reporter: as mike wynn whips up lunch in his san antonio noodle restaurant he can't stop thinking about what might happen next week when the state's mask mandate has ended. >> he's put the burden on the business now. >> reporter: he says texas governor greg abbott is forcing small business owners to become mask wearing police and face the frustrations of defiant customer >> instead of being a real leader and uniting us and helping us get past this once and for all he has created division. >> reporter: the last year has already been brutal for wynn, we first met him in may when he told out front when the pandemic ravaged his business he would close the noodle diner to undergo months of cancer treatment. six months later wynn reopened and is struggling to keep the business open. >> we all have covid fatigue, testify at this point.

we are on age. anxiety is at an all time high. >> this must end. >> reporter: without consulting most of his medical advisers republican governor breg abbott said gauze of lower rates and the vaccine rollout it's time to lift the mask mandate. while the number of people o optimized with covid-19 is dropping the state still has one of the highest hospitalization rates in the country. >> texans have mastered the daily habits to avoid getting covid. >> reporter: missy herring said in her south texas embroidery and print shop the mask mandate was always ignored. she's celebrating the announcement. >> i was tickled to death. >> do you think mask wearing has kept the pandemic from getting worse? >> no. everybody that i know who has been sick they wore their mask faithfully. faithfully. i have never worn the mask. i don't have people come in my store wearing the mask.

i'm not sick. >> reporter: but the governor's controversial decision has sparked a tidal wave of local leaders sending out pleas for texans to keep wearing their masks. scenes like this is what many officials and business owners fear. there's one other fear haunting mike wynn, the recent unprovoked attacks on asian-americans. >> go back to china or, you know, you and your kung flu. i'm nervous and my anxiety has been at an all time high. i'm trying to hope for the best. >> reporter: despite the intense criticism there is a great deal of support for the governor's move to reopen the economy and end the mask mandate, however, some of the biggest chain businesses here in the united states say they will continue to insist on mask wearing by customers inside their stores, however, there are still another number of large businesses that are saying just the opposite and it is that inconsistency that

has many people worried about how all of this is going to unfold starting next wednesday. ed lavandera, cnn, san antonio, texas. a spa and boutique owner in texas joins knee now. thanks for coming on. there's good news, covid cases are trending down, vaccines are going into arms, many people feel now that the economic crisis is more of a threat than the pandemic so lifting the mandatory covid restrictions in texas you think that would be welcome news for businesses like yours. >> it really wasn't in the way it was done. we didn't have any warning, we don't have our -- enough mass vaccinations where you feel that the people with forward-facing jobs will be protected. >> yeah. how hard was it with the restrictions in place to get

people to comply in a state like texas where i'm sure many customers weren't thrilled about all the rules that were in place? >> i wouldn't say it was easy, but we have become -- as business owners we kind of got a rhythm going where there was a consistency, you knew you needed to have a facemask to come inside the businesses so there wasn't a conflict or fight or question, it was what was the city mandated, the state mandated and people wore face masks. >> so, you know, now the governor has left it to counties to enforce, you know, whatever rules they want. so where you are, you know, we will get this experiment where dallas is continuing the mask mandate and 30 miles away fort worth where you are they're lifting it. so then the burden is on you as the individual business, it must put you in a tough position if you want to, say, enforce a mask mandate now when your

competitors might not. >> exactly. and as a small business owner i never ever ever want to be in conflict with my small other business owners. that is not what we want to do. we have a great community here in fort worth of small business owners, but as a small business owner if i have a mask mandate that you need to have face masks could come into my business and people don't respect that, then just don't come to my business. what the problem is that you will have 10 to 15 of them coming into a business that they know they need to have face masks on and they are coming to push you to what they believe the truth to be, that they don't have to wear face masks. >> yeah, and we saw a lot of people in fort worth sort of making -- making problems for people when they tried to enforce mask mandates. so, you know, how aggressive can people be when you're trying to ask them to do these simple

things? >> they can be very aggressive. i am a sole proprietor and the way my business is set up you have to come in one at a time to see me unless i book a group setting and then of, course, more people will be in, but i am the arbiter and the gatekeeper of you coming in and out of my business. so i have not wavered and i have not changed. you wear a facemask to come into danette oasis. if you don't want to wear a facemask then simply don't come to my business. the problem is you have people coming directly could ton front business owners that have a mask mandate and that is not what the governor's rule was. he left it up to small businesses and big businesses also to have their own policies in place, but if you are not going to respect that that means you are just challenging me. >> so i want to ask you, you know, obviously there is an economic reason for all of this

but there's good news on the economic front as well, the senate passed biden's covid relief bill, there's help in there for businesses, tax relief, $1 billion for sole proprietors like yourself, all of the republicans representing your state voted against it, so are you happy that it passed? do you think it will help? >> well, it's always good to get resources available, especially when you are a minority-owned business, but the reality is that that could be weeks or months down the line that you see resources become available. i live on a day to day of businesses -- of retail services being booked. i may not have the wigglt othere weeks before any relief comes. >> listen, we wish you all the best of luck in these very difficult times. thank you so much for coming on,

danette wicker. we appreciate it. >> i appreciate you hearing me. california is easing more coronavirus restrictions beginning april 1st. state officials announced friday that theme parks and sports stadiums and counties with lower virus spread can reopen next month but can only operate 15% capacity and only admit california residents. many restaurants, gyms and movie theaters don't need to wait until april, they can already reopen and a growing number of california counties as covid cases shrink, but restaurant owners are still struggling to pay rent and with the income they have already lost some wonder how much longer they can last. >> i look at the numbers in california when they shut down outdoor and indoor dining, which effectively killed the restaurant industry, cases doubled, tripled, skyrocketed. so obviously we're not the ones that are causing these spreading events. restaurants are trained to be incredibly safe and sanitary and we actually, i think, have the opportunity to be at the

forefront of fighting this and doing things the right way, but somehow we've become vilified. i think that we need to begin working with local agencies and local government groups as opposed to having them work against us so that we can all kind of put our best foot forward. >> and be sure to stay with us, we will have much more on my interview of andrew gruehl of slap fish restaurants next hour. the pandemic switched off the lights on broadway almost a year ago. now out of work performers are finding a new stage 10,000 miles away. we will have the details next. stay with us.

rely on the experts at 1800petmeds for the same medications as the vet, but for less with fast free shipping. visit petmeds.com today. it's been nearly a year since the coronavirus forced theater companies to abandon broadway, turning new york's great white way into a show business ghost town. since then some actors and performers have packed their bags and traveled half a world away to find work. cnn's will ripley reports. >> reporter: the brilliant lights of broadway, dark, for almost a year. new york's iconic theaters empty, likely for many months to come. nearly 10,000 miles away in sidney, australia, the show goes

on. kizmet created by reed kelly and jack dawson, the aerial straps duo two fathoms. >> right now this is the only place that both of us can be and do what we do. >> reporter: what they do takes hours of daily practice, discipline, athleticism, sacrifice. >> i am away from my family, i am not at home, i don't get to see my husband. we facetime every day, but it's been such a challenge. >> i'm good. how is your day? >> reporter: kelly's husband a doctor in los angeles, they've been apart for almost a year. if kelly leaves australia, his visa won't allow him to return. sydney, one of the only places in the world where theaters have reopened. >> we seem to be doing really well, we're grateful to be here where everything seems to be

really under control. >> reporter: broadway star gabrielle mcclinton just returned to the u.s., she spent months in australia as the lead player in "pippin." it was a smash hit in sydney. >> does that give you hope about broadway? >> absolutely. it definitely had its challenges but we got through the season and people came to the show wearing their masks and we would get covid tested every week and when we were on stage we were in our masks and everybody obeyed all the rules and we did our due diligence when we were outside of the theater to make sure that we weren't putting people at r risk. >> reporter: a model for reopening broadway and beyond said australian playwright tom wright. >> you need political and social leadership to provide a safe set of circumstances for theaters to reopen. >> reporter: this sydney theater has been open for five months, strict covid-19 lockdowns worked. virtually eliminating local cases. >> the reason why sydney is

being able to reopen is because people at local, state and federal level took seriously the safety of the most vulnerable people in their society and we are a reflection of that. >> reporter: the pandemic's devastating toll goes beyond empty theaters. artists around the world are struggling. >> i have lost three people this year to suicide and that's on top of the people that i know that have actually died from covid. it's not just a job for us. this is our lives. >> we want to do this and we need to keep doing this so we're just pushing through and hope for better days. >> reporter: giving hope to performers everywhere, their future remains up in the air. will ripley, cnn. >> well, that wraps this hour of "cnn newsroom." i'm kim brunhuber. hopefully i will have a voice for when i come back in just a moment with more news.

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the senate has passed a covid relief bill bringing americans one step closer to another round of stimulus checks, but businesses need the economy back to normal as safely as possible. i will speak to one california restaurateur who says it's time his state reopened in a real way. and later, dueling royal events, what queen elizabeth has on her schedule the same day as oprah airs her hotly anticipated interview with prince harry and meghan. live from cnn world headquarters in atlanta welcome to all of you watching herinhe