this is d.w. news live from berlin italy reports the highest a single day death toll of any country since the corona virus outbreak began a grim picture emerges from bad for hospital wards are overwhelmed and the army has to carry away the data. also coming up germany reports a huge spike in corona infections as german chancellor angela merkel appeals for solidarity in the fight against calls it 19. the situation is serious take it seriously. since german unification the note since the 2nd world war there has been

no challenge to on the nation that has demanded such a degree of common and united action. in a while the european central bank announces a 750000000000 euro bond buying program stave off the pandemics economic fallout of e.c.b. chief legard status there are no limits to our commitment to the euro. i'm serious almost got to thank you for joining us italy has reported more deaths from the corona virus in a single day than any country so far officials say nearly 500 people died on wednesday the region of lombardy is the worst hit hospitals are overwhelmed by the number of patients and the number of deaths as our next report shows. the city of

bergen mohammed run out of space to bury its dead. these military trucks are taking the coffins to nearby cities for burial the corona virus has hit the lombardi region like no other place in italy. or names and faces of lost loved ones fill the local papers as the death toll keeps climbing this issue and officials are appealing for help we are in full emergency with this coronavirus on the media a lot of personal nurses and physicians are working round the clock countless our work to fight these incredible situation we do not know the spending you know will last we are in desperate need of both nurses and physicians together with ventilators and this positive for protection

efforts to build a temporary hospital in the epicenter are under way its top that 200 intensive care units will be ready by the months and italy has also turned to the country where the virus originated 1st support medical teams from china have flown in to lend their expertise. not yours it's our job about each initial hope the people of our 2 countries will stay together and support each other to joy be overcome the hardship. i believe the top class teams of experts will learn from each other and make joint efforts and surely will be able to subdue the outbreak very soon cheer up italy. amid speculation that the lockdown could be extended for several more weeks talons are finding simple ways to lift their spirits. was a. god.

the american media. was. earlier i spoke to correspondent sima gupta in rome and with the death toll in the north of the country rising again i asked her if the situation is spiraling out of control well the situation is definitely dire north as you said you talked about the situation in the province of let alone the town a bit more definitely a situation that is really on the brink doctors they say that they're at the full capacity and what we do know is that this virus tends to impact very badly particularly the elderly in the population and it's he has one of the world's oldest population hence we're seeing these events numbers now prime minister giuseppe conti in an interview with the milan based daily career the less said said

that they're looking at a possibility of a complete lockdown and that needs also a ban on all outdoor activity they say people need to take this seriously to stay at home unless it's absolutely necessary because of course you could not show any symptoms you could be fine but you could also be a carrier spreading this virus to others now in one week alone they saw 40 $3000.00 violations of the lockdown measures and it's because of that the tending to amp up these lockdown measures. now here in germany the disease control center says the number of confirmed cases has climbed by almost 321-1000 within the space of 24 hours that comes as chancellor angela merkel addressed the nation in a rare televised speech she said the country is facing its biggest challenge since the 2nd world war i am addressing you today in this unusual manner because i want

to tell you what is guiding me as chancellor and all of my colleagues in the government at this time that is part of an open democracy that we explain our political decisions and make them transparent that we do all we can to justify and communicate her actions so that they are understandable. is good because. i truly believe that we will succeed in the task before us so long as older citizens of this country understand that it is also their tomsk. well the german foreign office has launched a major airlift operation to bring home german tourists stranded abroad to that pandemic it's estimated that around $100000.00 germans are waiting to be repatriated many of them were left with little option but to stay put when airlines started grounding flights. arrival in berlin in the plane german holiday makers from egypt they were stranded there are among the last that were able to return

with scheduled flights for many it was a short holiday then came carona came the closure of borders everywhere and the uncertainty about hull to return. from venice and in the middle of the night we received a text message that we were being picked up for government it was chaos at the airport some people were not on the list but with some luck i managed to get a ticket for the number of particles. oh we're relieved we could get a seat of course control. the largest air lift in german history is about to begin about 100000 germans are stranded around the world they're returning to a germany that has changed where everything is slowed down the taxi drivers at the airport know all about it. who want to start on this corona is destroying everything and what's happening here

we never saw anything like this the drivers are fighting amongst each other fighting about getting a fair that's not right much of it is evolving out here some people have to wait 4 or 5 hours without getting any business or taxi drivers can stop working there is no work these that he needs. these are people that are already affected by the crisis in germany holiday makers in the hotels are still a few hours away from this reality many are still waiting for a chance to get home in egypt alone there are 30000 germans the government is mobilizing 15000000 euros for this operation with chartered planes the passengers have to pay a fair equivalent to an economy class ticket. the c.e.o. of lufthansa has warned that the coronavirus is jeopardizing the future of aviation kasten shaw said governments need to fork out a lot of money to save the entire industry from the fallout of the pentatonic only 5 per cent of towns are scheduled flights are taking off right now nearly all

planes are grounded juju entry restrictions and a collapse in demand. is good. if the current situation doesn't improve in the coming weeks which nobody expects will talk to the government to determine the basic flight services they think should be maintained from a business point of view flying doesn't make any sense right now for kinds of what c.e.o. says europe's largest airline isn't good friend and chill shape for now but he did not provide an outlook for 2020 he said nobody can predict the entire fallout of the pandemic according to the consultancy firm cup a center for every nation most airlines in the world will be bankrupt by the end of may unless governments intervene international industry group says up to $200000000000.00 a needed to help cushion the blow off the outbreak. for more on the story let's

bring in chris colfer from d.w. business hi chris lufthansa c.e.o. saying we're talk about the future of aviation here that's at risk i mean can we really say at this point what this crisis means for the industry. i think it's pretty significant when somebody like cars a sport that has 30 years of experience in the industry under his belt use these sort of words to address the problem he said for weeks nobody wanted to fly now nobody can and as we just heard in the report. as now scrap 95 percent of its service that has grounded hundreds of jets it has slashed working hours suspended its dividend and they're not alone in doing so there are many more carriers telling their staff to stay at home they're more governments coming up with financial aid because what they're looking at is is a huge problem because as these countermeasures to fight the coronavirus are put into place and are likely to stay there for months they're going to hit the very

idea of the business model of the 80 and the asian industry equally long and parsons who are also said those companies that will make it out of this crisis which are going to be fewer of them going in they're going to be looking much differently as for those tons of the company's going to be smaller in the future that being said it's not that the jets are needed we heard in the report that look tons and others are heavily engaged in the biggest repatriation effort in the history of germany. now lufthansa has said that they are apparently in pretty good shape right now what do the numbers say. well the times as a liquidity have about 4000000000 euros now which is not a soft question but it does cushion the blow someone and they have a huge advantage because they own much of their fleet that's important for 2 reasons one they don't have to pay an easing rates the 2nd one being that they can

if push comes to shove they can get loans against these aircraft and experts say that they would be able to acquire about $10000000000.00 euros with such an move now as we said look times us tremendously you know dumb down their business so far it's brutal working shorter hours meaning they're being paid less management also said that there were. going to give 20 percent of their pay there except in the take out of 20 percent and those times i said that they have been talking to the german government about state health financial health costs and $1.00 of the c.e.o. said it's not just about getting rid of of hurdles or lowering hurdles like taxes and fees but rather direct meaning financial aid for the sector so right now it's not about a strategy a business strategy it's not expansion or something like that it's simply about staying alive chris kupper from debbie business reporting for us thank you for your analysis now the european central bank has announced

a 750000000000 euro bond buying program to help stabilize markets that are reeling from the fallout of the outbreak it's just one of many stimulus plans announced by policymakers across the world while european investors welcomed the news that didn't seem to be the case in asia. european stocks are making gains after the e.c.b. announce further stimulus measures in an emergency meeting wednesday evening but that wasn't the case for asian markets the region's main indexes traded in the red stocks extended this week's losses efforts from europe and the us didn't stop the decline as was the case on wall street wednesday the white house is plodding along with a stimulus plan of more than one trillion dollars. to war and so you know basically you know what many of the industries are what we want to do is we want to make sure they all stay together so that after the war is won we can

immediately go right back up to where we were even beyond that that may not be the case as a global economies have revise us 2020 g.d.p. growth to negative point 5 percent from 1.6 percent the euro zone's economies also expected to retract as the world's 2nd largest economy china the chinese economy is forecast to grow 3 percent china has accounted for biggest share of global economic growth so be outlook is negative across the world. australia and new zealand have announced they are closing their borders to all visitors to try to stem the spread of the virus the 2 nations will only allow citizens residents and close family members to enter the travel ban comes into force in new zealand starting thursday evening and in australia starting friday night a surly has so far recorded around 600 corona virus infections while new zealand has confirmed almost 30 total cases. are from on the situation there we can speak to journalist roger major he's covering this from sydney hi roger good to see you

so australia new zealand as we heard are closing borders airlines are grounding international slate's awas this move expected. well it has come as a bit of a surprise i must say but the prime minister scott morrison has revealed that the crackdown he believes was absolutely necessary as a lot of the current cases in australia are linked to overseas visitors people who come into the country so he says that's fundamentally why the government has had to take this important move of the ban doesn't extend to australian citizens or residents but everybody else and that band could last for as long as 6 months i understand at the same time well so there's 2 main elements clinton's son surgeon will end all international flights out of australia until the end of may and possibly beyond that period 'd as well now this is a major issue for australians who don't like the idea of being cut off from the

rest of the world and it strikes at the very heart of the nation psyche if you like so it's a very difficult stage though when people are surprised about what's going on but to a certain extent they're taking it in their stride pressure what's a picture like where you are in sydney are people following the guidelines that staying at home or avoiding social contact. well to a certain extent they are there are no rules or orders here to stay at home exactly people are still allowed to wander around the streets and in fact going out today you see it plenty of people in cafes and shops and even all the big so people are still treating life really who really normally at the moment but having said that there are whole areas of supermarkets which are devoid of the food like a meat and toilet rolls and another product says world this is as a result of panic buying and panic buying has been a real problem here with fighting in subtle isn't even

a little girl was injured while being trampled upon in a in a supermarket in perth so it's really quite serious that from that point of view. the there are still a lot of people in camp as i say but having said all that there is a growing concern. the health service may not be able to cope with the rising tide of cases which as you say is now put at about 606 people died right in front of just very quickly what about the economy the australian dollar has dropped to a 17 year low and the government rolled out a big aid package what does this involve well the certainly the government is working overtime announcing stimulus packages here but they clearly are going to be enough of a struggle to keep the to boost the economy if you like the australian stock market has been really pounded today for another 3.4 percent and closing at its lowest level since 2016 and the australian dollar has also been badly hit slating at one

point to its lowest level since 2002 so far it's fallen 20 percent against the greenback all right journalist roger maynards speaking to us from sydney thank you . let's take a look at some of the other corona related developments around the world now they use chief rex if you go she 8 or michelle says he has tested positive for cocaine 1000 but he tweeted that he's doing well and is in good spirits spain says its death toll has jumped by more than 200 to almost 770 deaths within a single day in iran the death toll has risen to almost 1300 but the health ministry spokesman saying one person is dying every 10 minutes from the virus but in more positive news china reported no new local cases of the infection on wednesday for the 1st time since it began recording them in january now the u.s. has confirmed almost $10000.00 cases of the corona virus infection and more than

$150.00 deaths on wednesday president trump signed a $100000000000.00 relief package aimed at cushioning the blow from the pandemic he's also invoked wartime legislation to speed the production of critical medical equipment but many americans say their government's response to this crisis has been inadequate didn't use all of our salat met with one of them a mother under quarantine and washington d.c. . logged on hits home it's an experience was burns and her family could have never imagined but since their old here was hospitalized with a high fever the burns are quarantined inside their house the only way we can conduct interviews by phone through the window. initially they don't know and weren't too worried about it and then. there's our little wall that he's run. are over the next 24 hours. and realize she was negative for everything else and no. 9 9 1 here her record of art were very under all the public health authorities

that she didn't meet. was burns blames the us government for not responding to the coronavirus threat quickly enough they could have done a lot more at the beginning. i think we should have learned from the pandemic that had happened in asia and. other countries morning very quickly and our forcefully on the streets of washington d.c. life has slowed down dramatically the usually busy streets remain empty restaurants are open only for takeouts. universities and schools and many states remain closed putting additional strain on students and families. at the albert einstein high school in the state of maryland stuff hands old back launches offering some relief for parents the pen damage is putting low income families at particular risk some

working parents have been laid off and now find themselves enough desperate situation but i think i'm and then at the moment there are no jobs for us they canceled everything we don't know how to pay our rent in place apartment and. as a government employee it was burned says her job is not at stake she is well aware that many americans are not as lucky. now on top of the self isolation and social distancing measures that people around the world are practicing there are some simple hygiene guidelines to follow that can help stop the corona virus from spreading take a look wash your hands with soap and water and do it often keep going for at least 20 seconds especially after you've been in a public place alcohol based hand sanitizers are a good alternative. if you cough or sneeze cover your mouth and nose with a tissue well you see inside of your elbow throw away used to shoes and don't use

them twice after blowing your nose coughing or sneezing wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces every day this includes tables door handles light switches countertops desks phones keyboards toilets taps and sinks all right let's talk about these measures with our science correspondent derrick williams hi derek and you have anything to add to that list. maybe just a number when it comes to social distancing of the deputy chair recommends remain at least a metre away from anyone who's coughing or sneezing. and interesting fact actually about social distancing measures is that there's some there's some pretty good evidence from earlier pandemics like like the flu pandemic of 918 that they really really can't happen and it's likely the very big one on the spread of infection so

they're difficult to enforce of course and they can come at the major economic cost but social distancing measures really can help limit exposure and they're one of the best ways to in the curve of new cases derek i want to ask you about a question that's been circulating about the safety of the use of ibuprofen what is the layer latest that you've heard on that. well as a science journalist this is one of those stories that kind of turns into a nightmare because different authorities have ended up issuing different recommendations and they're often they're often contradictory ones and in the end you feel like there's kind of no clear answers it started for me when i received the what's out message from a colleague last week you might have gotten it to it's really circulated very quickly on german speaking social media platforms and it there was this woman claiming to be a young mother who said that doctors and yet the university clinic had discovered

that taking the anti inflammatory ibuprofen and made covert 19 cases worse now the clinic came out and quickly to announce that post. but then the french health minister again alton basically said it was true and since then we've had a w.h.o. official who said it also might cause problems but then you got the european medicines agency saying the opposite that there is no clinical evidence whatsoever that i've been profoundly affects the course of over 19 so now in the w.h.o. is also about talked a little and says it's gathering further evidence before making any kind of recommendation so all in all it's kind of sort of a chaotic informational now so there could you try to explain that to us i mean why might ibuprofen be posing a threat to some patients. well i mean it's important to say that there really aren't any clinical trials backing up these allegations and a few years appear to have been sparked by a letter last week to the medical journal the lancet and chinese researchers

hypothesize they are pompous eyes that compounds like ibuprofen could affect certain receptors that are found on the surface of cells there are called a c e 2 receptors and they are what we think the corona virus uses to get into the cell but that's just the hypothesis we don't we don't have enough information by now it's either really prove that it worked or disprove it still i think that said i talked with a doctor in the field this morning about this and and he was pretty certain that it was going to have an effect on prescriptions i think that most physicians from now on will probably prefer to err on the side of caution and prescribe other medicines for fever though prescribe things like paracetamol which is called acetaminophen in the united states. one caution though an important point that came up time and time again when i was researching this topic is that if you if you take ibuprofen on the

advice of your doctor then you really should not stop taking it from one day to the next without consulting them because you're worried about what will happen if you catch the new coronavirus you should always always hope your 1st all right our science correspondent derrick williams speaking to us thank you so much derek. now one of the world's most famous statues has been lit up to express solidarity with people who are suffering from the coronavirus the christ the redeemer statue in rio de janeiro was a limited with the flags and maps of countries and continents affected by covert 19 the light show on the brazilian landmark and to encourage people to pray for the victims of the pandemic the 30 meter tall statue which last year saw almost 2000000 visitors is now close to the public as part of efforts to contain the virus.

all right coming up next hour show conflict zone tips about insects down with nigeria's information minister thank you for watching.

going. to for the good. part promises to respect the law nigeria's government stands accused by the international community of serious human rights abuses i guess this week here in london is live mohammad the country's fin for mation minister how does he defend against the country's many critics let me evidence of wrongdoing is so

compelling cut. off. the global corona traces you can find more information online at d.w. dot com and on t.w. social media channels. each still tells my story. of the people who planned me knows me dedicating deadlines to me. on a i'm not a down do come. on my secrets. i have mounted my

city's days for centuries and accompanied my country through its finest our lives until the day i mean. not undone didn't mean stands a fool and. i think there's been a lot of. misrepresentation when it comes to feel depressed we do extremely very well you rank 120 out of 180 countries so one of glorious records is that list of things that a lot of ignorance and not on this chief the assumption has to be that you're covering up damaging evidence doesn't it.