this is g w news live from berlin japan bands of rivals from europe and sets up a coronavirus task force the cherry blossom season brings people flocking to parks the governor of tokyo urges them to stay at home to limit the spread of the corona virus also coming up the number of grown the virus infections of the united states raises up boards but health care workers face critical shortages of protective gear so is the trumpet ministration doing enough to deliver aid to the people who need it most. how long will supplies

a fresh fruit and vegetables last migrant farm workers aren't allowed to cross europe's borders because of the coronavirus so farmers fear their crops will drop in the fields plus biking through brussels georg matters explores the cities are usually quiet streets as lawmakers in the european parliament debate a package to help keep the e.u. economy afloat during the crisis. time sarah kelly welcome to the program the japanese government is banning arrivals from 21 european countries and setting up a coronavirus task force as it warns that the epidemic could spread rapidly and widely 40 new cases have been confirmed bringing the country's total to 1300 a japanese people have been slow to get the message about. curbing the spread of

the virus. enjoying the outdoors people in tokyo have been taking to the city's parks to soak up the spring weather and admired the seasonal cherry blossom crowds gather in public spaces despite appeals by the authorities to help contain the corona virus outbreak. so you'll be more still like there are more people here than i expected so the right policeman might come and tell us to leave and it's. understood. that some of this thing like being inside the house for a long time that he is here to be outside. it here. on thursday came a stern warning from tokyo's governor urging people to avoid non-essential outings to look at the new 30 minute who is that a crucial juncture it faces the risk of an explosive spread off the coronavirus. the call immediately prompted residents to queue up at supermarkets to stock up on

food and supplies. you will need to know this is a person i couldn't get anything i was so shocked and i had to come out again and brother was able to buy things today. with packed crowds moving from talk us parks to cash registers warnings of a looming national crisis have grown all the louder. and let's talk a little bit more about those warning simon dan your is in tokyo he is the washington post bureau chief there thank you so much for joining us why does the message about social distancing appear to not be getting through to people there. well i think one thing is that the virus having taken off really in japan had been a slow but steady rise and infections but not the kind of excess aeration we've seen in parts of western europe and in the united states so people in a sense were lowered into a false sense of security they felt they got through the worst of it but the other

point i think to make is that you know social distancing people could only put up with it for so long and we sort of illinois where the people just wanted to get the help they wanted to enjoy themselves and i think that's probably a lesson for every country around the world that you can tell people to stay at home but you know you get a bit of good news and a bit of relief and they really want to get on with their lives again so it's hard to keep people indoors indefinitely let's talk a little bit more about morales maintaining morales because there has also been this decision to postpone the alleged banks how has that affected the mood there and japan we know i think that in a way that's a bit of a relief there was this always this theory that the government was downplaying the epidemic it wasn't testing enough people because you know they didn't want to see the olympics this phone now that you know i'm not saying that that's right it's a bit of a conspiracy theory but now we've got that out of the way you know there's no question anymore of the government having to downplay it to pretend that it's

better than it is the olympics isn't going to happen and now the government can concentrate on getting this virus under control japan actually did get the 1st wave of the virus under 30 good control the arrivals from china and now we're seeing a 2nd wave in talking to all the medical experts there now really worried that we could see the kind of explosion explosive growth that we've seen in a lot of other countries and how about the economic situation because japan's attempts at economic stimulus in the face of this crisis they seem much tamer than those adopted elsewhere in asia why is that. well you know japan is kind of in constant economic stimulus mode it is talking about another economic stimulus now which could be a big one actually to try and get you know accounts of the effects of this so far you know most people are still being going to one of the commuter trains of being best busier than usual but it is still pretty packed so we haven't seen a complete disintegration of economic activity that we've seen again some other

places because the lockdown hasn't been a severe but clearly this is having a big impact on the japanese economy is going to have a big impact the government is talking about economic stimulus and it will have to step up just as every other country around the world is having to step up to put together a stimulus package i mean expect out of the company said sam and then you're tokyo bureau chief at the washington post thank you so much. the u.s. senate has unanimously approved the biggest stimulus package in the country's history to cushion the economic blow from the corona virus pandemic the package is expected to be approved by the house of representatives on friday and it comes as the number of infections soars with the u.s. looking likely to become the pandemic snoo epicenter many health care workers say they don't have the supplies they need. a long line of drivers all waiting to be tested for the corona virus this is florida but the queues are getting longer right

across america. the number of confirmed infections is gathering pace along with the number of those known to have died from the virus as the scale of the outbreak becomes increasingly clear doctors are worried about their own safety and a part time we. dared to come to walk by being scared we are trained to leave off i am and we're committed to doing mad doc to say hospitals nationwide are overwhelmed and there's not enough protective gear there are people that literally are wearing bandanas because they have nothing better to protect themselves from the respiratory droplets of patients who are and who would not and i think that the national shame of us president donald trump downplay the dangers of a pandemic for weeks before changing his tone but he has criticized the shutdown's advocated by infectious disease experts to bring the outbreak under control for not

going to let the cure every worse than the problem. at the end of the 15 day period will make a decision as to which way we want to go where we want to go the timing and essentially we're referring to the timing of the opening of the socially the opening of our country this was a medical problem we're not going to let it turn into a long lasting financial problem an increasing number of states have closed down nonessential businesses. hitting owners hard this restaurant is trying to keep going by serving takeaways but owner on mint owns 2 other eateries and pays $12000.00 a month just in rent. he's had to lay off most of his 25 stone off. this just taking it all us surprise and also off our feet we don't know how to deal with this. every day is a new challenge for us is very challenging and for the most part it's very terrible

. we will get through this is the message from one bar owner in california people who have lost their jobs can get a free meal here lap. a small team does the cooking. are you scared oh no tom stop it is struggling to make sense of what's happening here in hollywood he has to pay rent of a $1000.00 a day. i'm concerned. all we can do is help each of them help each other and hope for help from washington and here in germany people look forward to asparagus arriving in the shops because it means that it's bringing here but supplies of the tasty vegetable may be scarce this year because of the coronavirus asparagus is mostly harvested by workers from other countries but with the borders closed they can't get to germany and farmers fear

their crops will be left to rot in the fields. these remaining foam laborous have started the season you ask them who grow soft fruit and asparagus got them to germany last weekend but they'll be the last ones in which i could have your survive if you're interested it's entire i'm stunned that in recent days i've heard that people were still allowed in i'd already been in touch with a small group of workers in remaining it's go up we're going to book tickets for them this weekend to have backup but you can forget about all the now when this is the churches are just starting and. they've been preparing stern's to so what the workers were about to pick. their reliance on as many as $180.00 people at the height of the season but just 30 has so far and that's only enough for the 1st few weeks of harvest and no one knows how much customers will buy in the corona crisis they want to support and from what i know you stand out if she were going to open

a few stones at the weekend and see if there's demand for the asparagus then i will just have to see how we can get by with the people we've got we have to try and sell it because we can. everything's up in the air seasonal workers a band from traveling here until further notice and many farmers have no idea how to harvest that crops without the usual help from east and south east and europe. this gets our budget to go and fruit growers hard. we'll employ around 300000 seasonal workers mostly from eastern europe so. if they can't come in my view that would endanger the harvest. engage. the agriculture ministry has suggested that food service work has those without jobs well refugees could work his crop pika is that foam is in this region of southern germany say that wouldn't make sense. that you could ruin asparagus during the harvest if

you're not used to picking it and that's pointless it's boggled is this true every harvest starts in mid april but what the seasonal workers can again get into germany by then depends entirely on the pandemic. but it was an optimiser of leap from dr toggle to michael jackson is waning by the day or actually by the hour i don't want to make predictions the only hope we have is that we quickly see an end to this fiasco. but the government is only planning to review the travel ban in 2 months time. the political correspondent kate brady is on the story for us has more kate what kind of impact could this ban have on seasonal workers on harvests and on the agriculture industry in general in the country. well of course or this could have a huge impact and as we heard in the report many farmers are already voicing their

concerns some 300000 seasonal workers come to germany every year so now the big question is who is going to replace those people out in the fields now one alternative that we've heard already from the agriculture minister is perhaps that some students for example or people that are that are currently out of work as a result of coronavirus and businesses and workplaces being closed that they could fill some of those roles now there has already been a portal created where people can share that interest and some 16000 people have already said that they would be interested in full fill in filling some of these roles that are usually taken by seasonal workers but of course $16000.00 people is very very small when that's only about 5 percent of the 300000 that usually necessary here in germany of course another option as well that's being floated at the moment is the idea that asylum seekers who currently don't yet have their work

permit that they too could perhaps take on some of these roles that the seasonal workers would usually have but of course the weather is on its way and fears are growing quickly that food is going to be left to rot which of course would have huge financial repercussions as well and let's not also forget i mean this ban on seasonal workers it's just one of the measures to try and stop the spread of the corona virus in germany kate bring us up to date on what the latest is on cases and testing in the country. well according to the john hopkins university the number of cases in germany has now surpassed 39 and a half 1000 and there's been more than 220 confirmed deaths here in germany of course one of the big questions that's been asked even now not only here in germany but abroad too is how the mortality rate is so relatively low here in germany specially compared to other nearby countries including italy and france and one

explanation was reconfirms again today by one of germany's leading but religious christian person and he confirmed that some hard a 1000000 tests coronavirus tests were carried out in germany within the last week and he says that one of the reasons why the mortality rate seems to be so low is juta this high number of tests of course the more tests are being carried out the more number of positive cases uncovered meaning that the the death rate seems to be quite low but of course there are other factors to take into consideration as well the burra trees here in germany work very closely with clinics and hospitals where many people are being treated and of course if you look more closely as well it who is contracting current virus here in germany many of the cases to be among younger people especially in comparison to countries like italy in northern italy but in particular where it's the more elderly the older generation that has been hit most

hardest by the coronavirus but of course there is still a lot to be learned here in germany still like throughout the world about the coronavirus so many different factors at play there kate brady joining us from berlin thank you. dear pm parliament in brussels has been debating special measures to cushion the economic impact of the pandemic later leaders of the european union member states will hold a video summit to discuss the crisis and in a speech to lawmakers european commission president ursula fundal line expressed her dismay at member states lack of solidarity including decisions to close borders when europe really needed and only for one spirit too many initially gave only for me response and when europe really needed to prove that this is not only a fair weather union too many initially refused to share their umbrella

but it was not long before some felt the consequences of their own uncoordinated action a successful european response can only be coordinated if our internal market and our shannon area work of the way it should a crisis without borders cannot be resolved by putting barriers between us and correspondent brant regards as following today's developments for us in brussels bent we just saw there that strong condemnation by the european commission president who is she talking about. i imagine she was thinking about germany and france these 2 banned the delivery of medical stuff and supplies to other new countries in the early stages of the coronavirus. but now this bans are lifted as supplies are flowing again and the commission has announced that there's

not a common procurement scheme for all 27 member states and there's lots of stockpiling of mosques now the problem seems to be solved but she was also thinking about the poland and the czech republic which very vigorously close the borders so the supply chains also for food got interrupted and that was really not the intention because the food supplies should be open every member state you have to say every member state has has its own measures in place they've all been coordinated because every government is thinking of its own people 1st and the e.u. as an institution has no say in this measures because there are no come to tens and nopal invested in the you when it comes to health and crisis management. better examples knowledge erminie is taking for example patients from france and italy to its own hospitals to treat them and in special have units ok so

a lot of work to be done we know that e.u. lawmakers there they're going to have met and then later booms leaders are going to hold a video conference are we likely to see more solidarity that. the european parliament unanimously voted for some measures that will release 40000000000 years from the e.u. budget to support vaccine research and also support some companies in the european union rules for airlines will be lifted rules for fiscal. fiscal rules for the states who believe that they can take as much loans and much debt they want now for the time being and this is clearly a sign of solidarity but the you heads of states will meet tonight to see if euro bonds are also a solution so that means a lot of money for spain italy which is specially suffering under this crisis

now and they're actually calling them corona bonds now we'll see if that brings perhaps a bit more success than what has often been a faulty plan on the european level to get those on through back to a card with the latest from brussels thank you for staying now in brussels because like most european cities the belgian capital and either you administrate of have is in lockdown but you can still ride your bike as a matter everyday. it's week 2 of the lockdown in brussels i barely recognize the streets on my way to the city center. no traffic jams no tourists and most employees of the e.u. institutions all working from home. everyone is told to keep a distance of one meter and a half between themselves and other people outdoor exercise however is still

allowed even recommended among members of the same family living together or with a friend. i hope that it doesn't get any stricter simply in terms of managing the family being able to use the park being an organizing exercise to see if they have to change things and impose a total lockdown we'll have to accept it. maybe some people take advantage of the freedom we still have. using speakers in cars and even drones police are stepping up checks and surveillance in public spaces hundreds of fines have been handed out i'm told many 2 young people we know and i'm not sure if children too we know they like to have the social context we understand it the day have to listen to what they have to do and what they cannot do so they have to respect it as well so what about police officers themselves to to what extent are they concerned if some of them are kind of tired because you know you not only have

to worry about the citizens but also about your family because you have contacts with everybody that's what many cashiers tell me to taxi class barriers have been installed and the limit of one custom up attend school metres of retail space has been imposed. food deliveries are still possible and public transport is still running in belgium but there too a limit of 5 passengers on small business and 12 and bigger ones applies in belgium the peak of this epidemic has not yet been reached and many residents expect that the current lockdown will be extended. and here are some more of the latest developments in the corona virus pandemic 3 months into the outbreak and the global death toll from cova 19 related illnesses has now passed 21000 russia is holding all flights into and out of the country from friday and moscow's mayor has

ordered the closure of all shops except grocery stores and pharmacies from saturday russia has also reported its 1st 2 deaths from the disease iran is banning travel between its cities the governments and their fears a 2nd wave of infections. let's get a quick check of some other stories from around the world the man accused of carrying out new zealand's worst mass shooting in modern history has changed his plea to guilty the australian white supremacist is accused of opening fire on 2 mosques in christ church killing 51 people and injuring dozens more more than 400000 people in the u.k. have answered a government call for volunteers to help the country's national health service they will be deployed delivering medicines to people who can't get out or who have been told to stay indoors and offer telephone support to people self isolated alone.

claims for unemployment benefits in the united states rocketed by more than 3000000 just last week alone from just over a quarter of a 1000000 the week before that is by far the highest ever jump in a single week according to the department of labor the hardest hits was services reflecting the closure of businesses such as restaurants and bars economists expect that the number of cleaning unemployment benefits will rise further while much of the united states remains on lockdown. financial correspondent chelsea delaney is at the frankfurt stock exchange the chelsea how are investors reacting to these devastating u.s. jobs numbers. well i heard some audible gasps when this number was released it's just job dropping and then more than a 1000 percent increase from the previous week and economists say this is really just the start because a lot of people who have been laid off haven't been able to file for unemployment

benefits because phone lines have been down websites have been down just because there's so much demand right now. the market reaction has been a little bit surprising actually we've seen stocks about here in frankfurt the docs have been down about 3 percent now it's paired those losses it's up about 2 percent now and u.s. stock futures have pointed higher which i think just suggest people were expecting something a little more apocalyptic. and let's get your reaction also to some news from the g k consumer research institute which says the following it's reporting that the coronavirus pandemic has shattered german consumer confidence as millions suddenly fear for their jobs or face short time working she had canes consumer climate index has plunged to its lowest level since the financial crisis faced with them certain future consumers are now hoarding cash which is likely to hit the retail manufacturing the services centers have kay says that they should now prepare for

a recession. so we're seeing this negative economic data really around the world chelsea it appears as if the germ the german economy at least is most certainly heading for a recession doesn't. almost without a doubt if the question now is really how steep it's going to be this consumer confidence data it wasn't a surprise if drop so much but investors had actually been a little bit surprised by it by how steeply a trop today i think we're really seeing at people being really is stuck in their houses and not being able to buy anything and this for germany as a big problem because consumption people spending money have been really the only thing keeping germany out of recession as the manufacturing sector had already been in and of and of steep with long recession heading into this crisis so this really raises a lot of questions about how germany is going to get through this we did see another forecast today suggesting that german g.d.p. could fall by about 10 percent this year and kind of show brace ourselves chelsea

delaney with the view from frankfurt on the markets thank you. this is deja vu news don't forget you can get all the latest news and information around the clock on our web site that's at d w just com you can also follow us on social media i'm in progress because so much for joining us.

the time of challenge. the return of the markets. the momentum of the working world. your business magazine made in germany. the next on t.w. . is

a master of the art of confrontation and this is wrong measuring of verbal combat i mean you're going to see ya you fly the undisputed champion of so far with the whole talk trying to frighten people you know it's a fact everybody understands it is a beautiful enter the conflict zone and join tim sebastian as he holds the powerful to account this is a big failure whichever way you like to spin a conflict zone. in 60 minutes. staying up to date don't miss our highlights. program on line d.w. dot com highlights.

these days art is big business this stolen piece of canvas for example went 432-8000 euros and that's nothing out of the old.