really check out our podcast so you can get it wherever you go your pockets you can also find us at. science. this is d w news live from berlin cope with 19 is just beginning to spread across the african continent and it's heading south africa 1st the military out to enforce a law down the people are finding it hard staying in is specially those who are most at risk. plus france is expanding its social isolation measures the country has been a lot down since march 17th the government now says the restrictions will remain in

place for at least 3 additional weeks also coming up the coronavirus crisis deepens in the united states president gul trump backs away from a controversial idea to quarantine new york and neighboring states where the infection rate is so. i'm called aspen thanks for joining us the corona virus is reaching across the globe and it's just starting to spread more rapidly now across africa but more than $1000.00 infections south africa is the worst hit nation on the continent the country has just begun a 3 week national walk down and local authorities are taking a hard line in forcing it. or no no my learner the army is out on the streets here in one of johannesburg's poor neighborhoods it's trying to enforce what seems difficult for many staying at home for the lead while the family lockdown means

6 people sharing 12 square metres that normally only happens at night when they sleep and they have no running water they have to collect it themselves from a tap a kilometer away social distancing doesn't really work here but it's badly needed millions suffer from tuberculosis and aids and particular risk as night. we have no choice we have to come to this place to get water and to go to the toilet. the main roads are almost empty this is one of the strictest lockdowns in the world only those an essential services such as hospitals are allowed to go to work food shopping is allowed but the queues are often long and few here keep their distance. i know that i can't go to work and that worries me i don't

know if my employer will still need me after the lockdown is over. the standstill will likely ruin many businesses in south africa but fear of the uncontrolled spread of the virus is even greater because it could spell the collapse of the country's already stretched health service let's bring indeed of you correspondent adrian creatures in cape town adrian this is day 3 of a 21 day long down already we are seeing soldiers in the streets i mean just just walk us through the challenges that south africa will be facing to get people to follow these sorts of public health measures. of course it's a very challenging time for south africans the measures extremely strict you're not allowed to walk or not allowed to go out for jogging you can't even walk your dog so this is of course something people 1st have to get used to this people who are still allowed to go out those ones who work in essential services supermarket

workers for example people working in hospitals and you can see a little bit of movement behind me on the street at the moment this is because this time windows during the day where these people are allowed to go to work and they often however rely on public transport and i talked to some yesterday and they told me well it is really difficult for them because not many many buses operate anymore and those that operate are totally overcrowded which is of course a problem if you're actually trying to make distance between people and try to stop the spread of the virus as we saw in that report i mean it's most difficult in the poorest areas i mean some people don't have running water just talk about the risks that people face. cape town and also in south africa this is of course the major challenge in the township where millions of south africans are living under very difficult conditions often in crowded spaces in shacks and the big question is how long can they really stay there how long are they going to be patient right now the lockdown is scheduled to last 3 weeks but the hope of experts here is that after 2

weeks we will see a decrease in the new infections but this is not guaranteed we have no idea if this will really work out and there's some speculation already if the curfew and the lockdown might be even extended and then people of course fearing how will people there react how patient can they be in these very trying times remember many of them don't have a fixed salary they have to go out to so why if so this is the big question here how is that going to continue how is that going to. our idea of use age increase reporting for us in cape town thank you very much. our let's take a look now at the latest developments in the corona virus pandemic more than 30000 people worldwide have now died from the virus the global number of infections exceeding 660000 now italy's death toll from covert 1000 has climbed past 10000 with 889 new reported deaths the 2nd highest daily tally in the country pakistan

with an increase in positive coronavirus tests raising the country's total to nearly 1500 confirmed infections and thailand has recorded 143 new cases that's the 2nd highest uptick in that country with a total now of nearly 1400 infected. well here in berlin chancellor angela merkel is asking german citizens to stay patient and continue following social distancing measures daily 400 people have died from the disease in germany but more than 50000 confirmed infections medical thanked the vast majority of citizens for changing their daily behavior to minimize contact the situation germany is currently far less serious than in italy or in spain but the chancellor's office confirmed that restrictions will not be reconsidered even before april 20th those include the closure of non-essential shops and a ban on more than 2 people meeting in public. all germans are settling

into a new way of life their french neighbors are struggling with even tougher isolation measures france's been under lockdown since march 17th on friday prime minister and barred for leave said the unprecedented peace time restrictions would remain in place until at least april 15th. spring is in the air in paris but there's barely anyone out on the streets on the 12th day of the lockdown the french capital was largely deserted and most who had to be out weren't exactly comfortable about being there. who was going to have to go to work i get nervous when i use public transport and talking to you know without a mask but when i get on the metro. and keep my distance. and i respect the advice we've been given because i'm not a scientist. police have been out in high numbers enforcing the lockdown they say they've issued more than 225000 fines for violations so far.

but authorities say in general the measures have been widely well received. and despite the circumstances many say this simply learning to live with confinement. bush would sometimes that and to get used to it's becoming a routine you know i'm at home and i'm working from home so it's pretty quiet for me. but not all french like it quiet across the country people are finding new ways of coping with being cooped up at home. this cello player for example didn't talk to social media to show off his talents he simply stepped out onto the balcony. the french appear to be complying with the lockdown so far the with the confinement measures set to last to at least the 15th of april possibly longer who knows how long that public support will last. well the united

states has the largest number of confirmed cases of any nation at least 17 states there have more than 1000 and factions but new york state is the hardest hit with more than 53000 cases u.s. president's donald trump has decided against sealing off that region after he briefly flirted with the idea on saturday instead the government has issued a travel warning the centers for disease control is urging residents of new york new jersey and connecticut to refrain from all nonessential travel for the next 2 weeks. the new york state alone accounts for more than 40 percent of total infections and deaths in the u.s. which is now more than 2000 and climbing the region's on another jumping coronavirus fatalities on saturday infections are also surging giving other u.s. states a glimpse of the struggles that could be coming their way. desperately needed help about to head from virginia to virus struck new york president donald trump was

that a sea of the 1200 medical personnel today i'm here to express my profound gratitude to the dedicated service members who will soon be on the front lines of this fight but for those on the front line in one of the hardest hit areas in the u.s. that help can't come soon enough. respecting the rules on keeping their distance health because at this hospital protested overwhelming working conditions they say a shortage of protective equipment is putting lives at risk they warn other hospitals across the u.s. could face similar conditions soon a fear echoed by new york state governor. we have been behind this virus from day one we have been in a reactive posture from day one the virus makes another move and then we

respond no you don't weigh in on dot difference you went on our friends you have to get ahead of this it dissipate what's going to happen since new york residents were told to stay home almost a week ago the city's resembled a ghost town but new infections and deaths keep surging the hope now that monday's arrival of the u.s. navy ship will give new york struggling health system a fighting chance in the battle against kovac 19. our look now at some of the other stories making headlines at this hour hundreds of passengers have been evacuated from a luxury cruise liner that was hit by the coronavirus off the coast of panama 4 people died on board the dutch owned zaandam and other 2 others tested positive passengers about sentence have been transferred to a sister ship authorities lifted a ban to allow the vessels through the panama canal and to florida.

russia's state controlled oil company rosneft will cease its operations in venezuela have said it would instead sell its assets to a russian state company the move comes after the u.s. pressed the company to halt production in venezuela which has provided a lifeline to the government of president nicolas maduro. or authorities in singapore are looking to enforce stricter social distancing measures as the city state sees coronavirus cases rising the crowded city is racing to learn from experiences elsewhere to keep infection rates they are. keeping your distance isn't easy in a densely populated city state authorities in singapore are doing everything they can to help keep people apart mockers on the floor of a bubble tea shop at the huge ring machines of

a mcdonald's restaurant even on public benches after a recent spike in infections brought in from overseas tough punishments will now be imposed on anyone who flaunts the rules. intentionally standing or sitting less than a mission or away from someone could land you in prison for up to 6 months and incur a fine of up to $10000.00 singapore dollars about $6000.00 euro's i think i would if you don't. like. they said they said. that they will have thanks very. much and. make sure that people who are in. contact tracing and close monitoring of new cases have helped singapore keep infection rates low and it's meant the city has so far avoided going into

a turtle lockdown if people here want to keep their remaining freedom they'd better continue to money in the camp. well scythe self isolation has not stopped the rotterdam philharmonic from performing what you might call a confinement concerto the musicians came together virtually from their homes with each playing their part that's been watched online more than a 1000000 times the last day and believe you now with their performance of ode to joy called aspen in berlin i'll be back with more news at the top of the al for.

that.