this is the news line from protecting the population from the coronavirus off facemasks possibly opinions divided about whether that general used by medics const up the spread of infection look at differing attitudes in europe and asia also on the program a strong warning from u.s. president donald trump as his country's death toll soars. this is going to be a very painful. very very painful 2 weeks the white house predicts up 224-0000 u.s. citizens could die in the pandemic. afghanistan steps up its efforts to

contain top it 19 but now faces an additional challenge from the thousands of people returning home from iraq. i'm phil gallo welcome to the program governments around the world are scrambling to find ways to limit the spread of the coronavirus many have imposed restrictions on people's movements and we're told to wash our hands and keep our distance from others in many places especially in asia people are also told to wear face masks but have infected ave the pinion here in europe is divided we'll hear from the next person a moment 1st this report. face masks for years they've been part of daily life for many in asia and now for parts of europe they're about to become so

to us troops decision to make it compulsory to wear the masks in supermarkets sparked a debate in neighboring germany. the town of vienna has now become germany's 1st to announce similar measures though given the shortage of facemasks the city has encouraged people to sow their own it's a move large the welcome to buy their residence. i think it's good the more that stunned the better and the more everyone does it the sooner we'll be free of the virus i have 6 simple masks at home and then push comes to shove also my assuming. i think it's a good idea in principle the problem is that there simply aren't any masks makes. the world health organization is among those saying there's little scientific evidence showing that basic masks once not intended for medical use effectively prevent healthy people from catching the corona virus but some experts advise that they could be useful as

a barrier to stop those infected from contaminating others. non-truths masks for nose and mouth are relevant for the protection of others if someone is infected and masks keep the virus droplets from flying out when someone sneezes or coughs. mr voight. up to now the insistence by many western countries that the widespread use of masks is not necessary has surprised many in asia that people have worn face masks for years because of air pollution but in this pandemic they're practically a civic duty in europe that attitude is now increasingly gaining ground. as if i'm dr alexander edwards he's an immunologist from the university of reading in the u.k. a welcome to do double talk at what's what's your position on the dates the use of face masks by the general public during this pandemic. i think it's

a really difficult one to judge because we have i absolutely agree with the w.h.o. guidelines that proper. officially. protective equipment is absolutely essential for those people who are working with patients but the question here is about whether you should wear just some kind of face covering a tall and whether that would be helpful in day to day life and unfortunately i think that we don't have enough data to suggest one way or another. this turn to the general business of this pandemic i've seen a us estimate a quarter of people with covered 19 showed no symptoms how much of a concern is that so i think that this is the driver behind a very very rapid spread an increase in numbers that we've seen across europe in the u.s. the most likely explanation for that enormous exhilaration is that

a lot of people are spreading the virus without really realizing that they are sick and that's why we're having these sort of rather dramatic movement restrictions because we can't identify every single person infected and therefore we have to just stop everyone moving around but the real difficulty is that the kind of studies that we need to be able to identify how many people are infected without symptoms are actually quite difficult to run and they're actually quite timekeeper time consuming laborious so we'll thought start to see more of these studies coming out and being published but we wait anxiously for that scientific data to really understand the situation so while we are in the midst of this pandemic all sources around the world are trying to flatten the if they do manage to flatten this kind of infection what do they need to do to stop it spiking again. that is again the really important question i think the w.h.s.

recommendation of test test test becomes really important because once you have a low level of infection in a population it becomes more realistic to restrict the movement of people who are infected was allowing everybody else to get back into their normal business that will be difficult but we are starting to learn more about how to do that and expand testing capability to make sure that when we get to that flattened cove point that we can start coming up with safe returning to work protocols good talking to thank you for joining us dr alexander edwards from the university reading. the u.n. secretary general and turning to terror says the world is facing the most challenging crises since the 2nd world war speaking at the launch of a u.n. plan to address the pandemic socio economic impact be called for a much stronger and more effective global response and warned that the world was still a long way from fighting the virus effectively was to get tears went on to say that

the fight would need 10 percent of global g.d.p. and he stressed the need for solidarity with countries most challenge by the pandemic let us remember that we are only as strong as the weakest health system you know interconnected what's every single do during and after these crises must be the strong focus on building more equal inclusive and sustainable economies and societies that are more resilient in the face of and that makes climate change and the many other global challenges we face well it's no use so we don't we so you don't see we can defeat the fives and builds a better world. and turning to terrace for a look now at some of the of the developments in this pandemic spain has recorded a new daily death toll of 864 that means that now more than 1000 people have died

in the country european scientists are launching a joint initiative to develop applications to help contacts tracing and looking at ways of making an app that's compliant with the blocks tough privacy laws china has report of the 1st time on the number of asymptomatic cases its s 1300 people have tested positive despite showing no symptoms and the captain of a u.s. aircraft carrier is calling for urgent help to quarantine his crew of 4000 the theodore roosevelt is docked in guam in the pacific with the disease spreading rapidly on board and u.s. president donald trump has told americans to prepare for a very painful 2 weeks he was speaking as the country's death toll from the coronavirus of past 4000 was greater than china's official tally president trump said as many as 240000 people in the u.s. could die even if current social distancing measures were maintained. bringing out the dead new york is america's coronavirus hot spot. 19 has killed more than

1500 people across the state most of the deaths have been in new york city authorities there are ramping up hospital capacity across the u.s. numbers are rising sharply. i want every american to be prepared for the hard days that lie ahead we're going to go through a very tough 2 weeks. hopefully as the experts are predicting as i think a lot of a separate data gave having started it so or even start seeing some real light at the end of the tunnel but this is going to be a very painful. very very painful to. new york's world renowned central park is normally a haven for walkers and jug is now dozens of volunteers have helped to build a field hospital in the park to cope with an expected surgeon coronavirus cases there's hope that people really care i think we've seen so many new yorkers come

out here and helping out just that ultimately there's out there is hope out there i think it shows the capacity for our health care system to reach out and do whatever it takes to take care of this is the united states the field hospital in central park will be able to take nearly 70 carona patients the u.s. open tennis complex will be home to another makeshift emergency clinic the white house is projecting as many as 240000 u.s. deaths officials say that without social distancing measures now in place that could have been more than 2000000. a 2nd look now at some of the other stories making news around the world thousands of brazilians have banned pots and pans of their windows for a 15th night protest to present both in our response to the corona virus a pandemic the president used a televised address on tuesday to insist the virus will cause less than shutting down the economy despite this he described the pandemic as one of the greatest

challenges of our generation. lawmakers in ukraine passed a historic land reform bill clearing hurdles to unlock an $8000000000.00 i.m.f. loan package wearing masks gloves against the coronavirus they lifted the longstanding ban on the sound of funk band. a forest fire that started on monday still raging in the chinese province of sichuan at least 19 people have died according to the state news agency fires now threatening major facilities in downtowns each on a city of around 690000 as firefighters continue to fight the blaze. got its downs recorded nearly $200.00 coronavirus cases and 4 deaths or thors is there are taking steps to halt the spread of infection but after years of war the health system is weak and will be overwhelmed if the number of cases grows as it has in other countries the country's problems are exacerbated by the return of

thousands of people from iran one of the country's worst hit by covered 90 spring down the streets of kabul in a desperate attempt to stave off a deadly disease afghanistan is one of the world's poorest countries its health care system is no match for a pandemic that's spreading across the globe like wildfire. as the number of coronavirus cases here rises the government is taking measures to contain the outbreak the western city of herat is eerily calm shops and mosques have been ordered to shut down mad oh my it's a coronavirus keeps spreading they'll be in a minute terry and catastrophe the government must take serious measures to help like most afghans the residents of herat a poor the government has ordered the release of hundreds of inmates to prevent crowded jails from becoming infection hotspots but afghanistan has bigger worries than its prison population millions of afghans have been displaced during years of conflict many have fled to neighboring iran one of the country's worst hit by the

corona virus pandemic those people are now streaming back in their thousands all are potential carriers of the disease. they get only food was the number of afghan refugees returning has increased massively. they're afraid of the coronavirus in iraq and the now finding work because of the economic downturn in the clear for them government is concerned or rather a huge number of people returning among the most vulnerable to the virus is afghanistan's internally displaced population many of them live in sprawling camps on the outskirts of hirano which is close to the iranian border here survival is already a daily struggle camp residents depend on critical help from overstretched international aid agencies whose work is now made even more difficult by the global pandemic of the german football link has confirmed that the bundesliga will resume on the 30th

of april at the earliest germany's top league has been suspended since march 13th clubs agreed on tuesday that the suspension should be extended because of a pandemic or the games may still be played behind closed doors when the season restarts there are 9 times of much is left in the car and in this league season. a group of volunteer firefighters and here in germany who who are in self isolation received a phone call i'll never forget they've been living at best station for 2 weeks and small time bad been on an island off germany's northern coast to avoid infection and stay operational well that's in the german chancellor's constituency surrounding the medical call them up to thank them for their dedication but they thought it was a prank and hung up on a 2nd call did go through after press office phone to assure them that it was the real deal. this is deja news that will have more on the

current plotters after the fish bowl or said i'll be back at the top of the out in between of course as always the website d w dot com i'm good. for. combating the corona pandemic. where does research stand. what are scientists learning. background information and news. hour corona. 19 special next on d w. how does a virus spread. why do we panic and when we'll all miss him just 3 of the topics from cover and weekly radio show is called spectrum if you would like

any information on the chrono larysa or any other science topic you should really check out our podcast you can get it wherever you get your podcasts you can also find us at dot com look forward slash science. this pandemic is is is overwhelming it's just so many people that need the breathing machines that just simply haven't been manufactured yet. imagine your docs on have a 30 year old patient and an 80 year old both infected with the coronavirus both throwing severe symptoms and both needing an oxygen but you only have one who should use this kind of decision is called tria which is french and the means deciding who has a higher chance of survival and is given a higher priority in medical treatment and who might be there. to the.

doctors around the globe are taking these decisions right now what does that mean for those doctors and what are the ethics behind 3 are that's what we're looking at today in all special coverage of the covert 19 crisis here on the w m god as welcome it all comes down to how well the health system is prepared for a pandemic in the end it's the number of intensive care beds and ventilators that counts most health system outside italy and france are holding the line but around the world hospitals are filling up tria might become a reality for doctors sooner or later. this is the worst case scenario when treating patients in front stopped is a false to make life or death decisions patients save the age of 80 will not be put on mechanical ventilators this process is called tria. the time comes from the french team

a it means the sourcing of an allocation of treatment to patients modern medical triano was invented during the napoleonic wars france spain and italy of the worst affected countries in europe more than 100000 people have been infected with the virus in italy unknown nearly 12000 have died and the longer the crisis continues the more often doctors are faced with making some very tough decisions and to talk about those decisions are now joined by dr to be escort is a physician and at the epidemiology the director also the director of the institute for public health at berlin started to hospital professor. physician teaching medical ethics at heidelberg university let's start with you dr corder we're not yet doing in germany are doctors well prepared for taking these decisions. well workers are well prepared as other doctors in the world in training and the

hospitals and physicians already stationed. theoretical i think we're in what's reactions necessary in germany it will be very challenging for a doctors and the medical teams here as well. how does trash work in a hospital is it just one doctor who ends up being the only one responsible and carries this burden well there are certainly operating procedures in place so it's going to imagine eventually you have a very short time to decide in which case it louis left by the treating physician 'd in the medical teams on the side will get to go to laser or not so it's going to be a very challenging situation so therefore the support of the local law structures the hospital as well as the legal system it's very important to support these medical teams to make these decisions but talking about these procedures a professor how can doctors and hospitals actually prepare for trios.

but i think. from an ethical point of humor and prepayment for these decisions is crucial for 2 reasons because any uniform rules in order to ensure a creation of resources. across teams across units and hospitals and because doctors in their everyday clinical don't and i'm not familiar not at ease this as such decisions because the traditional clinical ethics is patient centered and not at for allocating patients to different levels of contingency care so from an ethical point of here we need to a tree on 2 areas things 1st victory asked for quotes that provides for a step by step evaluation and criteria for prayer testing patients and in germany several medical association pettish recommendations but we are protocol last week with their ketamine for ethics in medicine in that heat and 2nd each hospital test

if. these bullets should be implemented and therefore actually asked him that include the expertise of intensive care physicians. maybe even clinical ethics committees can support in setting up these processes think the most important think is s. and thing as doctors that there are only if they give it up it's not to charge for the responsibility taken in these decisions that's where one key issue of course but what about normal doctors saying in the community village doctors who have covered patients do they also or might they also face these ethical dilemmas. i think not those that at this end is and the decision on. who gets under ventilator is obviously not the primary care physician that they have at their tree ash decisions if there are many patients who are going to transfer to the hospital . if there are many patients in need so i think the same criteria of

seriousness and and commodities that go into the trash or tickets in the hospital can also be a knight in the periphery for nominal primary care physician or at least of importance for him. coming back to you how well can you predict actually whether a person will probably die even if treated isn't that also a bit of a lottery but it certainly is a lot of parameters medical history medical experience of dreams as it were are to support your decision but there is no certainty that the 2 minute decision is he is the right one also there is only. 2 years painted it seems made different decisions the canoe up situation there will be a circle

a learning curve. and there in the matter if things are going to rest you really miss the us for the rest of the large professor winkler coming back to you as an ethicist what can you tell a frontline doctor who is facing a decision like that could you give us an example. well i think 1st it would be important to or to acknowledge that these are tough decisions that kind of head out spend our 100 doctors ethics and summer test the church if you have such dilemma and then coming back to those rules and protocols that we have now is set up saying. there are different faces of the pen demick and if you have not enough ventilators for our patients who needs your have to pray or test so it's. certain that you are and that they will survive and then others and

there we have clearly led laid out criteria so that this was a good set current situation up the patient come up if he's straight he isn't criteria but for example age just not incorrect here that went into our recommendation said chumbley and if i think the steps thing that i would recommend is make. a way out of. a terrible suppliants in secular absolute terms because you know that this is a serious stress and more and otherwise stressing situation and this church as a bit up now or in the hospital as it's will relieve the stress that happens in trio situations professor having to and doctor to be of course thank you very much . and hours every day here is our science correspondent stan equal him for the couple of answers to questions that you have sent him keep them coming today it's about how men and women can be differently

affected by coping 19 it's the culverts gender gap. studies suggest men are more likely to catch covert $1000.00 than women is that true it does indeed appear that men are more likely to test positive for the disease than women are in other words men make up more than the 50 percent of confirmed cases you would expect if the virus infected men and women with equal frequency. are men more likely to die from coven 1000 as well. here the data is this more conclusive and what it's saying is that men are more likely to die after infection with cope at 19 than women are the numbers are very striking for example in italy where over 70 percent of the confirmed patients who succumb to the disease for men also the coronavirus really does appear to be more lethal for men than it is for

women. so why are men more vulnerable than women. like so much else about this virus for just don't know enough at this point to really pin down why it's killing more men than it is women but researchers have hazarded some guesses on average worldwide more than women do men pursue behaviors that are considered to be health risks like smoking tobacco or we're drinking alcohol and everyone should know those risks those unhealthy behaviors can also lead to what are called co-morbidities those are conditions like like hypertension or a cardiovascular disease or chronic lung disease and many of the victims of covert 19 were elderly men with co-morbidities yet other researchers are trying to cast some light on the issue by focusing on the biological and genetic differences between men and women could estrogen be playing a protective role for example maybe there are also some well documented immune

system differences between men and women and what's most probable is that all of those factors social behavioral biological that they're all going to play a role in why covert 19 is hitting men harder than it's hitting women there's not going to be a simple straightforward explanation. on the barry williams that keep the questions coming and that was our coverage 900 special for more on the pandemic to check out our social media channels our web site that's d w dot com of course which is dedicated covert 900 pages in 30 languages and now we want to leave you with a few images from that egypt the famous great pyramids unpleasant with messages of unity and solidarity with those bottling noble caracal and iris across the globe the 1st time last night stay safe. thank you those keeping us safe flashed across

a towering structure at the giza plateau. india. how can a country's economy grow in harmony with its people and the environment when there are do worse you look at the bigger picture india a country that faces many challenges and whose people are striving to create a sustainable future clever projects from europe and india. next on the dollars. of tax.

refund of the markets. the momentum of the morning world. this movie made in germany. in 60 minutes on the w. . orld the on the on. the i subscribe to do you know where your books are or something more in the world than a book we may be kept or 5 point. 3 books on to. ringback

life itself arose from water it's where the essential building blocks were formed over millennia it took power systems a few years for aquatic animals and plants to make the transition on to that look at today's goods they've evolved from the freedom in dinosaurs and now they're forced to make a hole in the crowded cities adapt a show.