this is g.w. news live from berlin easter under lockdown churches around the world celebrate the holy day without congregations in rome pope francis calls for global solidarity in fighting the coronavirus pandemic and for cease fires in all conflicts st peter's square normally packed with tens of thousands of worshipers stands deserted. also coming up health experts warn that corona virus could have a devastating impact in africa or most hospitals are desperately short of equipment

and train staff to go to kenya where the corona virus is also causing financial uncertainty for many people. and to better understand what long term impact the pandemic may have on work and life habits we look back to what happens after the flu outbreak in 1918. i'm lame glu craft welcome to the program for the 1st time in centuries the pope has held easter sunday mass largely alone a live stream was made available for those who want to watch as most of the world's 1300000000 catholics celebrate the holy day under coronavirus lockdown pope francis called this year in easter of solitude. he swapped his normal audience of thousands for empty pews and the echoes of an empty set peter's basilica. pope francis delivered his message behind

closed doors amid the ongoing lockdown in coronavirus hit italy. he's called for global solidarity to fight the virus. in. light of the present circumstances. may international sanctions be relaxed. since these make it difficult for countries on which they have been imposed. to provide adequate support for their citizens. if i may all nations be put in the position to meet the greatest needs of the moment. action if not the forgiveness. burdening the balance sheets of the poorest nations people. also expressed particular concern for the future of europe saying innovative solutions were needed to get through this tough period.

european union is presently facing an epochal challenge. on which will depend not only its future. but that of the whole world. let us not lose the opportunity to give further proof of solidarity also by turning to innovative solutions. are a familiar sought around the world whose service is being held in close churches as millions of people have been told. in the u.s. the cove in 1000 death toll has reached more than 22000 and really every state has issued stay at home orders as the country grapples with the highest number of deaths and confirmed cases in the world here's what the head of the u.s. food and drug administration told us media about the federal government weighing when restrictions could ease. we're looking at may 1st obviously we want that to

happen as soon as possible i can't predict at this point because as i said things are happening very rapidly but this team this team of doctors this team of experts all of government approach they're focused at looking at the earliest possible time that we can get americans back to wait back to work safely and to give americans the confidence they need to make sure that these are the right decisions now it's important to note that it's largely up to state governments to decide when life can start returning to normal and president donald trump appears eager to push them to do so piers use washington correspondent with more on that decision making process that's exactly what president trump wants to hear he'll of course has the elections on his mind the stock market the economy he's also under really severe pressure by a prediction of the i.m.f. just a couple days ago that we're expecting the deepest economic downturn in a century and then of course the johns hopkins university who's been delivering the

global data of the latest numbers in infections worldwide they've been very critical in responding to that they believe that if the country opens up too early then the numbers off infections and casualties will spike once again. the leader of the expert the national expert here in the united states for infectious diseases and to be followed she says reopening is possible technically but he is rather talking about a faced role of and that means that it's depending on local situations because obviously new york city the situation in new york city is somewhat different compared to other states across the u.s. particularly in the center of the country and don't forget the state governors will have an important word to say to him they will rather decide based on their local situation rather than with regards to the upcoming election. and for all the struggles medical systems face in. rich countries health officials say the

consequences of an al break in poor countries will be difficult to fathom in africa the virus has spread to $52.00 countries though the continent lags behind the global curve in infections and deaths but that could change dramatically kenya for example is warning the country could have $10000.00 cases by the end of april. it was supposed to be an orderly process but the fence could barely hold back the crowd motivated by misery residents from the slums of nairobi have come in search of promised aid packages. i'm waiting here so that my grandchildren can finally eat again i don't have anyone else. but private donations aren't enough for everyone here in the fight against the coronavirus the kenyan government has drastically restricted freedom of movement for weeks now few have been able to earn a living in the poorest communities have been hardest hit few have any savings and what money they have goes on food soap and running water

a luxuries and everything has become more expensive since the outbreak began most african states are struggling many are highly indebted with paul the functioning health systems the growing number of coronavirus cases threatens to overwhelm hospitals i doubt for can states are struggling to compete with rich countries on the world market for scarce resources such as face masks ventilators. bill gates and his wife melinda are appealing for industrial countries to put selfishness aside the couple fund the biggest private foundation in the world which is engaged in projects across africa they're demanding more cooperation between countries and the world health organization right now the number of cases in those countries is still pretty modest but everything we've seen would suggest that they'll become the epicenter of the epidemic in the months ahead without major support for developing

countries the coronavirus pandemic will remain a global problem. british prime minister boris johnson has been discharged from the hospital after being treated for covert 19 johnson was admitted a week ago and spent 3 days in intensive care his office says he won't return to work immediately johnson's recovery comes as the u.k. death toll tops 10001 of the highest rates in the world this hospital bids farewell to its most high profile patient as the british prime minister arrives at his country residence to recuperate boris johnson says the national health service saved his life in the last 7 days i have of course seen the pressure that the n.h.s. is under i've seen the personal courage not just of the doctors the nurses but have everyone the cleaners the cooks the health care workers with every description physios radiograph was for mrs who kept coming to work kept putting

themselves in harm's way kept risky these deadly virus he survived what so many others haven't as the u.k. says a grim milestone. today marks a somber day in the impact of this disease the fact that over 10000 people have now lost their lives to this invisible killer demonstrates just how serious coronavirus is and why the national effort that everyone is engaged in is so important the real number could be much higher as the official told does not include deaths at side of hospitals and while the prime minister thanks the health service for saving his life doctors unions are warning that a lack of protective equipment is putting health care workers at risk britain's health minister says the government is working to fix any shortages daily with delivering millions of items to the front line so we're working very hard to

resolve all of these individual logistical challenges meanwhile british life is still on hold this speech in brighton would normally be packed for the still weekend i return to normality looks a long way off with the expectation that the nation wide lockdown will be extended to this week let's turn to some coronavirus developments elsewhere in the world spain's prime minister pedro sanchez says his country is far from victory against the coronavirus after the death toll rose again in the latest 24 hour period the number of deaths jumped by more than 100 to 619 following 3 straight days of decline but there were fewer new infections during the same period. in an effort to stabilize oil prices amid the coronavirus pandemic opec members and other oil producing countries such as russia have agreed to cut output by a record 10 percent a price war between russia and saudi arabia a made crashing demand due to pandemic lockdowns every tatic on the oil market.

turkish president. has refused the resignation of his interior minister sue them so who who took responsibility for this weekend's much criticized cove in $1000.00 curfew the announcement of the 48 hour lockdown millions by surprise and prompted panic buying 2 hours before it took effect on friday night. a century ago a deadly flu swept the world with devastating consequences that changed the way people lived 100 years later the novel coronavirus is also likely to leave a social and cultural impact already terms like social distancing itself isolation have joined the common vernacular what changes can we expect to last history may offer a clue if habits like the handshake will become a thing of legend. deadly pandemic descended on the world after the 1st world war

as if people hadn't suffered enough already the virus known as the spanish flu blew across the globe 100 years ago hitting middle aged people hardest. about one 3rd of the german population was sick and to some degree. in all of europe 2300000 people died. worldwide at least 25000000. possibly 50000000 or double even that. doctors had little at their disposal to fight the virus no ventilators no antibiotics the only thing that helped was keeping people apart from each other. this shows that the most important step in stopping the spread of the pathogen is separating people by shutting down every day life and interactions. pandemics are both brutal and educational the spanish flu showed that quarantines actually helped

after the 1st world war and the spanish flu the economy started looking up the history of epidemics shows that they lead to advances and innovations another example the plague it killed millions of people in the middle ages yet later had extraordinary economic and societal effects. easter is a day of celebration for christians but a pandemic can make that difficult especially for children and their families stuck at home so around the world people have stepped up to bring them a bit of joy like this man here in berlin a sunny yet desolate easter for some with lonely colored eggs and playgrounds that are no go zones for children. enter a stand in for the easter bunny he's parent circle co founder of the ark a small german christian charity. like the easter bunny parents single cow

delivers the ark normally offers lunches tutoring and support for kids from families facing tough times but its facilities are all closed so the ark brought the easter goods to the door. he looked at the air is getting thinner now at home parents are running out of ideas of what to do with their kids they may not have a garden to go out to maybe a balcony but they can't be too loud because the neighbors won't be happy everything's cramped and strange for most families. so single cow brings some familiar easter joy to the apartment door. i wonder sometimes you don't know how to get to the end of the month especially with the children at home usually they get food in school and the arc so it's important we get support and i. even support in the way of chocolate bunnies can go a long way single column the ark brought smiles to kids from about $150.00 families . you're watching to w. news from berlin remember you can get the latest headlines they did have you app or

on our website to w dot com and of course we're there for you on twitter and instagram at u.w. news i'm william blue cross from berlin i'll have more news for you at the top of the hour until then stay safe stay healthy and if you can stay home thanks for watching. we're all set. to go beyond feel. that. we're all about the stories that matter to you. through. whatever it takes. you know running now.