normal. people around the world are documenting this dramatic times. they're keeping the correct diary. and welcoming us into. their little sketch as up close and personal as the pandemic will allow. the diaries starts many teeth on t w. clear disturbing and they proved true april has been a horrible month for the world the coronavirus pandemic peaked in many places but not before claiming tens of thousands of lives as we bid good riddance to a problem many places are flattening the curb and lifting lockdowns and there may be a new treatment from an old drug tonight predictions for me there will be no vaccine

probably no cure and we will need just as much patience as ever before i'm burnt off berlin this is the day. of his few desirous in our country it will be here for months. to see if we have succeeded in putting the brakes on the spread of the fibers and that has to be our main focus. who puts you into reproductive rate is estimated at 0.76 this means that according to these calculations on average one infected person now effects less than one other or introduce you to presume it's bed doesn't exist sense or that we stay disciplined that we keep our distance and follow hygiene of rules and take. anyone who has a cute respiratory symptoms should be tested for the virus because the capacities

of that they should be used. also coming up tonight police raids across the country germany bans the islamist group hezbollah and labels it a terrorist organization and members of peace potty and nothing more than despicable israel hate is an anti semites people who not only call into question its rallies right to exist but also openly call for its destruction. to our viewers on p.b.s. . in the united states and all around the world welcome we begin the day ending april counting what we've lost and counting what we've saved one month ago on the last day of march there were 857000 confirmed cases globally of coven 19 the disease caused by the new coronavirus today on this last day of april that number stands at almost 3000000 250000. was without

a doubt a month that belong to the pandemic to date more than 230000 people have died from the virus but there are inspiring numbers reflected in the tragic ones more than 1000000 people have fully recovered since the pandemic began may will most likely be a month in which the negatives and the positives both continue to grow however in more cities in countries around the world we are seeing increasing efforts at returning to some semblance of normality you can call them baby steps or 1st report walks us through the latest here in germany. chancellor angela merkel defended a step by step approach as she outlined details of the latest easing of restrictions in germany following a virtual meeting with the 16 state premiers it's been the 1st time strongly convinced we can best work in the interest of business but also of social contacts

if we focus on taking small steps towards allowing more contacts but if we don't have to take steps back and that's why we have to stay care for and have to adhere to measures of hygiene. under the new rules religious gatherings are allowed again provided hygiene and distancing requirements are met in churches synagogues and mosques visits to zoos museums and memorials will also be possible again under the same requirements intensive care units and hospitals will start receiving non-code 1000 patients again and playgrounds can reopen as early as this week. but 2 decisions were postponed for now one should gemini's blunder sleekest soccer league resume its season with games behind closed doors and 2 just which requirements need to be met before schools and child cafe still if he can reopen gradually. said it was important to get

a clear idea of the impact of the fast steps to ease the lockdown 2 weeks ago before deciding on the next steps and that will happen next wednesday. we'll listen to the scientists follow the data we have heard those commands ever since the pandemic began and they became more relevant as lock downs were imposed and entire economies were shut down as consensus here in germany over restrictions appears to be waning fresh appeals to people and policy makers to stay with the science listen to what the head of germany's center for disease control and prevention the robert cork institute said today it is for us this virus is in our country and will be in our country for months that's why we have to live for months in this so-called new normality where we have to make sure that the virus has this all chance as possible a spreading further. and that will continue to be the case as things stand at the

moment. until we either have a vaccine that will give us the immunity we need when we are a vaccination have a good vaccine or when we have better medicines that will allow us to treat the infected better foster. the. well my 1st guest tonight is one of the u.s. is leading epidemiologist dr jennifer horney is professor in founding director of the epidemiology program at the university of delaware she has trained rapid response teams for outbreaks including the 2009 swine flu pandemic dr horney it's good to have you on the day this is your 1st time you were happy to have you here i'd like to get your take on the ebola dr rem to severe yesterday the top infectious disease expert in the u.s. dr fallacy revived hopes of using the drug to treat with 19 take a listen to what he said although with 31 percent improvement doesn't seem like

a knock out 100 percent it is a very important proof of concept because what it is proven is that a drug can block this virus so after doctors found spoke the stock market jumped and it was easy to think that we have a new wonder medicine here against the virus maybe if you could give us a reality check please what is the reality about this medication. so i think this is a really important finding because to date we've had no pharmaceutical interventions for coping 19 so we've been relying on the type of individual and community level non-farm ical suitable interventions like social distancing at stay at home to control transmission and so to put this in context these trials showed a recovery time reduced from about 15 days to 11 days so that's why this 30 percent improvement comes as a comparison tamiflu which are that we use

a lot if you buy at all for seasonal influenza when given in the 1st 48 hours of infection it typically reduces our recovery time by one day in the sickle 7 to 10 day course of infection so among older adults it might be a little more effective but this is important because i've got high risk groups so this reduction of about of 13 pretty good in comparison with what we're usually expecting some antiviral ok from a possible treatment to a possible vaccine one day here what do you make of reports this week that researchers at oxford who were already working on a different corona virus and have now switched to the new coronavirus they hope to have the vaccine by the end of september the end of september it is that too good to be true. god i think that it probably is if we're talking about a vaccine that would be widely available so a couple of coffee outs are not the capacity to ramp up production is going to be severely limited even if

a vaccine was available by the fall it would only be available for use among highly targeted groups of high risk patients and i think we also need to consider what the uptake would be on a novel vaccine so even though the centers for disease control and prevention in the u.s. recommend seasonal flu vaccine for all americans over 6 months of age the typical population coverage is less than 50 percent even though the science is clear that reduces hospitalization and so if we have a vaccine available how many doses will we have and what would be the accepted. and you know we hear time and time again it's all about testing testing and testing there's been praise for self korea taiwan new zealand and germany for rolling out massive testing early on that is not the case in the united states why are we about to start the month of may with doctors across america still crying out for more tests. i honestly do not know why our testing

in the u.s. has been such a mess i'm not an expert in the supply chain issues that just certainly impacted the availability of the test kits and every agent needed and i was the samples but our strategy remains an adequate because we're not getting the task down to the lower levels of public health the state and local level which is where the contact with the populations that are at high risk are so much of what's needed to move forward with the plans that we have in place now for relaxing social distancing for a lot of on relatively untested diagnostic technologies and in contrast to the countries you mentioned that have been more successful in rolling out mass testing testing in the u.s. remains highly decentralized responsibility of the state. yeah ok you know there's a very good point to bring out the virus causing the pandemic now is thought to have originated in bat but u.s.

intelligence has confirmed that it is investigating the possibility of the virus having leaked from a lab in china now if that were to be proven true would it have any impact on how we are reacting and dealing with this pandemic does it matter. don't think that it is true i think that the genetic analysis is shown that pretty clearly and it far more likely that this is traditional crop of virus from an animal to human host i think the difference here is that opposed to keep our eyes when we had the h 5 n one pandemic strain it was highly inefficient at transmission person to person so the severe disease but inefficient transmission and when we had a pandemic influenza in 2000 i it was a fish and a person to person transmission that the infection was not very severe and we get

here with a very serious and highly transmissible and i think that this is something that we should expect to happen in crop of others. are global world we've heard that many times for many scientists saying that we're encroaching on perhaps places we shouldn't be i know that your research focuses on the impacts of natural disasters on public health do you classify a virus jumping species as what we've got right now as causing causing a pandemic do you classify that as a natural disaster or would you say that's just a natural occurrence. well i would say that it's not so much that the virus the fees that we have a combination i mentioned before but these that very easily transmitted including by people who are 8 and operating in this environment of extreme global connectivity a pandemic of that is after in this that our main concern at this point was that we

would exceed our local capacity to respond. but i think we need to remember that even prior to 2001 our program for fairness and responses were considering pandemic potential disaster we need to prepare for the few 1008 and the u.s. . and iraq and we faced with h one n one for one week that have not impacted the u.s. in a meaningful way you know and i think you bring a good point there that at the end of the day we pay when we don't prepare for what is coming dr jennifer a warning epidemiologist at the university of delaware dr doherty it's good to have you on the show we appreciate your time and your insights tonight thank you thank you. well the police raids began early this morning after the decision had been made here in berlin the german government has banned the iran backed hezbollah group and at the same time declared it

a terrorist organization the decision puts germany on the same page with the united states and israel the military wing of the group was banned in the european union 7 years ago hezbollah is a military and political group based in lebanon on just before dawn police here in berlin and in other german cities raided properties connected to suspected hezbollah supporters. early morning riggs with dozens of police and special forces in cities across germany police searched mosques associations and private residences collecting evidence to be used for investigations into hezbollah's activities. in searching for locations here in berlin annoyed following the ban on his blog the i miss to find out if there's a connection between these locations and hezbollah the organization which is now outlaw. hezbollah doesn't have an official presence in germany but

a network of associations is thought to provide financial support and deliver propaganda for the group while the group's military arm is classified as a terrorist organisation in the entire you most countries haven't banned its political wing on thursday germany moved to do just that. it said it could not tolerate hezbollah's anti israel positions these immediately that these are party members of these potty and nothing more than despicable israel he says an anti semites people who not only called into question his right to exist bought also openly call for its destruction of. questions regarding hezbollah's operations in germany aren't new in december the in the saga adopted a motion urging the government to outlaw all of hezbollah's activities in the country. hezbollah supporters have

repeatedly brandished the group's flag and used empty israeli slogans at rallies the ban now allows oath or at least to outlaw the use of hezbollah symbols at gatherings and on publications and the group's acis can now be confiscated. israel in the us have welcomed germany's move to completely outlaw hezbollah the no hope that other european countries will follow suit. or we have complete coverage of today's decision by germany i'm joined tonight by hong schindler he is with the counter extremism project in new york in berlin and he spent time in iran is the security liaison at the german embassy in tehran and joining me tonight from beirut in lebanon is correspondent baso a read to both of you gentlemen welcome but also let me start with you is based in lebanon it is in the parliament it is a force to be reckoned with in the country has there been any reaction to germany's

decision. oh but that is nothing today about the sound of silence i tried to have some comments from a governmental side or as well as well but that if used to do so today at the same time there was a cabinet meeting to discuss the current issues and lebanon but they didn't come across these topic as well as there was a weekly meeting for his will and piece of luck and their gifts confidence they didn't comment at all about these issues usually such commands will be handled by his will not secretary general has on the nuts on the internet on the whole you month for the muslims usual he focused on the digits issues and keep the political stance on to the last friday of this month which is called by has been a day or jitters and state yeah ok so there's silence there in beirut mr schindler

the german foreign minister announced this decision in a tweet today and the 1st reason that he listed was hezbollah refusal to recognize the right of israel to exist does that surprise you because that is nothing new there's nothing new in that statement. thank you very much for having me obviously as you already pointed out this decision came along and liberation even the parliamentary vote and what's the last stage in a very very long discussion you have to look at his fall in 2 ways at the one hand this is it terrorism and i think today's decision we have found that it is but it also is a veritable crime network including inside germany racketeering gun running drug dealing were all part of what is or sympathizers and members of as well i think in germany to raise funds for the organization so what is the big threat to germany mr

schindler is it has been the terrorist group or. the criminal gang money launderers both problem however you cannot treat that terrorist aspect of the group without declaring it a terrorist school and you cannot create a terrorist group if you just simply only get better as a crime and now that uptick life is very much gone online seeing a ramp up of online activities. as well in germany and without today's decision that with nothing that can be done with today's decision of course they can the u.s. ambassador to germany released a statement today praising germany's decision ambassador richard grinnell wrote and we can show our viewers that germany's efforts to confront this threat especially its legal ban on any hezbollah activities on german soil are exactly what is needed throughout europe we call on all european union member states to take similar action so that from the u.s.

ambassador mr schindler today's move could be seen as berlin falling into line behind washington is that what has happened. do we have any frank this is not the 1st u.s. administration of called for nato to look at his fallen models now and to look and act on that european union to look at what i'm a closely in a way this is not a process that started with this u.s. administration and this is not a decision that family took because of us that was racial as far as i can see. basel you know up until recently are very recently the german government refused to ban hezbollah because of the group's presence in lebanon and in the lebanese parliament will germany's decision to hurt hezbollah's credibility among the lebanese people what do you think. let me put it this way germany. is a neutral and trusty partner. in the us to be kate's. between

hezbollah and israel in the presenters are sure according to this at least succeeded at least in 2 times to find the law is that the pose the accord as well as well. as the talks the other said and you took to the world in july 2006 germany deployed on 158 soldiers in south lebanon. you ask if peacekeepers known as unison according to the ask if you consider that you should 17 along and it make to you that mistake made shock some are because germany according to has a lot it's the closest european friend to you not. to many it's also as a one off the it on commercial partners with iran you know it's interesting germany does have those ties with iran mr schindler syria has condemned germany's decision

today how big of a role is hezbollah playing in conflicts around the world such as the war in syria . well i mean as as i think it's fair given all of that is definitely indispensable force multiplier for the assad regime it is supporting the main operations on the ground there with manpower pretty much from with dot so it does play a very significant role in south america as my organization the count extreme is a broad checked showed in their report 2018 is what i see very much involved in a massive amount of cigarette smuggling and commodity smuggling define its is exactly biggie's it is involved 'd in smuggling of drugs in north africa all of those rocks up on 4 year old nowhere so in a way you know it is a multifaceted organization that is not just political organization is definitely a terror organization it's also a crime network and as i said the days decision was deliberate it's only been a very good decision in germany it will come over life but also before we run out

of time and i just ask you you know lebanon is a country in turmoil you've got protests because of the economic crisis you have the the pandemic lockdowns now you've got germany banning hezbollah am i right in saying that it seems like things are going from bad to worse in lebanon. going to the financial and economy so should issues in the government yes it does but when it comes to the christie general general secretary for his beloved son not mention too many times. the chinese should. cycle completely different from the national line they don't deal with the national banks they don't. come across the banking sectors and the minute so they have their own financial. correspondent bosler giving us the latest from beirut and there with the counter extremism project in new york and berlin to both of you

gentlemen thank you. captain tom moore the british war 2 veteran who raised millions for britain's national health service has been promoted to the brink of honorary colonel on his 100th birthday the air force flew world war 2 planes over his home just north of london in his honor the fly over was supposed to be a surprise but the government had to confirm the rumors in the face of tremendous media interest. captain or should i say colonel tom is not just a celebrity in britain fans around the world have been wishing him well on this very special birthday. a flood of birthday wishes. they sent an amazing outpouring of love for a great man who kept until nothing is called the hearts of everybody in this country and this is what it looks like. we've had 125000 cards in the last week and

a bit. this centenarian being celebrated as captain tom moore he's famously completed 100 laps of his garden with the help of his walking frame and in doing so raised more than 27000000 pounds to support britain's national health service during the coronavirus outbreak. right here in america and they were kept in tom's aim was to raise just a 1000 pounds with his charity walk but his humble mission became an unexpected hit as people tuned in from across the globe to watch his progress online. if you believe that they listen and to get. to the nothing. having raised more donations than any charity walk in history he's even earned himself a spot in the guinness book of world records. while politicians athletes and

stars are jumping at the opportunity to applaud the captain's initiative his donations have already enabled the opening of a brand new $500.00 bed hospital facility in yorkshire leaving little doubt that there is nothing a 100 year old with a strong sense of solidarity and a sturdy walking frame can do. and from all of us here in berlin here's wishing a very happy birthday to captain colonel tom moore we'll see you tomorrow.

in the. eco africa i mean my 1st grappling comic cameraman has just one collection site materials are recycled fair and free so i'm a fair fight but if you will just to produce a film the 1st one of all objectives is to promote stage this edition of more than 6000000 g. that is to keep people from a by a new device focusing takes to get that 50 seconds going from us want to come out

for. w enter the conflict zone in these extraordinary times we decided to take the opportunity to focus on the impact that the coronavirus pandemic is having on human rights around the world there are reports of invasive surveillance authoritarian telegraph. abs my guest is the head of human rights watch candidate for office how many limitations are people willing to accept in order to fight a threat like coronavirus conflicts of. 90 minutes for d w. what secrets lie behind teams want to. discover new adventures in 360 degree. and explore fascinating world heritage sites. p.w. world heritage 360 get me up now. how does

a virus spread. why do we panic and when we'll all miss them just 3 of the topics covered and the weekly radio show is called spectrum if you would like and information on the crown of virus or any other science topic you should really check out our podcast you can get it wherever you get your podcast you can also find us at. ford slash science. we know this is a scary time for the coronavirus is changing the world changing. so please take care of yourself good distance wash your hands if you can stay at how we're d.w. for here for you we are working tirelessly to keep you informed on over platforms we're all in this to get on together and we're making. sure you say goodbye.

to say stay safe and increase in stay safe. in germany a carefully calculated gamble. is lifted a little more. galleries places of worship in children's playgrounds will reopen under certain conditions but all events with. the end of august also coming up to the police in germany.