captioning sponsored by wnet >> sreenivasan: on this edition for sunday, rch 22: the latest developments on the coronavirus outbreak. in our signature segment: social services adapt to continue to and the psychological tolls of social distancing. next on "pbs newshour weekend." ws >> pbs ur weekend is made enossible by: bernard and schwartz. i sue and edgar wachenhe. the cheryl and philip milstein family. rosalind p. walter. barbara hope zuckerberg. charles rosenblum. we try to live in the moment, to not miss what's right in front of us. at mutual of america, we

tcan help you make the most of today. mutual of america financia group, retirement services and investments. >> consumer cellular offers no contract wireless plans that are designed to help you do more of the things you enjoy, whether you're a talker, texter, r,browhotographer or a bit of everything. our u.s.-based customer service team is here to find a plan that fits you. to learn more, go to www.consumercellularv. additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broatidc, a private corporation funded by the american people. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> sreenivasan: we are bringing you our broadcast again tonight from remote locations. i'm not in the tisch studios-- i'm here at home with my family. and because all need a sense of continuity and normalcy-- let me change that blank wall to something familiar. ouror rrs, producers and editors are also working from their homes and gathering the

rtws when it's safe to do so. so let's get staed with today's top news: more testing sites opened today-- some had to close quickly when demand overwhelmed supplies. dr. anthony fauci of the national institutes of health said more and faster test kits are on the way and that hard-hit areaare a priority. the situation is now that the resources that are being marshaled are goi to be clealy directed to those hot that need it most and clearly that california, washington,nd obviously new rk is the most hard hit. we're going to get hit. there's no doubt about it. we see it in new york, new york is terribly suffering. but the kinds of mitigation efforts that are going on right now, ththgs that we're seeing in this country, the physical separation, at the same of cases coming in i thinkinflux from preventing us from being an italy. >> sreenivasan: with more than 26,000 cases reported in the u.s. according to johnhopkins university's coronavirus

resource center, hospitals ross the country are now allowing staff to reuse protective gear and masks. five states have issued mandatory stay-at-home orders for all but essential workers. >> so weook these extra steps. we've been taking them all along. and my pwile folks in new jersey, frankly, is just stay at home. unless you are essential, unless we need you to be at home.ght and even if you are home you need to social distance. >> sreenivasan: and in washington, d.c., the senate continues to work toward a more than $1-trcoillionmic relief bill. this morning treasury secretary steven mchin said the legislation includes loans to small bunesses and direct paymentso individuals. >> well, first of all, i hope this gets pbesed on monday use we need the money now. you know, i would say we're looking at this from anywre from a 10-12 week scenario. moving quickly. scenario is we need to get the money into the economy now. if we do that, we think we can stabilize the economy. >> sreenivasan: new york state now has the most confirmed ces

of coronavirus infections in the country. are in new york city.scases this morning mayor bill de blasio demanded federal help immediately. >> right now i have asked repeatedly for the military to be mobilized. fothe defense production a to be used to its fullest to get us thin le ventilators so people can live who would die otherwise. chuck, i can't be blunt enough. if the presidentoesn't act, lived otherwise.d have >> sreenivasan: the city's hospitalsto are tryinrepare but issuing warnings of what's to come. in a letter to staff at new york presbyterian hospital, the chief of surgery warned that the covid-19 crisis is not expected to peak until mid april and said the hospital will need "700-934" i.c.u.ednd that even "the lower estimate exceeds our i.c.u. capacity." yesterday governor andrew cuomo said the states trying to find dical equipment and supplies. >> we are literally scouring the globe looking for medical supplies.

we've identified two million5 asks, which are th mhigh protectiks. we have apparel companieshat are converting to mask manufacturing companithe state of new york in all sortsr ofeativeonfigurations. and i want to thank them. >> sreenivasan: worldwide coronavirus cases steadily rose over the past 24 hours. johns hopns university is acking the pandemic and reports more than 316,000 people have the virus and there have been more than 13,000 deaths as of this afternoon. in an interview this morning the world health organization's executivore direaid lockdowns will not be enough to prevent t disease from resurging. >> we ed to actively search for cases of the virus and we need to test every single suspect case and if any contacts are sick we need to test thems well.'t we donneed to test everybody, we need to focus on testing those who may have the virus. >> sreenivasan: italy now has

more cases thaother country. the government reported more than 53,000 cases of the virus, and more than 4,800 deaths. russi mobilbrigades of military medics, special disinfection vehicles and other medical equipment to italy. russia has reported just 306 cases of the coronavirus and only one death. iran tuitrned down the states offer to help combat the virus there. in a televised speech, iran's supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei called u.s. leaders" charlatans and liars" and the offer of assistance "strange." diedthan 1,600 people ha and more than 21,000 are reportedly infected in iran. for more on the outbreak and the latest news in the u.s. and around the world visit pbs.org/newshour. >> sreenivasan: an interactive map tracking the number of coronavirus cases globally, in near real time, has become an important tool for researchers, health officials and the public at large.

the dashboard wh created by ns hopkins engineering professor lauren gardner and her graduate student ensheng dong. i recently spoke with professor gardneabout how the interactive map works and what trends they are seeing with their research. lauren gardner of johns hopkins, thanks so much for joining us. >> hi hari. thanks so much for having me. >> sreenivasan: so your site has become kind of the de facto go to place where people find how this covid-19 is spreading around the world. where are you getting all that information from? >> this information is coming from multiple different sources all over the world, depending on what country or region we're actually collecting the data for. and so in some parts of the etworld, we'reng this data in an automated fashion from local public healha authorities s being fed directly into our dashboard in multiple areas. we're actually still collectinga this through media reports and then maally validating hese data points before we enter them into the dashboard. >> sreenivasan: wh have you seen? i mean, you have been watching

the spread of this. i mean, most people endeup starting to pay attention to this in the united states in really february perhaps, but yo saw this spread starting in late december, january. >> yeah, absolutely. so, we started the dashboard in mid-january. we've seen this outbreak grow from a local outbreak in wuhan in china to a global pandemic that has now been reported in over 160 countries. >> sthreenivasan: you knowe are a couple of slides that you've sent us, sort of describe what's in one of them. so, one of the slides i sent that first loo at the global picture, what's going on is identifying the trend in the countries in the top ten countries that are reporting the most covid cases at the moment. ne thing of note is th china is not included in that graph because there's been, at least to date, more cases in china and they would not be shown because they'd be above the a.urc.c.i.'s cve on that. so thoesse cave since

steadied off and there's actually not any new local reported cases coming out of china at the moment. n any chinese, any casesina are coming back actually from iinmportation outside of what w huge surge in cases now in multiple diffent countries in rope and also in the united states. and so these are t trends that e happening. we've kind of seen this shift from east to west. and that's what'seally concerning at the moment. >> sreenivasan: and what about the ten states in the u.s. where >> so the cases ambing inaster? more an ten states in t u.s. it'just on that one graph we just are identifying those ten specifically. we're seeing a surge in cases in many states in the u.s. cause we're doing more reporting in the u.s., but there's a couple of things to note about this graph. one, it's showing total confirmed cases over time. so it's going to be increasing for every state no mattewhat, because the cases will never obviously, the total cases will never go down.

the other thing to note is that a lot of that is actuallybout the testing that's currently being done. and new york has taken some pretty amazing steps recently in terms of their testing capabilities. and they're actually testing a larger percentage of the population in that state than has been done even in south korea, china or any other state the u.s. and bso reason for that surge shown is that those are positive tests, which are onlou possible ife actually doing tests. >> sreenivasan: so the more tosting you're ablo, the faster your numbers are going to go up, because we're just measuring confirmed cases. so is flattening the curve happening elsewhere inhe world? and how likely is that in the u.s.? >> flattening tni curve is deely happening in some places around the world. it's happened in china. wee seen it happen in south korea. d i think it definitely can happen in the u.s. as well. it's just should not be expected to happen tomorrow. >> sreenivasan: all right. lauren gardner of johnins, thanks so much. >> thank you. en

>> sivasan: as we continue to learn more about the novel coronavirus, one thing we do know is that for seniors and those with existing medical issues, the disease caused by the virus is particularly deadly. newshour weekend producer molly enking reports on howt organiions that support new york city's seniors are pandemic.g to the coronavirus extra care was given to distancing measures while reporti this story. >> reporter: at the 25,000 square foot citymeals on wheels distribution center in the bronx, dozens of volunteers and scyff are packaging emergen mls. from here they'll be delivered to home-bound seniors. this is the largest meal delivery organization in the country. it's always busy, but the danger covid-19 poses to older people is possibly the biggest challenge it's ever faced, according to executive direo.or beth shap >> the people we're serving are

the most vulnerable. they're vulnerable all the time. but with covid-19, they are most sureeptible. theysolated and alone. and we need to mgee sure they're tting e nutrition that they need at this time. >> resrter: citymeals on wheel is new york city's designated emergency responder for seniors. that mes when a disaster hits, like a hurricane, or a blizzard, citymeals is responsible for feeding the homebound elderly. in the last few weeks, it has dramatically ramped up the amount of stod that it's ributing. >> in a given year, we're delivering two million meals. in just the last two weeks or so, we've done 250,000 meals from here. >> reporter: to meet demand, shapiro says the nonprofit has doubled its warehouse staff and arranged to buy extra food. but protecting seniors and workers from exposure to the oronavirus has added challenges. everyone wears gloves while packing the food, but the organization has run out of masks, leaving works to either

ring their own or go without. >> we are making sure our volunteers and staff are following c.d.c. guidelines, you kw,eeping a safe distance, wearing gloves, et cetera. oe f course, nobody her they're not feeling well. we're just making sure we do everything we can to ensure the sa ofestaff, volunteers, and of course those who are delivering meals to. >> rerter: citymeals has also changed how it interacts with its clients: no more in-person contact. 'neill is the group's volunteer director. >> volunteers not only deliver meals and knthk on the door, see the seniors, it's sort ofike a wellness check in, you know, to see them hand the food over to them. but because of all of this, you know, covid 19, they're not seeing the senior,inut they're hethe senior because they're talking to them behind the door. >> hello? >> hi miss ross, how are you? >> d reporter: besidivering food, citymeals has a program where volunteers visit vulnerable siors. now, those visits are done over the phone.

haeva lawrence-challenger ha been meeng with 88-year old harriet ross for years. >> everything is quiet. >> okay. are you worried when it's quiet? >> i hate to be alone. >> reporter: social isolation is already a problem for millions of elderly americans. the pandemic has made things exponentially worse, says n.y.u. soogcit eric klinenberg. >> we now face a risk that everyone who is older and ale will get isolated. th will obviously protect them in some ways, but it will also compound their stress and anxiety. orter: klinenberg, who has written extensively about loneliness and aging, says the soeffects oftion can directly impact a person's health. nd>> if you're oldsolated, and especially if you get that feeling of loneliness, that compounds the experience o anxiety, of stress that can make rgyou feel let, make you give up hope, and you get into

this vicious cycle where the stress makes you more vulnerable to an illness like cid-19. >> reporter: senior centers exist to help combat isolation among older americans. doors.had to close their including this one in forest lls, queens. there's usually a daily group meal in the gym. now, food is being prepared as to-go lunches, individually packed meals that seniors can call ahead to reserve. >> morning, morning, morning. >> reporter: ozzie sevilla thalketwo blocks from his apartment to pick up lunch. he says it's an essential service right now. >> it frees me up from going to the grocerstore. the supermarket shelves are em ipty anyway, s all good. it takes me out of the house for a little walk and i go back in there and enjoy my lunch. house runs this senior center and four others. ben thomases is the ecutive director. >> queen community house has alys taken the position that our society needs to do much,

orchto protect vulnerable people even in ordinary circumstances. >> reporter: he says the organization has had to adapt quickly and has already traglnsitioned its h-as-a- second-language classes to online only. >> what's the day? wednesday. >> those classes are going great. students are engaged and they're learning. and i am expecting that over time we'll also have more, more virtual programming for our seniors. a lot of our seniors who use our senior centers are pretty tech savvy. if we can do, you know, book groups or creative wring clathsses or gs like that over virtually, i think it'll, it'll help a lot. >> reporter: b service providers and experts acknowledge that this is l only the beginning of what could be a long period of social isolation. >> i'm worried about the problems from isolation compounding, of people becoming more isolated and more stressed and anxious over time. i ppose it's also possible that we will learn to adapt and

develop some new skills for making contact in the way that we can. a lot of people are starting to use digital technology. here we are having this interview on zoom. but we are entering into a period where there'soing to be, u know, real social pain. we are and our impue when someone is sick is to reach out and hug them and take care of them. and we want to do that right no but we have a ry clear message, it's just not the right thing to do. so we're gchng to have to ange. >> sreenivasan: as we just heard in our previous segment, there is a distinction between social disncg and social isolation, but it's not only our seniors who are impacted. and as thisandemic continues the mental health toll will grow. eerecently spoke via zoom with dr maggie mulqu a psychologist who joined me from wellesley, massachusetts.

sreenivasan: dr. mulque beginnings me some examples of how covid-19 is affecting the mental health of the people who come to see y >> in a plethora of ways. so i tnk the most important distinction we need to make is the difference between social distancing and social isolation. and i don't think th distinction being made clearly enough to people. you know, we need aren't sociali anng and hand washing as our best means right now to save ourselves physically, but we need ty reallore people up against social isolation. d one part of that is that social isolation doesn't only mean beinglone. there are people who are socially isolated even when e ey e at hwith others. because they are maybe marital they may or, you know, be feeling a rift within their or whomever.eir apartment mates so finding ways to help pple right now to reach out, to make

interconnectivity a strength, i think is essentily to increasing people's resiliency to get through this from a mental health perspective. >> sreenivasan: doctor, our health experts have been tellink us to out for the elderly nearby, people who can't get to the store, perhaps who are already immuno compromised inme thal health landscape who should we be looking out for? i think all of those people and more. no ol be untouched by this, you know, i think just like you think about the layers of who was affected by 9/1opfrom the who lost their lives to the first responders to thefa ly members to the people who lived in the neighborhoods, youo know, to thee country, and i think similarly in covid-19 we are going to find people who are going to know this unfortunate

at the most close and inner traumatized by it.s bei so my hope is that if everyone can find a purpose right now because we know that purse is what increases ourself esteem, even in good times, if people can find purpose, one of the best purposes we can find is to find a way to connect even if it is with just one person, and so i would say, you know, i wouldn't actually say we should identify this person over that person. it is who do you know in your circle that you can make some form of outreh to? >> sreenivasan: what are some of the things that concern you that will no no longer be dwi necessary the public eye? if people are stuck at home and not going to their jobs, they are not going to school, what are some of thehings that happen insidthe home that wegh won't have insinto?

>> so first of all human touch, for those of white house are not living with others, the absence of huge touch know isen detrl, i mean, it is why little babies who aren't touched die. so i think anyone who is experiencing an absence of human touch is someone i am very concerned about. i also think that without the presence of schools under these financial, financially very difficult times i am very concerd in an up tick in child abuse and domestic violence. e of the things that mitt gauges against child abuse is that children are seen at schools, but by not seeing them in school the belt marks, the black eyes are goingo go undetected. the domestic violence is going to go undecked, so i am actually encouraging people if they ar nnected to people they are

concerned about that you almost insist, if you have the capability, of course, to do a visual interaction. we want us not justo telephone, we want to see, are the dishes piling up in thenk are there beds unmade? has the person not showered in days? are there bruises that are unexplained?so i actually thinke people, i would push towards saying, i want to see you. i want -- i want to see what your home life looks like right now. which is -- i have to say was extraordinary for me this week because as someone w never wanted to have a practice in my own home because i liked the separation between work and home, seeing my patients homes i was invited into their homes, which i never had seen before, and conrsely they were invited into my home. it was a very different wayo t experience a thera

relationship >> sreenivasan: and finally, doctor, this cris has really exposed many ofhe short comings of the physical what are the things that you are most concerned about, about the mental infrastructure, the mental health infrastructure that whave in this coutry? >> so mental health has always been the stepchild of the physical heah system. behavioral health is always short shied, it gets the least reimbursement from insurance. it is hard to acrocessviders. there is much greater stigma, you know, people often talk about if their child hadaner people would bring meals, but because their child is schizophrenic people stay away. so there are so many factors already in our system, you know, and then if you happen to have an acting out adolescent boy,li thlihood that you are

going to find a provider who can take that risk on to treat that child is much lower. so access to mental health, the reimbursement for mental health, the resources for mental health, community mental health centers, et cetera, have alwys been short shifted and now it is greater than ever before. you know, ironically, i think wo are waitinthe p in ptsd, we want this to be post-traumatic stress disorder. but we don't know when that date is going to happen. but when it does, you know, we may have flattened the curve on the physical virus, but the implications of this in termof mental health i see going on for years to come. >> sreenivasan: dr. maggie mulqueen, thanks so much fo joining us. >> thank y. >> sreenivasan: re

>>ivasan: finally tonight, kentucky senator rand paul's office tweed this afternoon that the senator has tested positive for covid-19. he did not have y symptoms and is expected back in senate after the quarantine period ds. he has not had any contact with any of his staff for the last tedays. and a reminder that no matter how much our lives have been changed by the coronavirus, some things remain the same. the northern lights filled the skies over finland on friday night-- right on schedule-- offering us all some much needed tranquility. that's all for ts edition of" pbs newshour weekend." i'm hari sreenivasan. thanks for watching. have a good night. captioning sponsor by wnet captioned by media accessroup at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> pbs newshour weekend imade possible by: bernard and irene schwartz.

sue and edgar wachenheim iii. the cheryl and philip milstein family. rosalind p. walter. barbara hope zuckerberg. charles rosenblum. we try to live in the moment, to not miss what's right in front of us. at mutual of america, we believe taking care of tomorrow can help you make the most of dmutual of america financial group, retirement services and investments. upport has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the american people. and by contributions to your om viewers like you. thank you. you're watching pbs.

(man) this program is made possible in part by contributions to your pbs stations fromiewers like you. thank you. can you all live the ultimate retirement? you can. (man) from the new world center in miami beach,me acclaipersonal finance expert suze orman provides essential advice to make your retirement more successful and secure. every little action that you take can make a tremendous difference. it's never too soon to begin. fear no more. (man) join us for suze orman's "ultimate retirement guide." please welcome suze orman! [loud cheers & applause]