♪ judy: good evening, i am judy woodruff. on "newshour"a tonightation on the brink as cases of covid-19 spur across the country. new york emerging as a epicenter of the virus in the president facing pressure to nationalize production of lifesaving medical equipment. then, congress on the white house moved to angreement on a $2 trillion rescue package to revive the u.s. economy. we break out what is in, what is ou and where the money is headed, with speaker pelosi. plus, life in the emergency room. what doctors are seeing from the front lines with the pandemic on track to overwhelm our medical infrastrture. >> we are not at all near the

end of this. . are really just beginni we are seeing case numbers climb on a dai basis. judy: all that and more on tonight's "pbs newshour." >> major funding for the "pbs newshour" has been provided by -- ♪ >> moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> fidelity investments. >> consumer cellular, american

cruiselines. >> entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems. >> the lenelson foundation, improving lives through invention. supported by the johnd and catherine t macarthur foundation, wking toward a more just and peaceful world. and with the ongoing support of these institutions. this program was made possible broadcasting and byblic contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you.

thank you. judy: the united states h more than 60,000 people infected wit use coronav p the pandemic is now taking more than 600 lives in this country alone some 300 of those are in new york city wherergent efforts e underway to cope with a is,geoning public health cr but there is also an explosion of cases in louisiana and we will talk governor john bel iedwardsa few moments. all of this as a mammothon ic rescue package seeks approval in the u.s. senate. we begin with the report from mom none of oz. massive 2 trillion dollars stimulus package for businesses and workers, the largest history was hailed as a win for democrats and republicans. >> the senate will stand together, act together and pass this historic relief packa.

>> i say to the american people, he, is on the wayg help, quick he. reporter: i but the national fight to slowir the v spread, little progress or the number of u.s.tions and deaths continues to soar with much of the country under orders to stay-at-home in new york, home to more than half of all u.s. cases, governor andrew cuomo said thersome signs of hope. governor cuomo: to the extent people say, boy, these are burdensome requirements, social distancing, no restaurants, no nonessential workers, yes, they are rdensome. by the way, they are effective, and they're necessary, and the evidence suggests at this point thathey have slowed the hospitalizations. d this is everything. amna nawaz: still, cuomo plans to cse new york city streets to traffic and ban contact sports in city parks. and in anticipation of a surge

of coronavirus victims in the next few weeks, the city is now building a makeshift morgue comprised of rows of whiteents outside of bellevue hospital, all while fighting to fill a severe shortage of medical amid national shortages yestery, attorneys general from 16 states, including new york, urged president trump in a letter to use the defens production act to "priorize production of masks, respirators, and other critical items to fight the pandemic." testing, in the meantime, continues to expand across the country. president trump turned to south korea, where aggressive testingr and tines helped contain the virus, with a request for help to get mo tests, and personal protective equipment for health workers. world health organization offici leaders not to squander this opportunity to suppress the virus, after missing the first chance monthago. michael ryan: we trust that all governments will take the

appropriate actis that to manage the public health risks, which are real, but we also understand the terrible dilemmas that countries face in protecting economies and social systems, but we must vocus on first trying to stop this disease and saving lives. amna nawaz: u.s. military installations overseas, meanwhile, have been put on high alert, as the number of military infections grows and the virus ravages communities across the globe. in spain, an overflow of pient beds spills into hospital cohallways. thuntry's death toll has topped 3,400, second in the world only to italy. >> we keep asking for help. the professionals that are herec geriatric lists, cleaners, the technical staff, are giving all that we can. we are suffering a lot with this situation. amna nawaz: in italy, wherese police nowrones to oversee stay-at-home orders, a reported

300 deaths over the last 24 hos in the country's hardest-hit region of lombardy. that number is down from the previous day. india's 1.3 billion residents began their 21-day nationwide lockdown to try and contain the virus, enforced by checkpoints and patrolling police. in the united kingdom, the heir to the british throne, 71-year-old prince charles, is the latest high-profile positive test for coronirus. he has mild symptoms and is self-isolating at his scotland estate. back in the original outbreak epicenter of china's hubei province, two months of travel restrictions were eased, allowing some rail stations and and families to reunite. chen ting (thrgh translator): i feel so happy that this virus didn't affect my family so much. i am so desperate to go back home now to see all of them there. amna nawaz: china's worst-hit area of wuhan, however, remains under lockdown, with no plans to ease restrictions for another two weeks.

for the "pbs newshour," i'm na nawaz. judy woodruff: wall street rallied for most of the day, buo lost gains mothose gains, when that $2 trillion emergency relief plan hit a late snag in by the end, the dow jones industrial average was up 495 points to close at 21,200. nde nasdaq fell 33 points, the s&p 500 added 28. now, to unpack the biggest economic rescue bill in modern u.s. history, our lisa desjardins joins me from capitol hill. so, lisa, it's not publicly released, but yoyoand your team, have seen a copy of a draft. tell us who gets what in there. islisa desjardins: well, s some 900 pages, judy, so i think we're going to be analyzing this bill for months and maybe years happens here.ing on what but i wanto go first to the idea of who will get what kind of help in this senate proposal. let's start right away by looking at the rescue plan and

small businesses. now, small businesses with under 500 woers can get up to $10 million from the federal government. and it's loan that they will not have to repay back if they use that for the, payroll. thso, let's talk about larg t companies. s deal, they would get up t 50% of their payroll covered. that is as long y guarantee that that money will go to keeping workers, and also for those of us, for most every individualmerican, a direct $ payment 200 each, $2,400 per couple, plus $500 for each child, all of that meant to help americans and businesses get through right now this partial economic shutdown. judy woodruff: and, lisa, we understand one of the big houps has been over the biggest companies, over the airlines. at do we understand is in there right now in that regard? lisa desjardin there are you ad through this, there are a lot of limits on those companies, as we're talking about that $500 billion fund that will go to larger corporations, which need it.

those companies would have to meet, some requirements in this bill, to get those loans. one, they would have to keep 90% of their workforce thrgh then september. they could not have any pay raises. and, in fact, for the very top executives making millions, they might have to take a pay cut if they take these los. and then also these companiein this deal wouldn't be able to break any union agreements.wo also, a quick on airlines. they rec and, in this, that money is not a loan. that is money that they could, some stocks back to the american taxpayer. but that was one of the last things worked out that airlines would get some money strait away from the treasury department to stay afloat. judy woodruff: but, lisa, with all of this, we know there are stl what do we know about what is holding this up still? lisa desjardins: you know, i thought we had gotten through all the tough stuff da the last fe, but late today, a group of republican senators and also the republican leader on

the house side, kevin mccarthy, say they are concerned about the because, as we have beenudy, reporting, this proposal would add $600 per week to every benefit in each state. now, these republican senators have looked at that and realized that, for some americans, that addition would actually mean thm oyment benefit is largerir than tormal paycheck. we're talking mostly about lower-income, middle-income americans. now, they ouy this bill n't go forward with that in it. however, those who worked oupu the deal, icans and democrats and white house sficials, are all telling there's a reason for this, that state formulas are too complicated, that they can't just limit this straight to income, that this was an attempt to get this money out in a crisis as quickly as pe. and, judy, tonight, it looks like they're not going to change the tech of this deal. so it raises the question of whether these senators and a few reblicans on the house sid will actually try to blockr delay this deal going forward.dr judy wf: but, lisa, bottom line, a lot of people are

suffering. when is th going to get done? lisa desjardins: that's the question we're all waiting for. speaking to senate repubrecan leaders onight, they are still hoping for a vote tonight in the senate, but it is touch and go athis moment. we are waiting to see what the house thanks. house speaker nancy pei know you will be talking to her in a few seconds, told me she's optimistic, but they're still reviewing this bill as we want to see what they think. judy woodruff: lisa desjardins reporting, as she is every day, from the capital. thank you, lisa. lisa desjardins: you're welcome. ♪ judy: as you can tell from lisa's reporting there is a lot at stake inai thipackage from the health care system to basic tenants of the u.s. economy. it has been a political battle to find a bipartisan solution and it still is. the center of these talks for

democrats is the speaker of the hous s her homete of california is among the hardest the coronavirus a speaker nancy pelosi joins me now. akmadame s, thank you very much for talking with us. what is your understanding of the hold up? speaker losi: first let me say we have challenge in our for 100 years.e have not seen tens of thousands of cases hundreds of people who have , died. it's really a challenge to us. and the health issue is preeminent for all of us. i just want to thank our men and women who are health care providers, our first responders, and the rest. they are truly our heroines. and one the challenges that we have is to make sure that they have all the personal protective equipmenthat they have to do their jobs, so that they're not taking risks as they go in to help others and don't bring any problems home from the

office of the workpla so, that's it's so important, that we can try to save lives, but also to respect what it takes to save those lives in terms of our health care providers and rst responders, refighters, and the rest. that involves an osha rule that should be that isn't in this bill. that's still a challenge that we personal protective equipment to them. the health issue is everything. i ink the health issue is central to the economic issue. the health and the lives and the livelihood of the american people are at stake, at risk,d e uncertain at this time. er, when we get to the economic side, we'repleased, actually, that, in the last few days, the health the democrats in the congress performed some jujitsu on the bill that was there. it was from the top town, corporate trickle down to the workers.

b turned itompletely around for the workers ble up, for the workers and for the families.ar thermany provisions in the that are necessary and immediate. weopthe senate will take up the bill, so we can bring it to the floor in the house we thought we were on that path, until some of the republicanbj senatorsted to the $600 payment that is there, in addition to the unemployment insurance. sa did an excellent job describing that to you. dy: i want to ask you, there -- their argument is, as you, kn that people will end up receiving more in unemployment benefits in some instances than ththey would have earned ir salary and they're saying that's a problem. speaker pelosi but it is not a problem. they also say the reason people want unemployment insurance is so they don't have to go to work well, that's not true. you don't get unemployment insurance unlessou are fired ornless you are furloughed. you can't just quit and say, i'o g on unemployment. but the fact is, is that there

is an imbalance in oom country in i and, therefore, the unemployment benefit but lisa described it very well. it's complicated. it's complicated to make it calibrate for every state, so just call it $600 around the country. at a time when -- theact is, we are a consumer economy. we really need to put money in eyople's pockets, so an then spend, inject demand into the economy, grow the economy, and that's a good thing. judy woodruff: do you think is is going to get resolved? are democrats willing to give?ar both sides willing to give, do you think? because, as you know, people are suffering. they're waitinghis to get done. house speaker nancy pelosi: but we have yielded on many points. we certainly would have had a higher direct payment. we would have had more eanded family medical leave in here. we would have had the osha rule protecting the health care workers. we would have full benefits for everyone who gets tested. ngmember, we said free tes but we want the whole procedure judy woodruff: ri

house speaker nancy pelosi: so we would have pensions in here. there's other things that we want that we will save for another day because of the urgency of getting this passed today. and so this is a republican among the republicans, because, as lisa indicated so ably, that it is house democrats and publicans and the white house in agreement that we should have this $600 payment. and so, either way, we're talking about people are scared, $600. they're in need, they have additional expenses. i don't need to explain that to you. judy: assuming it is passed or something worked out, how long befo the house can get it passed, because people are waiting. are you confident you can unanimous consent, which means it moves very quickly through the house, is voted on quickly? speaker pelosi: no, i don't think we can get unanimous consent. i think there are a number of people who are worreng their way n the republican side, for

sure, and maybe on the democratic side, to object to unanimous consent.on that was onloption. the other option is to take the vote without a recorded vote, so that members do t have to bet, presut that we'd have to have a majority to pass the legislation. if, in fact paired area our distinguished whip, mr. clyburn, and our majority leader, mr. hoyer, have prepared the way for how members would participate, and that we could get the job done just in a matter of a short period of time. also have the guidance of o capitol physician and the sergeant at arms to talk about tohow members, if they nee come back, if that is required, that they could safely participate on the floor in debate and in voting. judy: i am asking because the house is not in session right now. you would need to call members back. people are waiting and asking,

when is this goingt done? what's the soonest you think it could be voted out? speaker pelosi: as soon as the senate passes it. that's rely the requirement. it began in the senate.at we antic, when they came into session at noon, that they would be bringing it to the floor shortly. we were anticipating seeing the text earlier in the day. but, obviously, there's some tweaks or glitches that need to be resolved, but nothing as substantive as taking away a $600 benefit for people, lower-income and, shall we say, low-wealth individuals, who really need that money to make ends meet especially at this , time. and this was a formula that was worked out. i'm so proud of my house democratic chairmen. their wisdom, their knowledge, their experience, theirin strategic ng is just dazzling. and they had a big impact, working with the senate democrats, to take this bill from a corporate-oriented bill to a worker-oriented bill. part of that is to have america's working families

we're puttingthe bill.rces that judy woodruff: so, just two quick questions. you are satisfied at this point with the corporate oversight inn hereector general provisions, the oversight board? speaker pelosi: yes. that was in our house bill, as many of the things that are in the senate bill were in the house bill. yes, i am satisfied read i will be satisfied when it is implemented. it is good legislation. hisalute leader schumer fo great leadership on this legislation, and the senate democrats as well. speaking from my owni house dazzled by by -- by my own chairman. we have fed all day sessions with each chairman explaining whats in the bill and answering questions, to the extent that we have that information from the other side. judy: which reminds me in a different regard we're hearing , from governors. they don't think there's enough money in there for their states. new york governor andrew cuomo

york. id, not enough for new is that something the house could fix? and what about your own state of california? speaker pelosi: wcan't fix it in this bill. we wanted more money. there's $150 billion in state stabilization funds. we wanted more. s thatat is in the bill. but this is not going to be the last bill. er began this with two bills that were about ncy, emergency funding, legislation to address the emergency, testing and research and so many things. then this bill is about mitition for the damage that is being done by the economic challenge this presents, as we as, first and foremost, the health challenge. the next phase will be recovery. these has ended we will still be doing emergency and mitigationth bu going into recovery. and we need much more money for our states. and that money gs down to cities and municipalities. so, we're calling upon the fed,

to chairman powell, to be more generous. he told me, think big because the interest rates are low. i'm telling him to think big and help our stes, because they wormy apple, and ted manythis -- much more inceerms of reso seeing what the fed does, and what the nature of how this grows, we're going to have to come back and put more funds in. the ccerns the governors put forth are well-founded. judy: finally, so we understand the process you a looking at, i hear you saying as a last resort you could do remoteti . speaker pelosi: no, i did not vesay that. i said that. judy: you said members could weigh in without being present; is that right? speaker pelosi no, forgive me if i was not clear. keat i said was, we would vote, an unrecorded vote. if someone calls for aded vote, then we would have a process whereby members could vote by proxy.

a large number of our members want to be here, and some who can't can vote by proxy. if, in time, the decision is made that we should establish remote voting, that has a constitutional challenge, a security challenge that ourd a chair of the rules committee put forth in a report just the beginning of this week. and that may be, at oint, where we have to make a decision. but in order to go there, you have to take a vote. you have to be present to take a vote to do that. judy woodruff: but you're saying it could be done within a few days? speaker losi: yes. it is noco use having a ersation about what might happen later. what is in the here and no and thank you for asking, we are ready. we hope that they would freeze the design, and whatever the difference is on the republican side. please don't resent our lost-paid workers in ameri for getting $600, so that they can meet the n it is immediate.the money.

spend the money inject demand , into the economy, grow the economy, and, at the same time, give people a little more confidence and less stress as they deal with the int health issue, health challenge that this is. we pray for those who have lost their loved oneshose whose families are affected by all of this. we pray and thank god for our responders, our firefighters,t and police officers, and emergency services people. they are our heroes in all of this, and we're grateful to them. judy: no question about it. you very much.pelosi, we thank speaker pelosi: thank you, judy. my pleasure. ♪ ju: this etrning president p held another briefing on covid-19, this time declaring victory on the pandemic aid

package still being held up in 'congress, but let' turn to yamiche alcindor, who has been listening in. we know the white hou it has been involved in those negotiations on the hill. things stand right now?out where yamiche: just a few moments ago at the white house president trump said he would sign withono trilollar coronavirus bill if it was sent to him immediately so he was urging the house and senatemo t quickly. one thing that wasth remarkable, treasury secretary steven mnuchin said even though this to trillion dollar bill would be the largest stimulusge passed by congress, it would only keep the economy aflohs for three mo the president said, if we have we wilac it is a huge bill. federal officials say they might have to have another bill to keep the economy going. this bill will be exempt from using small -- or large business loans. there would be $500illion i the bill.

democrats fought and got an exemption from president trump. his hotels and resorts, none of them will be able to use this bailout money. judy: even though some republicans objected to unemployment benefit language in the bill, the president is saying he is good with it? yamiche: that is right, steve mnuchin said it is a bill to get people back to wor athere would fine with unemployment benefits and we want to go forwardhendresident said he would sign it immediately. knjudy: w the president and others at the briefing spoke about the statusf e fight against the coronavirus. what are they saying? yamiche: the president was praising the job he has beendo g and talked about testing. here's what he said -- pres. trump: we are also doing very large testings throughout the country. i told you yesterday in south korea -- this is not a knock on anybody because i just spoke

with president moon and we had a very good conversations about numerous other things. they haveone a good job testing. we are doing more anybody by far. we do more in a daze thant hey do in eieks. yamiche: south korea is actually 1/6 the population of the u.s. anis doing more testing per capita than the u.s.. also the u.s. is slow at testing. that is why we are now testing so many people. judy: important points to make. yamiche alcindor, thank you. ♪ systephanie: i am stephanit newshour west. we will return to judy woodruff and theeadlines. tonight the number of deaths

across the u.s. has passed the of deaths in new yty.hest number there are reports the senatey is hours from passing that to trillion dollar rescue package. the pentagon ordered a halt to all travel and troop movement abroad for 60 days, but said the withdrawal of u.s. troops from afghanistan willontinue. tre nation's capital became the latest city to rt activity. the washington, d.c. government ordered l nonessential sinesses to close tonight at 10:00 p.m. eastern through april 24. corado governor issued a statewide stay-at-home order effective tomorrow through april 11. in the day's other news, family a former fer agent r levinson said u.s. officials concluded he died in custody in iran. levinson disappeared there in 2007 on an unauthorized mission

for the cia. the family says they do not know when he died, but it was before e covid-19 outbreak. robert o'brien called for iran to provide a complete accounting onof what happened to levi in new zealand the man accused of massacring 51 people and two mosques in christ are changed his plea to guilty. 29-year-old brenton tarrant also pled guilty to 40 attempted murder charges and a terrorism charge. the trump administration escalated a war of words with china over the coronavirus pandemic. mike pompeo key -- accused beijing of concealing vital information. he charged that chinese officials are spreading claims the u.s. is behind the pandemic. separately pompeo warned of feui in afghanistjeopardizing peace efforts. he met in kabul this week with

president ostroff ghani and l.ri , the afghan leadership made a set of commitmenings they would live up to. so far they have not executed on that. i went to talk to them about how we could assist them in deliveng. it was very frustrating. stephanie: in kabul at least 25 people died when islic state donemen cj a sikh temple. relatives returned to the site to mrn their lov ones. >> the attackers arrived and started killing the women. my nephew shouted and said uncle, please go downstairs. then they shot my nephew in the head. i lost many friends and my wife ephanie: saudi arabia accused of t and other crimes against civilians in yemen.

human rights watch reports saudi military forces and there you many allies have a long history of abuses. the saudis are backing the you many government. -- yemeni governmt. turkeyilg charges related to the killing of jamal khashoggi. saudis have refused to extradite any of the suspects. in this country a federal judge in north dakota ordered a full environmental review of the dakota access pipelin three years after began carrying oil. construction neackthe standing sioux reservation sparked protests in 2017. the tribe wants the pipeline shut down. still to come on "pbs newshour," aching down the white house's latest response to covid-19

and, songs of comfort. music to help weather a moment of crisis. ♪ >> this is the pbs newshour from weta studios in washington and from our bureau at the waltel cronkite sch journalism at arizona state university. judy: leaders in the states hardest hit with covid-19 are lacing limited resources is the national death t tops 800, louisiana's governor john bel edwards sounded the alarm, warning residents about t rapid spread of the coronavirus in his state. it has the third highest rate of covid- cases per capita with about 1,800 in all. louisiana was declared a federal disaster by president trump yesterday. it now join the ranks of new california.ngton state and i spoke with governor edwards moments ago. governor edwards, thanyo much for joining us.

i listened to your news wconference this afternoore you talked about how rapid the rise of covid-19 is in louisiana. what are you dealing with, sir? gov. edwards: we79 have cases here, which is, on a per capita base, the third most cases of any state in the country, but most alarmingthe growth rate. we're still on a trajectory that has still not yet started tote fl i know you have heard about flattening the curve. in fac we picked up 407 cases in just d st 24 hours. we're in a race against time, obviously, to se our surge capacity, so that we can deliver more health care, and that involves ppe, ventilators, staffing, beds. but, in the meantime, we're trying very hard to get the people of louisiana to take very seriously and do a better job. and, look, most people are being very compliant. but we have to do better at social distancing and making sure that we do slow the growt c in oes. we have to flatten that curve,

sohat we can get more time because if we can extend the duration of the outbreak, then we have more capacity to deliver health care to the pwhony need it ativen time. judy woodruff: right. right. gov. edwards: that's the biggest challenge they have. not unlike the challenge of other governors in other states. it just happens to be in my state, and i'm alarmed c both the cant and the growth rate. judy woodruff: right. and i want to ask you about the kind of thgs that you need. but, first, do you have an understanding of why it's increasing so rapidly in your state? gov. edwards: well, we don't. obviously, it's alarming. but we do know that mitigation works. but it only works to the degree that people practictathe social ding measures that we put in by executive order. you know, we have a stay-at-home order where only eesential businere open and manned completely. we have closed bars and salons and beauty shops and a number of other businesses.

judy woodruff: right. gov. edwards: restaurants have been open, but only for takeout and delivery and drive-through. but we have got to practice better social distancing, bend that curve. and, you know, my best guess, judy, to answeyour question and this is a theory and it has to do with the fact that we had mardi gras here in louisiana, particularly in new orleans, and we have hundreds of thousands of ople who come in. we know that the first positive case surfaced with a test result 13 days after fat tuesday, after rdi gras day. and so we believe that those visitors sort of seeded the a strus in aund new orleans. but that's y to be done leader by epimiologist when there is morea d known. we are focusing on going forward as best we can. judy: iea you speaking today about the severe need you are facing for this personal protective equipment, ventilators. what is the shortfall right now?

gov. edwards: the biggest thing we are loong at is ajntilators. we're on a tory that, given the number of new cases, how many of those will require hospitalation, as best we can model it, of that number, how many will require ventilators? in the new orleans region, we're on a course that, by april the 2nd or 3rd, we're going to have great difficulty in getting everybody a respirator who will need one. and then, every day after that, it becomes increasingly more fficult, unless, of course, we start to bend that curve. so, that is the single largest, i should say, most pressing issue when it comes to surging our capacity. these ventilators ar to come by. but we did distribute 100 today to the region. but we actually need at least 1,000. so we have got a long way to go. judy: where can you get this the are you turning to the federal where do you turn?er sources?

gov. edwards: it is all of the above as of now, we have been instructed to ask for, through fema, for these things, whether it's ventilators, ppeto come from the national stockpile. we b're also working to source these items wherever we can, just using normal vendors. and our hospitals continue to do that as well. unfortunately, we're all sort of competing against one another, both within the state and state against state, and state againsa state and fegovernment. judy: wouldt be better, finally, govnor, if there were some system where this kind of equipment was handedut in a systematic way, and you didn't have to compete worrying states? compete with other states? gov. edwards: certainly ttet would be bin my , estimation. youa would havational way to allocate -- even if they're limited, you're going to allocate those limited resources to where they're needed the most at bear some relationshi to the overall severity of the problem. that is lacking. judy:hat would come from the

federal government? gov. edwards: i don't know where else it could come from. and, you know, this is something that many governors have voiced i was on a conference call today with 40 governors and this was the topic du jour. we would really like some help, because, otherwise, you're leftb to just berow, and steal from wherever you can get these things. and, again, you're in competition with other states. you're in competition with your own health care providers to some degree. and the federal government will come in and make a purchase, and you find out that your purchase just got canceled. and so we are asking the federal government to have a bigger role in this,ecause i don't know that it gets sorted out in the short term any other way.oo but, we're not going to wait on other people to solve our problems before we continue to act. can, as aggressively as we can, to source these things for ourselves and get them into louisiana, and get them

distributed, so they're in place to meet the needs of our people. judy: competition a tough thing to hear about. governor john bel edwards of we wish you the best.so much. gov. edwards: thank you. judy: hospitals in new york state are getting hit with a crush of sick patients struggng with covid-19. overall, there are more than 30,000 cases in the state, and morehan 280 people have died. while the hospitalization rate has slowed, it's still doubling every ur or five days. william brangh gets a view from the front lines of this health emergency. william brangham: while many of us are lked up in our homes, and seeing images on television quiet streets, there is, of course, a very different scene unfolding in many hospitals around the country. for a sense of what one new york city emergency room looks like, i'm joined now by dr. craig spencer, the director of global health in emergenclumedicine at ia university medical center.

doctor, thank you very much for being here. you posted recently this incredible, visceral portrait of what one s like in the emergency room. and i wonder if you could just give our viers a sense of what a day looks like for you. craig spencer: yes, thanks for having me on. generally, a dayn the emergency department starts with a walk to work. here in new york city, the stres are pretty empty, whic is great. that is theo best wayop the spread of this virus. but when you cross that barrier from the street to the hospital, transformed. kind of i walk into a place where i have worked for nine years, and now i in gowns as soon alk in.gles and it's just something that you can't get used to. and, throughout e day you know, a week ago, it used to be, we were looking for the one or two patients that might have coronavirus. now it's hard to find one or two patients in the emergency department that don't have coronavirus. it presents as everything. it's young. it's old. everyone can get this virus, and

william brangham: thefrom it. description you gave in your dispatch was the sense of haver-ending nature of it, it was one patient after another. is it really that much of an onslaught? craig spencer: yes, over the past couple of days, there has been an increasing volume of coronavirus patients. what's tough about them is that so many are severe. e,ey have respiratory fail meaning that they are having difficulty breathing. they need assistance to help them breathe. so, that often means putting on a mechanical ventilator, putting in a breathing tube, and putting people on life support. we do that tgive them the best chance of surviving this disease. it's really one of the only things that we can do for people. what we know now is that we area not near the end of this. we are really just beginning. we're seeing case numbers climb on a daily basis. the emergency departments and icu'throughout the city are being inundated and overwhelmed. if this continues at this rate, it's going to be really tough

for all of us, on all the health care providers, on all the t patient are coming in the emergency rooms, and all the families that are impacted by this virus. william brangham: do you have enough equipment you talked about putting people onto ventilators, and i know that there's a shortage. your governor, andrew cuombo has talked that. do you have enough of those in your hospital? do you have enough protective gear to protect you and yo colleagues? craig spencer: throughout new york city, i have colleagues at nearly every hospital. what i'm being told is the same. most are given one n95 respirator a week, which is that thicker, kind of stronger variant that helps filter outic s more. william brangham: one per week? craig spencer: one per week, and are being asked to put one surgical mask over that per ishift to kind of just ke clean. that's because the supply chain is limited. we're hearing that we'ndre gettg ds of thousands or millions more of these masks being sent, which is great.

the problem is, is t're going to need an estimated 3.5 pandemic continues into next year. so we really need to do something to increase capacity, whatever we can, to get masks to ople on the front line. ventilators are certainly a big concern. we know that 're short. there are really wonderful, creative engineering solutions for how to turn toe ventilator wo for two patients. pr thlem is, is, we can't turn them into four or eight. we know that ventilators are the only thing that are going to help some of these people suanive. william am: the president yesterday seemed to indicate that we were near the end of this fight against coronavirus. he was hoping that, perhaps by easter sunday, that we would be so far along that churches could be packed with worshipers again. from your perspective, it sounds like you're seeing a much different trajectory to all of this. craig spencerk you know, g the emergency department is scary. the idea of churches being packed on easter is in some

sense more scary. we are just at the beginning of this. ca our firs in new york city was just over three weeks ago. to think that, in three weeks, l be in any place where can have people in such a small confined area, where the disease, the virus spr'ds so well,'s really, really worrying. and it's only going to get worse. it's only going to get worse. william brangham: as we haveen alking, i hear there's a young child in your family, how is it that you, personally, if you're deali with this virus and theoretically covered with this virus repeatedly throughout the day, how are you protecting your own family whenn you come home ht? craig spencer: it's a really great question. it's something that a lot of my colleagues have been mulling over for weeks. me of them have separated their family. so, it's a consideration all of my colleagues have had. really thoughtful about how we're cleaning, about bleachingh

gs down, about, when i get home, making sure i remove all my clothes before coming in, immediately go and take a shower. i'ym just being really, rea thoughtful. we know that the personal protective equipment is not perfect. in addition to the physical exhaustion of ntng days, the anguish of thinking with every patient, is this the time, is this a person where i become infected, we don't talk aut it. we don't let ourselves be vulnerable. and i just want to share that message with my other health care colleagues throughout the country taking caru of patients. e not alone. find someone to be vulnerable with. reach out to a colleague. have those discussio, because everyone the same way as you.: william branghll right, dr. craig spencer, director of global health at columbia university medical center, thank you very, very much for your time, and good luck out there. craig spencer: thank you. ♪ judy: russia is nine time zones. until now, the number of

covid-19 cases has been low, according to russia's government. butpecial correspondent lucy taylor in moscow reports there are serious doubts about the veracity of those numbers, especially in the capital, the largest ci in europe. russians seek the orthodoxmany church as a place for healing and protection. but with the spread of the coronavirus, the closeness of this congregation would now be putting people in danger. r from staying away, th church is more crowded than usual. >> i am not 15 years old. i have seen some things in my life and i am not really concerned. >> i am convinced it helha to faith. there have always been various illnesses, but sooner or later they all ended. lucy: churches here have been ordered to clean the icons that worshipers kiss, but have not

been ordered to send people home. >> there are more people in the church than before. people are prayingor this to end and no one is afraid. lucy: is it time to close the churches to protect people? >> no, churches it should not be closed under anyircumstances. i believe that. anyone who falls ill should realize they could become a ilurce of illness for others and stay away for a lucy: the number of cases and pressure isotow compared to r countries. for many people, daily life isal going on as no for some it is something to laugh about. this video jokes about using vodka to beat it, but the number of cases is rising and doctors say it could soo become more serious.t presidutin says the virus is under control in russia. some people here areuspicious of the official figures. they say the testing is not reliable and the numbers could be missing tens of thousands of cases.

the russian doctor's alliance say they are labeling cases of coronavirus as simply pneumonia. >> the number of infections is in the tens of thousds. serious illnesses may be 10,000. those up on their feet may be 100,000 o00,000. we do not now. lucy: the russian government says they took early action, n february started testi people of asian appearatse in the strnblocked chinese visitors. now borders are closed to visitors. those over 65 have been ordered to stay indoors. allut essential workplaces will be closed for a week from this coming saturday. on russian over 65 is not bound by those restrictions. president vladimir putin is 67. >> thanks to the measures taken in advance, ware able to

restrain the rapid spread of the disease. you must uerstand russia, because of its geographic location, cannot isolate itself from the threat. near our borders are states affected by the epidemic. it is impossible to completely block its penetration intcoour try. lucy: the opposition accuses president putin of using the pandic for political gain,as a to ban protests against constitutional changes that would give him 12 wetra years in a national vote had to be postponed. more than 100,000 people signed an open letter calling for more urgent action. this is the campaigner behind the letter. >> he is clearly not doing enough t to cu epidemic. we have spottedw it in mosd it will spread to other regions soon. they think they can use these half measures, [indiscernible]

lucy: with putin'san ass everything is under control, it is putting many russians eddies. >> there is no need for stricter restrictions. i think people should just observe good hygiene. i do not think the virus will progress. >> i,so p i want to breathe oxygen, go outside, buy things. i am not the type of pern to sit at home. lucy: the virus is still seen here as something foreign. as each day passes, covid-19 becomes ever more russian. fo the "pbs newshour," lucy taylor in moscow. ♪ dy: finally tonight, last week

famed cellist yo-yo ma joined us toalk about an idea he calls songs of comfort, music to shari and help thoneed. it led to an outpouring on soal media sites. that now from our arts and culture series, canvas. >> yo-yo ma began his songs of comfort project with songs of his own. in an appeal to our audience. -yma: we are collecting what is personal, what is true, because community is nothing jeffrey: people of all kindst. have responded, call simon this classic american tune. ♪

-- paul sim con, thssic american tune. ♪ jeffrey:d a l singer of the lebanese band -- ♪ jeffre famedck folk uo indigo girls also answered the call. ♪ jeffy: and the members of the toronto symphony orchestra found a creative way to perform while keeping social distance. ♪ jeffrey: most of all, ordinary people across the country and the world created their own musical moments.

eouts chicago a woman played for her neighbors, as is happening more and more. in omaha, nebraskol nine-yea annabelle, her father and family friend performed a traditional irish song. ♪ his granddaughterting themng for to feel good about themselves. and they did. ♪ jeffy: she was joyful in indonesia. ♪ jeffrey:on two friendsin harmonized on a be song.any, >> ♪ speaking words of wisdom

let it be ♪ jeffrey: and from copenhagen, a pianist shared jazz. ♪ >> ♪ when you are feeling low and there was no one around ♪ mayo clinic doctors in a video posted by a new fan. just a few of the songs being shared. forho the "pbs ne," i am jeffrey brown. >> ♪ everything is going to be all right everything is going to be all righ ♪ judy: all that talent. if that does notri you comfort, i do not know what does. much neet d. you can pur own offering on social media pot forms

#songsofcomfort #songsofcomfort -- platforms using. "newshour that is the"newshour." join us online in here tomorrow. thank you, stay safe and we will seyou soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- >> fidelity investments. >> when it comes to wireless, consumer cellular gives customers a choice. our no contract plansives you as much as little talk, text and data you want and u.s.- ssed customerervice team is on hand to help. >> cruiselines american -- american cruiselines. bnsf railway. the ford foundation working with visionaries on the front lines of social change worldwide. and with the ongoing support of

these individuals and institutions. ♪ this program was paid -- made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. >> this is pbs newshour west from weta studios in washington and from our bureau at the walter cronkite schoolnaf josm at arizona state university. ♪ g lidia: burno. i'm lidia bastianich,

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