newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good eveng, i'm judy woodruff. t on newshour tonight, the toll of covid-19.th deaths iu.s. exceed 30,000, as millions of americans file first-time unemployment claims. then, feeling the pain. hearing from americans who have lost their jobs after the pandemic erases a decade of employment gains. pl, empty skies. with passenger demand in free fall, how will air travel survive the conavirus? >> the airline iustry, not b just in the u. worldwide, is in a complete crisis. markets have evaporated. airlines need cash at the moment just to survive. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour.

>> major funng for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> life isn't a straight line, and sometimes you can find yourself heading in a new direction. fidelity is here to help you work through the unexpected, with financial planning and advice for today, and tomorrow. >> carnegie corporation of new

york. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, d the advancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.org. >> and with the ongoing supportu of these insons: and individuals. rp this program was made possible by the ation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. ank you. >> woodruff: at the ite house tonight, president trump is putting out guidelines for ending pandemic shutdowns. across the nation, officials have put out new numbers on "covid9's" toll in lives, and livelihoods: more than 32,000 dead, and millions more thrown out of work.aw

amna begins our coverage. >> nawaz: as the covid-19 pandemic ravag the economy, other 5.2 million americans filefor unemployment last week. that new jobless claims total, of 22 mi all the gains of theast 10 years were wiped out in just four weeks. the economy also lost 70,000 bs in march, ending a 11 month streak of job growth. a stunning turnaround after hitting 50-year unemployment the economic freefall is further fueling president trump and others' forts to end shelter- in-place rules and re-open parts of the country.wi on a cal all 50 governors today, sources tell the newshour the president laid out a e three-stagproach for lifting restrictions, with guidelines for employers and other groups, like schoos,, barnd hospitals. he cold governors, "they could

call their own shots on when to open." earlier today, louisiana governor john bell edwards underscored the need to reopen state business. >> we're not going to go back to normal until we ve a vaccine or sapome effective thtic treatments, but we're not going to wait until then before we start to reopen the economy, get >> nawaz: but, new york city mayor bill de blasio warned the president's rush to restart could backfire and cause a" boomerang fect." >> if he's smart about it and careful about it we can actually get to a restart of the economy that we can sustain. h jumps too soon, it'll be horrible, it'll set us back further.th >> nawazcenters for and seven governors in thed midwest announey'll work in coordination to re-open their economies, following similar agreements earlier this week by governors in the northeast and governors on the west coast. the immediate effects of the economic dnturn are already beinfelt. food pantry providers say demand is skyrocketing, but donations ve declined. snaked along the highway,ars

iting for national guard troops to distribute boxes of food. and, millions of americans antipating their $1200 stimulus checks will have to wait longer, as technical glitches keep those who filed taxes with services like turbotax or h&r block from ceiving those funds. as they navigate the economic burdens, america also face grim new develpuments in the blic health crisis. sioux falls, south dakota is now a new national hotspot after more than 640 cases were traced back to a smithfield pork plant, since shuttered. in a small new jersey town, the virus continues to devastate nursing home populations. accoing to the "new york times," police there discovered 17 bodies inside one facility, where 68 pele died recently.po 26 had testetive for covid 19. countries around the world are also still grappling withco aining the virus and mitigating the financialt.

fall in northeastern france, an optical business owner sats he's lookinonths of lost business and doesn't know how he can safely reopen hi. >> ( translated ): when it comes don't see how we can fit glasses on people wearing masks, masks that we don't yet have at the moment in any case. i don't see how i can as wmy employees k without masks >> nawaz: authorities in greece have tightened restrictions ahead of sunday's orthodox easter. police are stopping and questioning drivers-- anyone traveling for the holiday faces a fine of 300 euros-- $326. a similar lock down in jan, with more than 9,000 covid-19 cases and nearly 200 deaths. and where ime minister shinzo abe today declared a nationwide emergency to discourage travel during an upcoming holiday. >> ( translated ): we ask localo rnments to urge residents not to take non-essential, non- urgentrips back to their hometowns or any trips that involvetravel between areas and prefectures to avoid the spread during golden week.

>> the latest celebration on hold as the wod struggles to stop the virus spread.e for s newshour, i'm amna nawaz. >> woodruff: we had planned to bring you an interview with vice prident mike pence. his office had to reschedule and we hope to have that conversation soon. now, this country is experiencing a sudden ike of job loss not seen since the great depression. 22 million lost jobs in about a month with many more cuts to come, and a sense that these numbers don't fully capture what's really happening. we are going to focus on this extensively from a number of angles. let's start by hearing from some who have lost their jobs or have had to shut down most of their business and are struggling. >> i'm kamesa carter. relive in jacksonville, florida. and behe covid 19 pandemic, i was a substute teacher. >> my name is josiah welch. i live in longview, washington. >> my name is jennifer. i am here in las vegas, nevada.

>> my name is austin mcmullen, 31 years old, living up here in raleig north carolina. >> i'm sunyatta amen, the head of calabash tea and tonic in washington, d.c. >> i'm alana calhoun, and i was previously working for an soterpreting agency. >> i bough food for myself and for my family so they can have some food to survive. and right now, i just i just don't have nothing in my bank account. i just, not even savings. it's just been really tough. >> between both shops, we're used to serving 400 and upwardsd people. and so to go from that to no people a day was tremendously sheartening. but you still have rent and you still have lights and you still have bills and you still he staff. it's intense. >> i was in sales for a jor hotel company and i was living on 100% commission, so that is completely pulled t from under me.

>> i'm a single parent of two young men. so i just try to hold it together and i've been talking with a lot of my creditors to make arrangements and to get extensions on a lot of things. >> you know, le i've always been the one to support my tmily and just it's really hard right now, like nk about everything. >> i ended up gettingel immedifurloughed the day after i had moved everything in didn't actually telly geto i to work even one day. it was just a devastating knock to the stomach that it was almost hard to, like, overcome. and i went to a dark space, but like a sflecting like, what in the hell am i going to do for about a couple days aftl. that phone c >> i hang my hat, you know, take a lot of pride in being an employ and have so for years and being able to offer health insurancthings like that thugh our business. it's heart wrenching to have to

slfay to our staff, look, you guys have to stay home. >> approaching your parents basically with your tail tucked between your legs as an adult saying "so any way that you could help me through this?" is not an easy thing to do at n'l. if it wefor my parents assisting me, i wouldn't know that i'll be able to have al p the ducks ce to make sure i don't lose my home before this is over. re right now, i'm fortunate in the fact that weot in extreme dire straits row. i fear that i'm not going y be able to r bills, that eventually we're going to become homeless. and thatcares me. >> it's just it's just been because you exct that every two weeks or every week you'll get a check coming in, so you can stay afloat. buotwith all this and people having jobs, it's like that little anchor has gone. and it's just, it's just terrible. >> wooapuff: and we so eciate each one of you telling your story.

the primary engine of the u.s.is econommall business, and they are some of the hardest hit. and a new blow hit today: the massive $349 billion rr ief program e aid is now out of money. our lisa djardins joins me to tell us what is happening in congress to try to get help to all businesses and their employees. so, lisa, tell us what did happenn all this today. and what exactly does this program mean for sml business? >> judy, the fact that this program is now out of money means no more relief will be going out until congress fixes this problem and adds more funding. what this program is, judy, is essentially the most ride-sweeping lifeline ever to businesses in am. it is intended to help small businesses stay open. and it would ve small businesses an unprecedented of payroll that the u.s.t weeks government will essentially pay

for entirelwell as lease and utility costs. so it is something a lot ofss small busi say they need. but, judy, because of the demand rising so fast, aun tami of demand from small businesses, that $349 billion is already o weeks just tw in those 14 days, judy, that amount of relief is mo than the small business administration has given out in 14 years. so it's rather remarkable what'v thdone, but it just shows how mense the need is. >> woodruff: so, lisa, how is it this onprogram and whether it's continued or not is going to matter so much? >> right, and i should say there is a second program also for small businesses that has similarly reached its max um but this one is more funding for businesses. judy, talking about how important small businesses are-- the reason for thislorogram-- at this-- small businesses make up 48% of the workforce in the united states. the number of those businesses, we're talkingbout 30 million

small businesses. most of them would be eligible for thisoney. but, judy, because of the money running out, just 1.6 million of those businesses were able to get this money approved. and, judy, tonightmany businesses don't know if they got that money or if not. for example, the tea shop owner in that lovely story that we just said, shwing about people's needs, she has applied. the money yeor not.he's getting >> woodruff: and, lisa, you've been reporting on the negotiatio about all this under way between members-- leaders in the congress, the trump administration. at one point you said it looked promising. what's happened? >> well, the promise is that some ideas from democrats, butto let me back up and explain what's happening. democrats are the ones who are essentially adfusing to d more funding just on its own. so let's look at where the two sides are.th first of alle republicans here right now, they have proposed for over a week, adding

a quarter of a billion dollars to this program, just that, nothing else. democrats, however, say that they need some of that money to specifically go tome areas don't think that mis, that they reaching right now. they also want more money right now for states and for hospitals. they say those are edrgent ne as well and need to be passed immediately. so, judy, i's a strange situation where nearly everyone money, but they disagree over timing. and, judy, the pressure will be onemocrats over the weekend to see kind of if there's a political fallout from them block more money for this program. it will likely be days, least until next week, before congress can pass any fixes for this. >> woodruf and ju quickly, lisa, what's the difference then in who would getmoney, what the republicansment versus what the democrats want? >> well, inl, geneveryone-- the same group of people would get money. it's sort of a matter of timing. democrats' plan would probably helpore community banks,

places that don't see these loans often, not as big of a bank. but i want to also mention an important group, th self-employed. that is the bulk of small businesses, individuals like plumbers, accountant, farmers-- they all can apply for this money. however, they were not allowed to apply for it until a week after everyone else. that's because the guidelines for them are more complicated judy, they are at the back of the line and they are theost likely to have been frozen out of this program right no>> oodruff: and finally, quickly, lisa, where does it stand? >> right. so there are negotiations continuing, talks go on. we've heard from all offices tonight. but as i say, judy, even if th reach the deal over theeekend, even if congress is meeting right now-- which is barely meet ago i don't think any deal could tually become law until late next week, but talks continue. >> woodruff: lisa desjardins, thank you very much for staying on top of this for usf:

>> woodrven as the president and congress negotiate over further relief and aid, the job losses a f staggering. , they are roughly equivalent to the number of jobs created since thlast painful ression. elise gould is a senior economist with the economic policy institute, a non-profit think-tank in washington, d.c. elise gould, thank you very much for joining us. as we said, these numbersre almost impossible to comprehend: 20-some-odd million americans out of work. i mean, how do you put this some context? what's going on?>> it's a great. they're devastating numbers, just like those stories re devastating that you aired, all those people in so much pain. there are millions of them. as you said, there are more than 20 million. k about the economy. there are about 150 million people woromking in the eco that represents one in eight, more than one in eightou if you look you, more than one in eight workers have now filed for employment insurance.

f:ose are devastating losses. >> woodrnd you described to us how this is happening in wave of people, but now, we are seeing this cascade into virtually all sectors of the economy. >> that's right. at first, we saw it mostly in oleisure andspitality, when we saw the tourist industry begin to shut down. now you're seing it in restaurants, and you're seeing it in retail. it's-- it's really cascading. >> woodruff: and you've also talked to us about how it's not just people worrying about their economic security. it's health security on the line as well. when you think about what's been happening in this pandemic, there are two ways this is affecting people. one is there are the ont-line workers, right, those essential workers-- whether they be health ca workers or grocery store workers or workers in essential workers every day are putting their own health on the ne, health of themselves, of their family members. they may live with people who are at risk, in particular, risk

of their health. so whave to think about those workers. and then we think about theou other of workers, those people facing devastating economic insecurity. so those people who have lost their job, who have beenou fued, who have their hours cut, who have no hope of getting employment a time soon. >> woodruff: elise gould, you also told us maybe there's an undercount involved, that we're not seeing the true numbers, even when we look at these devastating numbers that are coming out. >> that's right. so some of what we passed in the last legislation, the cares act, allowed additional people to be able to file fplor unment insurance. that's just coming up on line now. so those selfemploy workers, those gig workers who can now apply, workers who had to quieit jobs to take care of their kids when their kids' school closed, we're going to now start seeing all of those nbers of people applying for unemployment insurance in the comweumming s. >> woodruff: and finally, elise gould, the economic policy institute has taken a deeper a lohow women may be more

affected by these job losses than men.what did you find? >> well what, we're seeing is the sectors that are more likely to be affected initially, in particular, in leesure and hospitality, those-- that sector has more women in it, and so we're seei more women affected initially. io're also seeing among those dispropotely affected so even more than their sector would suggest. >> woodruff: and is that something you expeto continue as these-- again, the waves of people who are affected begin to show up and seeking unemployment benefits? >> unfortunately, i do. i think that it's really important for us to track as many demographic characteristics as we can with the da tamoing forward to see who is really st quickly,by this recession. in terms of benefits, in the i mean, for many of theseor men,

people, they've never had to ask for unemployment benefits in their lives. >> that's right. we are seeing unprecedented numbers of peoplling for unemployment insurance. these are people we know, people in the economy today, have livyc ck to paycheck. they can't go without that paycheck that they need to be able to put a roof over their head, to be able to put food on the table. it is absolutely naeythat m come through, and that that money continue until we get on e her side of this pademic ask can be used as stimulus to make sure the economy gets back on track. druff: and as we heard so vividly from those americans whthe voices were shared us just a few minutes ago.el e gould, the economic policy institute, thank you. >> thank you. >> woodruff: one of the business sectors hardest hit by the pandemic has been air travel. passenger volume is down a

stunning 96% in the u.s., while airline losses have topped $300 billion worldwide. economics correspondent paul solman has our story on theco equences. it's part of our regular series "making sense." >> reporter: clear skies; barren airports; sidelined je as far in the eye can see. >> i think it's to be probably 2021 before we see a return to normalcy. >> reporter: brian pearce is chief economist of the industry's worldwide tra group. >> the airline industry, not just in e u.s., but worldwide, is in a complete crisis. markets have evaporated. airlines need cash at the moment just to survive. >> reporter: and they'll be getting some-- a $50 billi federal bailout, the first $25 billion in grants ans to pay employees through september 30th. b more than 100,000 in the industry work for subcontractors, as herbert

stewart in philadelphia does. >> we had a massive layoff at my company here. they laid off about 600 to 1,000 employees. i will also be, as well, probably laid off. so this is going to hit medr atically. >> we're the frontline workers and we were the first ones to go and i think we'll be the last ones to go back.te >> rep laid-off boston skycap joseph travers, father of four. >> my concern is once this is over there's gonna be millions of people out of work. and there's only gonna be so many jobs because companies are losing money. they're not gonna want to bring us back and it's scary. scary situation for any family. >> reporter: also left out of the deral response to the airline crisis: the grounded public. >> it's frustrating to have to gate says it's canate, and your and the next flight is six hours away, and then you wait that six hours and that one is canceled. >> reporter: and if you're

canceled? >> they're really avoiding any commitment to give a refund to anybody. >> reporter: sign language intecorpreter bettnomos had paid thousands for flights to teach five upcoming senars. she's refunding her customers. but she can't get her money back, not even from trav insurance. >> and i feel bad for the people ke myself who are not getting a paycheck, who need, who need money to live. i mean, if they bail the airlines out, then they definitely should be refunng money to people. >> reporter: but business is dead, says economist brian pearce. >> the demands for, for refundst amto something like $35 billion in the second second quarter. the airlines are goingo go out of biness. >> i don't want them to go out of business.

i don'tant to go out of business either. i mean, i think that's a ridiculous argumenvebecause they ot been operating on a just break-even level, let's face it. >> they've been ruing their businesses completely recklessly. and why is it that we're holdi the bill here? >> reporter: the federal airline rescue is fundamentally flawed, says anti-trust expert tim wu. >> they've been running a game whe they squeeze people in tiny seats, do everything they can to extract every last dollar out of everybody, to make the mon profit they could and t thrown that all into stock buybacks. and to realize after a those billions being spent, they didn't keep anything for a predictable event like this. >> reporter: well, they didn't know there was gonna be a ndemic. >> actually, they warned about it in their stock-- in some of their documents, warned about the possibility of a pandemic owining their business. >> reporter: butould they have prepared for a near standstill, asks airline blogger brett snyder. >> these were relatively healthy companies that could withstand significant downturns.

just not a complete destruction all demand. i think that's hard to say that a company should hold on to julti billions and billions of dollars of cash in case this type of thing were to happen. >> reporter: meanwhile, pilots helming the few fligill operating have their own beef with the federal gover >> we have over 200 reports of test positives. we he three deaths. >> reporter: four flight attendants have died, 250 have tested positive. ex-marine joe depete, a pilot for 33 years, now head of the airline pilots association, asked for mandatory regulatiers from the f aviation administration last month. >> one was the cleaning and disinfecting of our airplane to make these ready for flight. the second was the notificion to other crew members who may have been exposed to someone who tested positive. the other was use cleaning solutions and products that were bcommended by the c.d.c. effective. >> reporter: depete says he got

no immediate response at a time when, for his pilots, every day counts. >> to expose them to additional risks, unnecessary risks, preventable risks to me is unconscionable. >> reporter: the f.a.a. gave us this statement in response: "the f.a.a. is taking seriously reports of airline failures to follow this crucial health guidance. any allegation to the contrary is inflammatory and inaccurate"" turbulent times, thousands of flights canceled daily, future bookings down almost 100%. way off.er skies, perhaps a long for the pbs newshour, paul solman. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, wall street managed small gains, despite the latest job losses the dow jones industrial average was up 33 points to close at 23,537. the nasdaq rose 139 points, and, the s&p 500 added 16. in sth korea, the ruling partybi has won in parliamentary

elections held wednesday. voters had to wear masks and edastic gloves, and get their temperatures che but turnout was the highest in nearly 30 years. the outcome may boost president relations with north korea.prove israeli prime minister benjan nyaet and rival benny gantz are still deadlocked over forming a government. they misd a new deadline today, and the country'spr ident gave parliament three weeks to find someone who can fashion a coalition. otherwise, israel faces its fourth election in just over a year. a world war two veteran in britain reached his goal today and raised nearly $16 million for health care workers battling the pandemic. tom moore is 99 years old. he pledged to walk 100 laps in his garden, and online donations went viral. today, moving with a walker, moore finished his feat, as a

military honor guard saluted. he said he was overwhelmed by the response. >> it's unbelievable that people would be so kind to give that sort of money to the national health service. and maybe i was responsible for starting it, but not deliberately. >> woodruff: moo turns 100 years old on april 30th. and, the actor brian dennehy has died. his representative says he passed away overnight in new haven, connecticut, of natural causes. dennehy's many film roles included the sheriff in "first blood", who battled sylvester stallone as "rambo." on sge, he won two tony awards, including one as willy loman in "death of a sesman" 1998. brian dennehy was years old. still to come on the newshour: the origins of the virus the competing theories of how covid- 19 began. on the frontlines at an

embattled veterans hospital the delicate and necessary work of decontaminating lifaving masks. plus much more. >> woodruff: from ment covid-19 began to spreue, there wereions about its origin. this week, there have been reportu.s. diplomats have been concerned about a lab in wuhan, china, the city where the outbreak began. nick schifrin examines what the u.s. knows, and doesn't know, about how coronavirus spread. >> schifrin: today in wuhan, the rkets sell live animals. the shop keepers insist their product is clean, and had nothing to do with the covid-19 outbreak.

secretary of state mike pompeo seemed tagree with the shopkeepers, and raised on fox news last night, another source. >> this virus originat wuhan, china. we know there is the wuhan institute of virogy just a handful of miles away from where the wemarket was. there is still lots to learn. >> schifrin: the wuhan institute of virology's website includes these photos, showing off its technology. u.s. officials tell pbs newshour they've long been concernedse about larity. and they consider the possibility, that covid-19 was accidentally released by a lab employee working with animals that carry coronaviruses. >> more and morethe're hearing story.oi we are a very thorough examination of this horrible situation. >> schifrin: but the intelligence community has not concluded fosure that's what happened. u.s. officials tell pbs newshour it's still possible the market, was the source. if you will.nconclusive, >> we've had a lot of intelligence, take a hard look at that.

and i would justt,ay at this pot's inconclusive. >> schifrin: last month china's ministryf foreign affairs blamed the us military for reading the virus. chinese media have even blamed italy. spokesman zhao lijan sa it's too early to know the source, but denied it was the >> ( translated ): this is a enientific issue which should be studied by ssts and mecal experts. many well-known medical experts in the world also believe that claims of the so-called laboratory leaks have no scientific basis. >> schifrin: we turn to dr. luciana borio who served on the national security council staff as the director of medical and biodefense preparedness policy during the first two years of the trump administration. she's now a vice president at in-q-tel, a non-profit, investment oanization that funds technologies the intelligence community is interested in. dr. borio,hank you very much. welcome to the newshour. those two scenarios i just laid out, some kind of accideleal e from a lab in wuhan, and a possible releasin the nearby

wet market, e either of those still possible? >> that's right, nick. so the national biodefense strategy contemplates three icalral categories of biol threats: the deliberate threats, an accident from a lab exposure or release; and naturally occurring exposure. we don't believe the strain has any features that it was a deliberate event at all. it's aatural strain. whether it's a human exposure that led to the pandemic initially occurred in boa tory setting or a wet market or something like that is going to be very difficult to ascertain and we don't know how-- >> how would you.so y to intrupt you. how would you ascertain that, if it is so difficult?ma what infon would you need? >> that's right. so it might not be possible just through scientific means of analysis of the strain. it may need some other type of investigation undertaken by the intelligence community to see what other information may have

been available with respect to communications, for example, around the time. but it my be verfficult. and we know that biological threats in general can be veryt diffic attribute in a potential source. either way, what we have toin, remember today is that we have a pandemic on our hands. and the most important thing to focus on right now is to contain it. there will be a time when we're going to beable to go back and say, "what happened? and i have to say that there's more to do gloobally t minimize human exposure to wildlife in m those werkets, because, clearly, they pose a threat to our security.d ere's also more that we have to do to be able to make sure that experimentations with path gens of pdemic potential, like coronaviruses, are done in a way that meet very stringent biological safety standards. >> so, obviously, there have been questionsy u.s. officials

about the safety standards within these labsas well as concerns that china isn't closing e wet markets. also among the u.s. concerns is thoriginal virus, original genome. when it comes to actually finding out what happened, how important is it that china share information that it has from patients, psumably from as early as december? >> yes, so the more information scientists have, the moe ey'll be able to understand this virus. that was done early on when ark sequen was exposed. it allowed the development of a diagnostic test, having the virus in the right hands and the right labs can help facilitate it's very important to share information about something that really impacts the entire world impacts everybody. and we have to be able to work together to be able to contain et. >> lastly, in 0 seconds or so we have left, your last gint-- we have to work her to contain it. how important is it at the end of the day to actually kne

origin of covid-19? >> the most important thing that we have to do is tole abto stabilize and restore our economic security anur health security. so that's going to be the most important thing. we can't se focus on that. we may or may not be able to ascertain the origins, and, you know, the important thing is that we contain this. >> dr. luciana borio, thank you very much. >> my pleasure. >> woodruff: as partf our continuing series with frontline health-care works, william brangham spoke today with maria lobifaro. she's a nurse working at a v.a. hospital in brooklyn, new york that's been converted to care only for coronavirus patients. lobifaro is a member of "national nurses unite" the

largest union for registeredes nun the country. as you'll hear, she says her job often comes with too little protection and support s you know, every day's i've worked on a weekend where we were reusing the same gown from nurse to nurse,ame protective gown. so when my shift finished, i hag to pass thn on to the next nurse. and then the next day i came back to work and wt'had gowns. soreally been very touch and go. as far as staffing, i think that was e of the major issues that we had in the hospital, especially in the i.c.u. we just tripled our capacity overnight and so there was definitely weeks-- i would say all of last month-- where thei. u. was really struggling.

one nurse with five critical patients on ventilators. and at's a ratio that's real unheard of. >> brangham: what's the ratio normally? >> so the only state that has an actual ratio is california, and they have a 1-to-1 and they have laws protecting that ratio. >> brangham: one to one, one nurse. >> to one patient. >> brangham: and you guys are at 5 to 1. >> yes. so pre-covid, generally it was like two patients to one nurse. these patients are. so much sicker, than the average i.c.u. patient. and now a nurse is dealing wit five patients. so at times it mean most of the time it was really just unbearable. it was really to the point where a few of us had to actually put our foot down and refuse a sixth patient. so it has been a struggle.ar

as as p.p.e., protective covering and protective gear it'sike lacking on the c.d.c level. if you do a simple google image search, italy p.p.e., china p.p.e. and then look up usa p.p.e., it's you don need to be a nurse or a doctor or a medical professional to tell that our country is lacking seriously. i mean, in other countries, if you look at the health care infection rate, significantly lower than what the u.s. is at right now. and why is that? like other countries are in a erfull-on astronaut suit, they don't have any part of their skin exposed. but yet for the u.s., we're just in like a little thin paper gown and sometimes you're reusing that gown! how many more medical professionals need to get sick or even die for them to realize that.

t it's a serious problem. >> brangham: that's got to be incredibly frustrating because here you are doing this lifesaving work, really. the country is tasking you with helpinstamp out this pandemic and yet you obviously feel like we don't have your back and some substantive way.ea >> well, i prior to this, we dealt with patients with infectious diseases all the time. you know, tuberculosisyou know, and, you know, the things that we're doidi today, if we them, then we would be seriously reprimanded. and it's very discouraging because i'm going into the room, not the head of the c.d.c., they're at home. so it's been overwg, toir skin. say the least. >> brangham: when you see all ow the supporn people are

clapping, when there's a shift change or peopleosting signs or tying ribbons around trees, and what do you make of all of that support?co >> i'm verlicted on that topic. so part of me feels, you know, so proud that my city is supporti. so i'm realloverwhelmed by the support of the public. on the other hand, i'm just doing my job every day, a job that i've always done. an i.c.u. nurse, you don't go into the field expecting to not see death. it's expected, but i think the amount that i've been seeing lately has been overwhelming, public."ith the just the you're areero." it jusly sets a-- i guess,

an unrlistic expectation of how i can peorm at work. >> brangham: you're not bulletproo >> exactly. and i'm not a superhero. and if i was a superhero, i wouldn't have to make decisions whose bedside do i at? do i stand that the patient whoa has a hear of 20 right now and isrobably going to die in 1 the neto 15 minutes? or do i go to my other patient who' you know, went to the bathroom on themselves and for two hours now e i'ven that just been so busy. so if i was a superhero, i wouldn't have to make these decisionknevery day. yo, i couldn't feel as further from a superhero as i feel sometimes. >> brangham: well, maybe not a superhero, but you feel pretty close to one, to me. >> thank you so much. >> brangham: maria lobifaro, thank you very, very much for your time and thank you for all the work that you're doing. >> oh, thank you so much.

and i hope you stay safe and you and your family as well. >> brangham: you, too. >> thank you. >> woodruff: and now a look at what some hospitals hope could be a stop-gap solution t shortage of a critical piece of protection for those heroes on the frontlines: n-95 masks. john yang haour report. >> yang: for health care professionals on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic, masks like this, called an n-95, are essential equipment. >> the overall situation i rrifying. this is the closest thing i've done to going to war. >> yang: sidney longwell is an emergency room physician at tulane medical center in new orleans. >> the patients that we ar seeing are a threat to us. if you're gonna go into somewhere where your someone's coughing or you're putting a tube down someone's throat with, yeu need a shield for your

you need goggles and an n-95 as a basic minimum. y yang: the virus has spread rapi new orleans. like the rest of the country, the city has a shortage of n-95 masks. they're designed to block 95% of airborne pticles and droplets befo, doctors and nurses would. use a new disposable mask for each new patient. and now? >> we're issued an n-95 in the morning and you do your best tot t it. >> yang: when that practice began, longwell started taking his masks home for a personal recycling program. >> the oldest is to the left and they circle around to the right he the newest. >> yan he setsout on a table for at least seven days-- beyond what's believed to be the rus's lifespan. >> this is our version of the super bowl. everyone wants to stay in the game. so thas why i'm recycling here, so that if the supply chain's cut, i can at least continue to work for a couple of weeks before i would have an >> yang: now tulane medical

stnter and hospitals on long island, and other cities have developed officl recycling programs. >> we're in colete crisis mode. >> yang: angie birnbaum is tulane's director of biosafety. >> as a biosafety professional, i never thought that i'd be in a situation where we're actually questioning how to decontaminate n-95 masks. t this is wherwe are during this pandemic. >> yang: tulane's program, which is awaiting government approval, uses a technique developed by battelle memorial institute, a scientific research non-profit. the battelle system, which was approved recently for emergency use, treats used masks with vaporized hydrogen peroxide, which has been employed for years to sterilize sensitive equipmen >> vaporous hydrogen peroxide is great decontaminate because it doesn't leave hazardous residues behind.ly you will basicave a nice sterilized piece of equipment that can be reused by our health care providers. >> yan as a test of how effectively the system decontaminates, tulane

researchers add hardo-kill microorganisms to the masksss before the pro if those are eliminated by the vaporized hydrogen peroxide, they reason, so is thes. coronavi not everyone is convinced. in a statement, the executive director of national nurses united, the biggest union of is no validad, scientific"there evidence that multiple re-use or decontamination of n-95 respiratory masks is slle, and rotect a health care worker." the food and drug administration's letter approving the battelle system for emergency use said its" known and potential benefits outweigh the known and potential risks." and the national institutes of health said results ofts study" indicate that n-95 respirators can be decontaminated and reused in times of shortage for up to three times" with vaporized hydrogen peroxide. if it is successful, the system would effectively expand the

supply of usable masks. and it just could keep physicians like sidney longwell >> when this started we were trying to figure out at what point we would tap out and say, if it gets to this point, i don't feel safe coming to work. an adequate respirator is where we all drew the line. i know i won't feel safe going into a room wi yout an n-95. g: he says he's more concerned about his family than about ermself. his faied of non-covid-19 causes late last month. e>> the hardest thing for about coping so far has been not beinto be around my mom. i'm literally a biological threat to my mom. i haven't been able to go to mobaton rouge to support m and that sucks. also, like i've had a few patients die, and that's like... ct>> yang: prog loved ones,

protecting patients and protecting themselves-- the balancing act facing frontline thalthcare workers across e country. for the pbs newshour, i'm john yang. >> woodruff: we return to thew idance out of the white house, as the president and coronavirus task force continue their evening briefing. our yamiche alcindor is here with the latest. she's just come from that briefing. so, yamiche, tell us what the president and his team ar saying about their plan to begin to reopen the country. >> well, the big ws today is that the president has now laid three-phase plan to try to reopen the american economy. and he's doing that by leaving a lot of the decision making to states and to governors.

heaid he had total authority but he's really saying i'm t allowi states to make these decisions. like thihe first phase isappen people would still be focused working from home, minimizing nonessential travel. the second phase would be where things start to loosenp, where you would have schools and day up.es opening back you might, also, the administration sailed have churches and bars opening back up, but that would be largely with social distancing still in place. and the third would be a phase where you would have big arenas, concerts, and lessocial distancing. >> woodruff: and, yamiche, what is the president saying in terms of whether he expects these orders to be followed by the 50 states? >> the president is essentially ordering the states any more. on a call with governors, he's saying now they're the ones calling the shots, those were his exact words. 're seeing the president back away from the idea he's forcing

governors and states to make decision. he's saying i am allowing them to make their own decisions. there is a big idea in the administration to ramp up testing, because so many people, executives and state officials, l stsay sting in this eountry is not where it needs to be, and there still large numbers of people who can't get fests for the coronavirus whenlo ey up the country.ential to openin >> woodruff: we know, yamiche, the president met with numbers of different groups, including governors and business leaders what else are you able to learn about how the white house is handling and managing this crisis? >> well, what we're learning is that the white house really managing this by focusing on whe health officials say wpresident trump also thinking about his own pol instinct. we've heard arguments from white house officials saying that they think leaving the economy closed, that it would make more people die, either through mental health or economic hardship, that people would be hurt more by keeping the economy

closed. so what we're heis the president is really leaning in on the idea that he's eager to have america open bck up, but also said, he stressed today, this is based on data and science. we're hearing from some former republican officials, including ne that our producer, meredith lee, talked, toat these are reasonable guidelines so we hear ll leaningent is sti into his health officials. >> woodruff: reporter, yamiche alcindor, following it all, what's going on at the white house this evening. thank you, yamiche. >> thanks so much. uf >> woo tonight we hear from kat zwick, who tested positive for covid9 last month. she spent 20 days quarantined in her bedroom in northern california and spoke to our brief but spectaculat team then abe experience. >> so, i'm sitting in my car and i get a call actually from urgent care and they tell me

that i've tested positive for covid. and i don't know how to properly shock and kind of the immediate grief, i think, that i felt. and almost like, this cannot be. it's bee10 days since i tested positive i have been in my bedroom now for 14 days. i run a therapy clinic in santak city finishing up a conference for the american group psychotherapy association and woke up and felt mildly sick. and then it was on mone 9th that i was back home and i was getting hit now with sort of like waves of fatigue. so i contacted my primary care doctor and they asked me, "have you had any exposure to co i was ke, i think there might have been someone at my conference that left early, but it had something to do with covid, but i don't really know what. my doctor said, "well, you need

to go to urgent care and be y triaged r car. you actually can't come in. a guy from the conference emailed the listserv of all the attendees and said he indeed had tested posite for covid. and i was reading through his schedule, and i realized that he and i both attended the dance, i had been on that dance floor, which was pretty small for atre least hours. and so, then i was like, "oh, my gosh, i've been directly exposed," and then, three more people emailed and sai also had tested positive that same day, and ey also shared their schedules and i was at two events with all of them. and urgent care said"you need to come on down and we probably need to get you tested.," it washat afternoon, on the 17th, that i got way sicker. it was just like a severe amount ofa ad t no sleep. my fever went up to, i think, p1.6 or something like that. and i was the mosically uncomfortable i have ever been in my life. it was almost unbearable. like, i could not stand up, or i would fall over. i wanted to just see my husband's face, and i couldn't walk.

and so i was crawling on the floor out of the bedroom, just to see him in the kitchen. level of severity laste about ree days. during the worst of it last week, i feltxtremely terrified. my husband is calling me like a covid activist. because the thing i feel most ssionate about is people taking this more seriously andin stin their houses. right now, any symptom that you have could be covid. f and not ak out or panic about that, because panic doesn't help your imystem. but to just stay inside. the amount of support that i've received, i mean just hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people. the emotion that comes up is just overwhelming gratitude and sound strange coming from a therapist, but recognizing that i matter more to people than maybe i usually think that i do.

when you find out that y matter and you didn't necessarily conceive of yourself that way, i think that does alter, you know, how you show up in the world. my name is kat zwick and this is my brief but spectacul take on surviving covid-19. >> woodruff: kat, thank you so much for sharing. kat is no longer in isolation and while her health has from the virus. still recvering millio oviewers watched her video online and she's responded to many of your questions on our facebook page. and you can find all our brief but spectacular segments at pbs.org/newshour/brief. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online and again here tomorrow evening. u soon.o >> major funding for the pbs newshour h beey:n pr bided

>> the ford foundati edg rkiowi >> and by the al. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st c. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newour. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributns to your pbs station from viewers like you.

thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media acceup at wgbh access.wgbh.org .

hello, everyone. welcome to amanpour & co. >> today i'm instructing my administration to halt -- >> we regret the decision of the president of the united states to order a hold in funding to the world health organization. >> glol outrage at manager's move to pull the plug on the world health organizatn in the midst of a pandemic. i explore the dangers with w.h.o. adviser jamie metzl. then and now from leadership to u.s. china relations, historian and authorarret macmillan joins me.us obama, sanders, warre