>> more than 900 deaths in italy in a single day, despite a lockdown. the number of covid-19 infections there is now the the world.est in and spain records its highest number of coronavirus deaths in day.gle as people die in 24 hours, infections rise among health care workers. ♪[music] >> hello. fromis al jazeera, live doha. also coming up, a shortage of doctors and hospital beds. faces huge challenges

in dealing with thehe coronavirs outbreak. an astronaut on how best to quarantine dururing the pandemicic. >> give yourself something to accomplish every day. take action. ♪[music] history.page in the words of italy's president, as the death toll from the toonavirus there continues mount. on friday, italy reported the highest number of virus-related any country after 919 people died in just 24 hours. number of confirmed cases has increased too. there are now more than 86,000 infections there. the spanish government has called on the european union to urgent financial assistance. more than 750 people died there, in the last 24 hours. in the united states, president donald trump has signed into law

a $2.2 trillion stimulus package. it will speed up government andents to americans increase jobless benefits. the u.s. president has also invoked the defense production act, which will force companies to produce much-needed medical equipment. working to sign contracts immediately with the companies intor the country, including g.e., medtronic, hamilton, med, hill rod and viair. the f.d.a. will be reducing and waiving our necessary regulations in order to get this done. we're going to be getting rid of let's say, barriers to speed. we want them to get it done quickly. >> and a brief look at the global picture. the johns hopkins university are more than 591,000 confirmed infections. with a lack of testing, the

real number is likely to be much higher. 26,000 people, nearly 27,000 people now, have died and 131,000 have recovered. los angeles via skype. rob reynolds is there. the u.s. president has been the last hour. what does he have to say? primarilywell, president trump has been talking about his administration's praising the efforts by his officials, talking about that the federal government is forging with various private companies, saying that hundreds and hundreds of thousands of ventilators, masks, gloves and other necessary items are going to be flooding out of factories short order. this is at odds somewhat with picture where -- in which many doctors and nurses hospital officials say they

are suffering from severe shortages. the numbers very quickly, the united states has now more than 100,000 confirmed cases, that's according to that same johns hopkins record keeping device. 1,543 byve soared to last count. that is more than the entire nation of germany. hot spots emerging in cities like detroit, philadelphia, new orleans is alsoiencing a surge, philadelphia, chicago. dallas is another one. that passed bill through congress was signed by today.sident it's $3.2 trillion, the biggest such legislation ever. bail out corporations, for example, airlines that have operations grind to a

halt. it will also provide money to cities,es and replenishes stockpiles of needed willal equipment and provide extended unemployment benefits to many of the millions americans who have lost their jobs as well as putting extra money into the pockets of form of direct cash payments. adrian? is stillress briefing going on. vice president mike pence is speaking right now. long briefing by the president's usual standards. begun to show any sign that he is rising above partisan in his handling of this crisis? reporter: yes and no. he has gone out of his way in this press conference to praise several democratic governors. fact that the congress was able to pass this a bipartisan, virtually

unanimous basis. didn'tly enough, he invite any democrats to the signing ceremony at the white house where he signed the legislation into law. that's really seen as quite a snub.able and he also attacked, by name, a number of governors with whom he has clashed or who have criticized him. he says he wants them to show more appreciation. he said that governor jay inslee whomshington is a governor he would not even call on the phone. gretchened to governor michigan as someone who doesn't know what's on her, in a whiney voice, complaining about the federal government. bag.really kind of a mixed but the president has not shied away from scoring political points in the midst of the crisis. >> al jazeera, reporting live, at home in los angeles.

thanks indeed. as we reported, there's been a steep rise in the number of virus-related deaths in italy. it's overtaken china now on both the number of deaths and infections. we have a journalist based in milan. he says the true number of infections is believed to be far higher than the number being reported. reporter: it's really hard to say when the peak is going to come here in italy. we expect it every day, but then mock delude ourselves. today is the deadliest day since outbreak.ing of the it's 919 people died in the last hours. it is a massive increase, after when they tested 790 daily. and the death toll now reached 9,134. the confirmed cases are

around -- the total number of positive people over 86,000. a third of today's milan, here inm the northern regions. in this area, there could be as times more people actually infected, the head of the civil protection said on tuesday. but the health service is under strain and only those in severe conditions are tested. that's why the virus here seems, to kill 14ers, people out of 100 confirmed cases but actually, the could be many more. >> spain has also seen a in deaths inease the past 24 hours. nearly 800 people died from the virus.aused by madrid.t from reporter: sources gave us today the daily figures. 5,000,y're giving us death toll.

more total of a little bit of 64,000, people infected by coronavirus in spain. from which nearly a 15%, 9,500 infected in spain are doctors and nurses. this is quite worrying, as the figures released on tuesday, there were 5,400 of infected byworkers coronavirus. and today we've got 4,000 more the health care system infected. worrying, because experts are saying we shouldn't rely on these official figures, the health minister are giving us daily, because we enough test kits here in spain. talking, about a half million of people infected in spain by coronavirus, because cannot diagnose people because we don't have the moreng kits and even health care workers could be

infected. all these health care workers of protectivet equipment against coronavirus and they're demanding supply of gloves. we keep saying this, they're stage angry at this because they're confronting the coronavirus on the front lines. minister u.k., prime boris johnson has tested positive for the virus and he's of the only number -- member the government team who has tested positive. hours after boris johnson first displayed symptoms received ated, he positive result. britain's prime minister becomes highesthe world's profile carriers of the covid-19 coronavirus. from home.working i'm self-isolating. and that's entirely the right thing to do. but no doubt that i can thanks to the wizardry of modern technology, to continue with all my top team, the national fight back

against coronavirus. reporter: it wasn't long afterwards that the health announced he too had tested positive. mildhancock said he had symptoms that would not prevent him from continuing the vital britain'slstering health service. >> upon medical advice, i was tested. test has been positive. so i'll be self-isolating here thursday. reporter: boris johnson was last seen in person on the steps of on thursday street evening, as he joined the house country ind down the applauding the health care workers. standing alongside him was the chancellor and johnson's neighbor on downing street. received his positive test at midnight with t fridayl enough on morning to chair the cabinet meeting held by video link, of course. if boris johnson's condition was to worsen significantly such that he could no longer carry it's agreed that

the foreign secretary, dominique rob, would step into his shoes. bargai barring that, the normal function of government ought to continue, albeit with a difference, like the majority of britain's workers. now the prime minister is also working from home. it is a grim moment for britains to be told they'll be seeing a little less of their leader. the latest death toll from up 31% ins has shot 24 hours, to 759. days' time, when the prime minister emerges from isolation, things may well look even worse. al jazeera, london. >> the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in latin above 10,000. the real extent of the disease is believed to be far greater. some countriesre are still hesitating to take stronger measures. reporter: in brazil's largest

area, volunteers distribute soap and disinfectant to people in need. the highest number of cases and deaths attributed to covid-19. five people live in this house worried. >> the majority work and get paid by the day, so we hope we hope.t reporter: in the absence of stronger government measures, in local armed gangs are reportedly imposing lockdowns to slow the spread of pandemic. in peru, wakes for people who die of coronavirus have been banned and bodies must be cremated within 24 hours. a hotline for emergency services inquiries andh requests, prompting the president to threaten sanctions those who call for unjustified reasons. >> we used to get 3,000 calls a now. it's 80,000. we can only process half that number. reporter: in neighboring chile,

which has the second highest number of confirmed cases in the region, the government is rushing to prepare 4500 beds for critical cases. peak of this pandemic here in chile is estimated to be about a month away, which means no time to lose to prepare for the worst. but as the experience of wealthier countries have demonstrated, it takes much more lowerdditional beds to the curve of contagion, which is vital to prevent the collapse of system.ic health although it's increasing, mass testing is still not widespread in most countries. is why epidemiologists believe the real number of people in latin america least 10 times the confirmed number. the presidents of mexico and still refusing to impose even partial quarantines. back in chile, authorities are ordering quarantines in neighborhoods or cities on a basis, noted-to nationwide.

the remainingo healthy also includes being able to work and see your family. longer you are locked up, the more that too impacts your health. what epidemiologists are also evaluating. reporter: it's a calculation but many, countries that haven't ordered the lockdowns, fear could end up costing unnecessary lives. al jazeera, santiago. get a weather update next. then -- the evidence.low there are no shortcuts. the worldng from health organization over the use of untested medicines to treat the coronavirus. ♪[music] >> learning how to cope with an workers prepare displaced syrians.

♪[music] >> fairly quiet at the moment. wintry weather around the higher ground. might become more active, certainly towards the eastern seaboard. circulation setting up in the plains, north of kansas city. in the blue, it's really heading the midwest. now, you think it would tuck in air behind it, and it will to come degree. of course, it also induces it.th ahead of by the time you get to sunday, temperature of 26 in d.c. go down from 26 to 13 by tuesday. it's spring, changeable weather. stillean, breeze is growing. showers seem to be concentrating

from haiti east wards to the smaller island. beyond that, a pickup of a theain amount of rain on eastern coast of nicaragua and which is seasonal. there's a concentration around bolivia. could see a couple of days of fairly heavy rain. alone.n't be ♪[music] exileled.own n and >> an intimate film about the elected leader of madagascar to return to his reinstate his presidency. >> return of a president. on al jazeera.

♪[music] >> hello again. this is al jazeera. to remind a moment you of the main news. italy has reported a steep rise in the number of virus-related deaths. 919 people died in a single day. and in spain, the number of have risen to nearly 5,000. u.k. prime minister boris tested says he's positive for the virus and is self-isolating on downing street. the country's health minister ass he also has the virus, does the chief medical advisor. has president donald trump signed a $2.2 trillion stimulus

package into law, speeding up payments to struggling families. he's also invoked the defense force general to motors to start producing much-needed ventilators. the outbreak in the u.s. is in new york, and the bureau -- borough of queens is feeling that more than anywhere. reporter: they're sick, in urgent need of a doctor. with the emergency room inundated with coronavirus no available beds, they arrive early in the morning to wait in line to try to get seen. elmhurst hospital medical staff struggles to keep people alive. one 4-hour -- 24-hour period, 13 people died from covid-19. the hospital has 500 beds and is over capacity. thisl the patients in room, they all have covid. nurse shared video

with the new york times, a glimpse of what it's like inside. another doctor speaking anonymously describes the situation like this. it's just like a tie dal wave -- tidal wave. only beds we have freed up are people who have died. completely taking over the hospital. >> they need help and they need help in a real way. lot of friendsa of mine who are working there. shifts. they've been inundated with patients. elmhurst hospital truly is ground zero. reporter: elmhurst hospital is in queens. diverse borough working class of immigrants. health insurance is a luxury don't have. elmhurst is a so-called safety net hospital that won't deny to anybody, even if

they can't pay. but it simply can't keep up with demand. perhaps most ominous of all is the apex in this surge of sick people needing hospitalization isn't supposed to hit for at least another two weeks. there's a health care crisis. number of new yorkers infected with coronavirus thousands by the every day. it's not a matter of if hospitals here reach a breaking point. it's a matter of when. and based on what we're seeing hospital, thatt breaking point might be now. al jazeera, new york. director of primary organization that operates for seniors, he joins from tampa.kype you and your organization were ahead of the curve, so to speak, as far as the coronavirus is concerned.

you started to take action pretty early on. >> yeah. we needed to. we focused on elderly care. is 72, 74e patient years old. so back in december, when we about thised hearing coronavirus, we created a task task force ledng by an infectious disease doctor and we started preparing at that time. take things like this very seriously. we take the flu, for example. that this flu season was going to be busy. and based on reports that we had from australia, so where in the country, the average american 42%, 43% vaccination flu, patients seen by one of our doctors are 90%where between 80% and with flu vaccination. we took this very seriously. to takeyou started action back at the end of last year, were you criticized for it? you were beingk

overly caution at the time? do,ith a lot of what we we're dealing with the elderly. we're dealing with the vulnerable patient population, know we need to be ahead of these kinds of things. so at that -- so then in january, we actually switched to the cloud so that we could start doing remote work. one week, we went from seeing our patients in 90% of oure than patients in person, to 90% virtual. do your patients feel about the measures that you at the time? positive about them? did they understand the need? >> the patients loved it. have, in our practices, our patients can call their doctor cell phone. my father is one of the patients at our centers. we have tens of thousands of acrosss, as you said, the country. so it's important for patients to have that trust with their when you'recially dealing with the elderly people, for them to be able to reach

their doctor, and especially now we're talking about things like social distancing and being -- and preventive care with washing hands. it's important to have that kind of guidance from your doctor. >> ok. good to talk to you. thanks indeed. primary director of care. >> thank you. >> the world health in its latest briefing, has warned about the use of untested medications to treat the virus. >> we call on all individuals refrain from to using therapeutics that have not to beemonstrated effective in the treatment of covid-19. history of medicine is drugs with examples of that worked on paper, or in a int tube, but didn't work humans or were actually harmful. most recent ebola

epidemic, for example, some were thought to be effective were found not to as otherective medicines, when they were compared during a clinical trial. we must follow the evidence. are no shortcuts. we also need to ensure that using unproven drugs does not create a shortage of those to treat diseases for which they have proven effective. ofeven though the number confirmed coronavirus cases in syria remains low, there are that this will change and quickly. millions of displaced people live in the northwestern province of idlib, which has a weak health system eroded by conflict. five covid-19 cases have been reported. many are concerned that the could soon reach them. thousandshundreds of of tents in idlib, lined up by

turkey-syria border. lackare of crowded and basic facilitates. many are worried that makes them more vulnerable to an outbreak coronavirus. aide workers here are briefing people on how to cope if there is an outbreak. >> i don't know anything about it. i just heard. i'm learning about it now. reporter: some say inadequate sanitation puts them at greater risk. >> protection, come on. we lack water. how can we wash our hands that often? reporter: they are getting help, in sterilizing tents and houses. but in a country that suffered of war, much infrastructure is damaged. medical supplies are insufficient. health officials are warning that about 100,000 people could in northwest syria if they don't get the supplies and equipment they need.

100, 100 icuve beds and 50 ventilators for adults. we speak about the response for corona, we have to number ofout the adult ventilators. those ventilators, they are now -- now i can say that we one empty ventilator ready to receive corona patient. one of threes is in idlib. received three test kits for covid-19 yesterday from the world health organization. can do 100 tests. it won't be enough for millions but at least we can confirm if we have a case. reporter: so far, samples from just a few people have been studied. the government has confirmed

some cases of the virus across the country. fight is ongoing here, so is trade. and that contact with the ofside brings the risk people being infected. foreign dependent on andand donors for medicine hygiene products. some health care workers say they have yet to respond effectively to the situation, leaving many who have suffered nine years of war vulnerable and threatas they face the of a global pandemic. al jazeera. >> migrants arriving on the greek island say they're being no support, with the country in lockdown due to the coronavirus. nearly 60 people have recently landed and have had to set up their own camp. they said they haven't been masks to protect them. camps are already overcrowded and operating above their capacity. now, if there's anybody who abouta thing or two self-isolation, it's an

astronaut. space international station astronaut has been sharing tips. >> don't just be passive. just, you know, go one more scan through social media. into let this turn you some sort of lethargy. even though for a little while, consoling.ort of give yourself something to accomplish every day. take action. go do one of the things that's on your list of stuff to get done. this beat you down, you know. on board a ship, we are busy till 11 athe morning night. at the end of the day, you're exhausted but you look back and a great day. was i mean, i got a whole bunch of stuff done. i recorded a tune. this fun. and tomorrow is coming soon. and gett some sleep ready for tomorrow. dig into what's happening. don't let this thing direct your life. direct your own life in countries around the world have ways to thank health care workers fighting the

coronavirus. in france, the eiffel tower lit up to pay tribute to medical staff. the opportunity was also used to people to do their bit. ♪[music] >> it is really good to have you with us. hello. doha. fagan in italy has reported a steep rise in the number of virus-related deaths. people died there in a single day. and in spain, the death toll has nearly 5,000. u.k. prime minister boris johnson says he's tested the virus and will self-isolate. the country's health minister he also has the virus, as does the government's chief medical advisor. u.s. president donald trump has stimulus$2.2 trillion package into law, speeding up government payments to struggling families. the defensevoked production act to force general

motors to start producing much-needed ventilators. bob reynolds reports now on that stimulus package. reporter: it will bail out corporations, for example, have seen their operations grind to a halt. it also provides money to states cities, replenishes medicales of needed equipment and will provide extended unemployment benefits the millions of americans who have lost their jobs as well as putting extra pockets ofthe families in the form of direct cash payments. the -- the head of the world health organization a chronic global shortage of needed equipment. the world health organization chief has also warned about the use of untested medicines to treat the virus. >> we call on all individuals countries to refrain from

using therapeutics that have not demonstrated to be effective in the treatment of covid-19. the history of medicine is drugs with examples of that worked on paper or in a work ine but didn't humans or were actually harmful. arriving on the greek island say they're being given no support with the country in lockdown due to the coronavirus. nearly 60 people have recently set upand have had to their own camp. they said they haven't been given gloves or masks to protect themselves. are already overcrowded and creating above capacity. those other headlines, you'll continue to see on "witness", after next. >> in the midst of a coronavirus is in lockdown. inside therom

quarantine capital, beijing, on al jazeera. ♪[music] ♪[singing] to change my ways ♪ ♪[singing] ♪[singing]

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>> ebola is real and we must stop its transmission. struck, many died.