hello, and welcome to nhk "newsline." we start this hour here in japan where the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise. there are now more than 2,900 confirmed cases across the country, excluding 712 from the "diamond princess" cruise ship. 86 people have died including 11 from the ship. the japanese government is now preparing to provide financial support to people affected by the pandemic. prime minister abe shinzo and

liberal democraticic party poli chief discussed the situation on friday. the plan is to provide about $2,800 to households whose income has fallen to a certain level. >> translator: i emphahasize th speed is importantnt and that t money must b be provided quickl. >> the handout is part of the government's emergency economic package which is expected to be finalized next week. the central government has yet to declare a state of emergency but says it will if there's a serious threat to public health and the economy. tokyo governor koike yuriko says that will give her city greater power to fight the virus. >> transnstor: we w would ask residents to stay at home based on the special measures law. we would also ask facility operators and event organizers

to restrict or suspend the use of venues for public events. >> koike said stores selling food, medicine, and other daily necessities would remamain ope. along with banks, the stock exchange, and other essential services. koike once again asked people to refrain fromm nononessenti outings over the weeeekend. >> translator: we arare at a a critical juncture to prevevent explosive rise in infections. and the situation is becoming morere serious. >> koike's warnining comes as new cases were confirmed in tokyo on friday. that brings the total case miss the capital to 773. the japanese government plans to ask people who test positive for the virus but aren't in severe condition to self-isolate at home or a

designated hotel. the decision comes amid concerns that a surge of infections in major cities could overwhelm the medical system. the government says in areas where cases are rising, local authorities could ask patients with mild symptoms to stay at home. it's also looking into securing alternative accommodations such as hotels if a patient's household has elderly residents or pregnant women. the tokyo metropolitan government plans to start moving coronavirus patients with mild or no symptoms out of hospitals and into hotel rooms as early as next week. as of thursday, most of the 628 patients currently being treated at tokyo hospitals fell under this classification. under the plan doctors already stationed at designated hotels to monitor patients. if their conditions worsen, they would be readmitted to hospitals.

a leading expert who advises the government talked to nhk about the lack of hospital beds and why tokyo is approaching a tipping point. the doctor of the national center for global health and medidicine s says the city is s critical juncture whwhere overshoot and explosion of coronavirus s cases is possisib. >> the number of the new cases of covid-19 inin tokyo is increasing sharply in the last one week. so we are so worried about we might be at their -- you know, put over at the very beginning of overshooting of this covid-19 in tokyo metropolitan area. >> experts are warning medical services are becoming strained in some areas. right now there are specific hospitals set aside to deal with the coronavirus in japan. he supports the government's plan to have general hospitals accept coronavirus patients too.

>> we are running the e specialized d hospital. however, the numumber of patien exceeded to the number of our beds. so this is a time for the, it to include general hospital it to be included for the medical care for the covid-19. the biggest t issue is the shortage in the supply of the personal protectctive equipment for health care workers. so we need a good supply and strong supupply for these, you know, devices. >> he added the virus is spreading among tokyo's younger generations. although initial reports said the elderly and the chronically ill were the most vulnerable groups, he revealed that there are more youth showing severe symptoms. he gave more insight into why health professionals want people with mild symptoms to recover at home or in hotels. >> in this situation, the prprrity is t the patient. you have to save the patient

wiwith infectiouous disease. to do that,, we haveve to focus thosee patients with very sick, you know, very hard, very hard covid-19. >> but the doctor emphasized that the medical system is still hanging on. when asked about the need for the government to declare a state of emergency, he said it's all about timing. >> from the health care point of view, we hope it is declared just before the collapse of the hehealth care. >> he said there's still hope the worst-case scenario can be avoided but emphasized that people in tokyo must follow social distancing and hygiene rules. johns hopkins university in

the united states says more than a million infections have now been reported worldwide after doubling in just over a week. some medical workers are posting messages pleading for help as they run out of protective equipment. >> if you have access to surgical masks, n95 respirators, or other emergency equipment, please, please donate them to your local hospitals to help those of us on the front lines. >> the u.s. has the most cases with 245,000 confirmed followed by italy and spain. new york's governor andrew cuomo says his state only has enough ventilators for six days if the outbreak continues at the current pace. health officials are also concerned about louisiana saying it could emerge as the next hot spot. confirmed cases surged by 40% in a single day to more than 9,000. officials are planning to set up a field hospital at a convention

center in new orleans. the coronavirus is also taking an unprecedented toll on jobs. the u.s. labor department says the number of workers filing for unemployment insurance topped 6 million last week. that's double the figure in the previous week, which was already the worst on record. businesses are laying off employees despite the massive economic stimulus package president donald trump signed into law last week. stay-at-home measures introduced in many states are seen as bringing the world's largest economy to a halt. medical workers in france and other european countries are on round-the-clock duties transferring patients to other facilities. a desperate bid to ease pressure on overflowing hospitals. the french government's operation is underway to evacuate hundreds of seriously ill patients by high-speed traiains or mililitary aircraft less affected areas.

this clinic in a paris suburb opened its doors to patients from other crowded hospitals. a doctor says nearly all beds are now full with coronavavirus patients. this nurse says she's mentally worn out by trying to care for patients as well as protecting herself from the virus. >> translator: at the end of each day, we're tired, and we try to protect ourselves as best we can. but we could also be infected by the coronavirus. we try our best to protect ourselves, but we also ask ourselves, are we getting infected or not? >> officials have also been sending in about 300 doctors and nurses from other regions to paris which has been hit the hardest as well as eastern france. more than 4,000 people have died in the country after contractitg the virus,s, and more than 56,0 cases in total were reported on

thursday. in spain the death toll has doubled over the past six days to more than 10,000. health care workers account for about 10% of infected cases, further straining the overworked medical staff on the front lines. officials at the united nations say donors have pledged nearly $400 million to fight the coronavirus in developing countries so far, and they say more money will be sought. >> there needs to be global generosity from the global north to the global south. it is clear that we will not be able to win the fighght against this virusus until all of usrer able to o fight it. >> the u.n. announced a plan lalast month to raisise $2 bill to contain the spread of the virus.

stephane dujarric announced japan is providing $106 million. that's the largest amount. the organization's spokesperson said kuwait and the european union are among the top five contributors. hehe noted that ten coronavirus cases have been confirmed in libya. he stressed ongoing hostilities need to be stopped in and around the country's tripoli. dujarric added the world health organization is providing support in the syrian capital of damascus so more people there can be tested. we're finding out more details for next year's tokyo games. the international olympic committee says next year's games will use the same venues and schedule order for the competition. the games will begin july 23rd, 2021 after being delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. the marathon and race walk events will still be held in the

northern city of sapporo. last year the ioc decided to relocate the events over concerns about tokyo's hot summer temperatures. some of the venues had already been booked for different events, but officials say they're negotiating with venue officials so they can be used for the postponed games. the ioc added there will be additional costs but didn't provide any details. a shortage of face masks continues to be a problem around the world. in thailand which has seen over 1 1800 cases of the coronavirus, the country's monks are combining innovation with spirituality to provide people with masks and comfort in these uncertain times. nhk world reports. >> reporter: at 5:00 p.m. on the dot, monks in thailand start to pray to remind themselves of buddha and his teaching.

but today's prayer is different. the monks here are wearing masks against the coronavirus. the idea came from a temple near bangkok well known. >> translator: there aren't enough masks on the market, and people are concerned. that's why i decided to make the masks. >> reporter: he discovered that the high quality cotton used to make his robes is the perfect material to produce masks. in march with the help of local housewives, theyy started makin thousands of washable masks every day. but there was still one challenge the monks wanted to help solve. even with a steady supply of face masks, people's anxiety over the coronavirus remains a big problem. so this holy face mask is a tool

as a spiritual solace too. to sanctify the masks, they designed a mystical diagram in buddhism printed on the map. each design is filled with meanings. especially these symbols which can protect wearers from catastrophe and diseases. >> translator: people's normal lives are disrupted by the virus. it's every monk's duty to help them spiritually to go on with their lives. >> reporter: this mask is sold for abobout $2 and there are a hundred thousand orders so far. all profits will go to charity to help those in need. especially those affected by t e coronavirus. >> translator: i feel more at ease when i wear the mask. the holy spirit is protecting me wherever i go.

>> reporter: it's that belief and sense of peace that the monks are hoping to spread with the masks. they're a guard not just against the virus itself but for members of the buddhist faith a way to approach this new reality with calm and support. nhk world, thailand.

it's time now for world weather with our meteorologist sayaka mori. hello, sayaka. >> hello. >> so here in tokyo on friday we had sunny and warm weather. how's it looking for the weekend? >> tomorrow's going to be even warmer in tokyo and the high will be 22. it's going to be more like early may here in tokyo. and as we go into sunday, temperatures will drop. the reason is this low pressure system and also the attached front. these systems will likely drag warm air from the south on saturday and then after the system moves through, colder air will be moving in. that will cool things down. northern japan will see rainy weather due to this storm. and then as we go into sunday, rain could change over to snow along the northwestern flank of japan. so more snow is possible in places like sapporo. notice temperatures will drop to the single digits starting on

your sunday. sendai will likely see 18 on saturday dropping to 12 degrees. tokyo will see unusually warm temperatures on saturday and then cooling down to the mid-teens. now, cherry blossoms reached their peak in many places including osaka, nara, and sendai. actually cherry blossoms are in full bloom and it was 13 days earlier than normal. it's the earliest full bloom in recorded history. to show you how beautiful the cherry blossoms are, take a look at this footage. cherry blossoms in miyagi prefecture are in full bloom. this spot is typically popular this time of year. but because of the coronavirus, the cherry blossom festival was canceled. residents were wearing masks and practicing social distancing while walking close to the flowers. and another phenomenon of spring

is the sand from inland china. it will likely head towards the south as well as eastern china on your saturday. that could lead to low visibility as well as respiratory problems. now, across the southern places of china, there's a stationary front still that will continue to bring rainfall in huhunan province. more rain is on the menu across the southern places of china. and temperatures are going to be 20 in taipei and 22 in hong kong. nice and warm in the north as well. ulaanbaatar, 16 with sunny weather. tokyo will be looking at very warm conditions as we go into saturday. and finally across north america, warm air from the south is colliding with colder air from the north. and that is expected to bring a line of rain and snowfall across the mid-portions of the u.s. that's it for me. stay safe.

and that brings us to the end of this edition of nhk "newsline." thanks for watching and do stay with us for more.

the u.s. congressional budget office says it expects a report gdp decline in the quarter as the coronavirus pandemic continues to batter the world's largest economy. the cbo projects the annual gdp growth rate to plummet to minus 28%. it would be the lowest since data keeping began. and officials warn the decline could be even larger the cbo also says the ratate would be 1.

nearly 10 million americans have filed for unemplployment over t past two weeks. and experts believe the number of people doing so will only increase as the economic damage of the pandemic becomes more apparent. the cbo says its analysis factors in the effects of the record stimulus package enacted last week. this is "newsline biz." i'm gene ototani. the coronavirus crisis will significantly slash growth this year for emerging and developing economies in the asia pacific region. the adb projects 2.2% growth for the area excluding developed economies such as japan and australia. that's down 3 percentage points from last year. the bank cites the growing impact o of the pandemic onn tourism and trade. china's economic is forecast to expand 2.3% down 3.8 points.

the adb says thailand is especially hit hard as tourism and exports. the bank cut its outlook to a contraction of 4.8%. the country grew 2.4% last year. the pandemic is forcing many people in japan to work from home and this has sent sales of home office equipment soaring. major electronic seller says headsets have been selling more than twice as well compared to last year. printers are also in high demand. >> translator: we expect people to continue to worork fromm hom for awhile. so we'll make an effort to meet demands and respond to our customers' needs. >> major home improvement chain

launched a website specializing in work from home furniture last month. desks and chairs have been popular with sales more than doubling from last year. toshiba has applied to return to the first section of the tokyo stock exchange. the company was demoted to the second section in 2017 after its dead exceeded assets due to huge losses at its u.s. nuclear business. financial reports from the last two years will have to be submitted. concerns remain toshiba has been under fire because a subsidiary books fictitious transactions until last fiscal year. this could hamper the ability to return to the first section.

the coronavirus pandemic has already hit millions financially beyond the appalling health impact. among the most vulnerable are people without full-time jobs such as freelancers and part-timers. nhk world has the story. >> reporter: this man works as a security guard at concert halls and exhibition spaces. but events are being canceled left and right. >> translator: my shifts are marked in red. i have nothing for next week. >> reporter: he has only half as much work for march as he did for february. this brings his regularly monthly pay to no more than $55050.

saito worked at a gas company but left two years ago after continuing continual harassment and being forced to do unpaid overtime. since then, low wage work has been his only option. >> translator: i bought this on sale. it will last longer if i put it in the freezer. i'm getting better at saving money. >> reporter: saito is looking for other work, but so far has found nothing. >> translator: it has finally hit . i'm really wondering how i'm going to survive. >> reporter: another worker trying to stay afloat. he is directly contracted to various companies to create and manage their websites. but by the end of march,h, two d

terminated their contracts erasing a third of his income. >> t translator: i'm having didifficulty sleeping wononderi whether i should give up and look for a new job. >> reporter: the government's emergency response also covers freelancers, but the maximum amount of support they get is just over $40 a day. much less than the amount company workers are guaranteed. the government says freelancers are paid less because the conditions under which they work vary widely. >> translator: an increasing number of people say they want to live life their own way and prefer to work freelance. i think the government is not keeping up with such changes. >> reporter: the coronavirus outbreak is highlighting the weaknesses in the system that so

far seems ill equipped to respond to modern day changes in the way people work. nhk world, fukuoka. all right. let's have a look at the markets.

i'm gene

♪ the united states reports the highest one-day death toll from the coronavirus. the pandndemic also impacting te world's largest economy, with unemployment claims surging past 6.5 million. over 900 people die in spain for the second day in a row. the death toll from the coronavirus in the country is now just under 11,000. to securece protective equipment for medical persrsonnel becomes a top priory for governments around the world. masks being transported h here