>> this is dw news live from berlin. signs of progress in germany's battle against the coronavirus. health officials say measures to slow the spread of the virus are working, but they are urging caution as the country's death toll surges over 1000. new york's deadliest day, the heart of the pandemic in the u.s. sees a record surge in fatalities, hospitals stretched to the limit and the city could run out of life-saving ventilators. we will have an update.

♪ >> ♪ staying inside, staying inside ♪ >> people around the world are turning to music and anything else they can think of to fill the endless hours. ♪ >> i am anthony howard. more than one million people around the world have confirmed coronavirus infections and over 55,000 people have perished. the united states is at the epicenter as we look at the latest developments around the world. in the u.s. they have registered the world's highest deadly death toll. thursday saw 169 confirmed deaths. 2-3 has refused entry to aid foreigners -- south korea has

refused entry to aid. germany has 80,000 confirmed cases and over 1000 deaths. the leader of the country's disease control institute says the new data is indicating a slowdown in new infections. the chancellor angela merkel says this is cauause for cautios optimism. >> it is true that the latest figures from the institute, as high as they are, give some hope. ththe increase in new confirmedd infections is running a little slower t tn it was a a few days agago. but it i is defininitely far too early to see a definite e trend and to relax the rules we have seset ourselves. anthony: we are e following thee lalatest off elements in german. does it appear germany is

getting a hanane on thiss pandemic? reporterer there is room for cautious optimism. but the epidemic is by no means cocontrolledetet. the head of the i institute says at the m moment we observed a trenend over the past few days that showed infectedd peoeople,e infectcted p person would d only afaffect anonother person. that is progogress as opposed ta few weeks ago where we could see one peperson infteted up to sevn people. so a as for the pandemimic to be under control,l, one person shod infect less than another person for r it to be told under contr. cautious optimism right now. >> almost two weeks into the near freeze of public life, 90% of germans agree with the contract restrictions in place.

>> i accepted that that is the way things are now. no problem. you can still buy everything. but of course i miss my friends. >> confidence in germany's health system has slightly grown since last week to 77% overall while 22% say they are less confident the system can cope. >> that the health service is working is great. as an old person, i remember more times. we are nowhere near that yet. >> what germans worry about is the economic damage this crisis could bring. three quarters are concerned or very concerned for the economy overall. less than a quarter worry about their own personal situation. solidarity in europe and beyond is something most germans would like to see now.

while two thirds feel it is right for politicians to think of germany first avenue this time of crisis, 95% would like to see -- first, at this time of crisis, 95% would like to see more help. germany should help poorer regions. >> that isis somethingng germams been doingng. the coununtry says it would hehe out other countries. it is taking i in critical e.u. patients from knititting -- frfm neighboring g countries. asas long as germany has the capacity to do that, they will continue doing so. anthony: we hear the words solidarity a lot at the moment, 200,000 facemasks destined for berlin were diverted to the usa. do we know what happened? >> those 200,000 masks had been

ordered by religious authorities to a a u.s. firm, but t they wee manufactured in china. u.s. officials confiscated those masks to the profifit of the u., even if they had alrlready been paid for. berlin officials calleled out te u.u.s. and said ththis was a caf modern heresy. -- piracy.. the minister said this is s not how yoyou treatat transatlantic partners. he called d for the german governmentnt to address this ise with the u.s. anthony: thank you for your time. new york city has seen its deadliest day of the pandemic, 562 people have died within the space of 24 hours. nearly 3000 deaths, the city

accounts for nearly half of all virus related fatalities in the country with hospitals facing critical shortages, governor andrew cuomo has issued an executive order to bring supplies to where they are needed most. >> new york city is struggling. as a grapples with skyrocketing infections and a severely strained health system. friday march the single deadliest day yet in the battle with coronavirus. >> new york is in crisis. help new york and then pick up and go to the next place as this rolled across the country. -- rolls across the country. >> the governor warned the city only had enough ventilators to get through six days. with supplies already scarce, it

raises concerns about how well the state is equipped to combat coronavirus. inside this funeral home, it is clear they are struggling to meet surging demand. usually equipped to handle up to 60 cases at a time, they are dealing with more than three times that amount and counting. >> maybe the government can help me a figure out a way we can accommodate families in a timely manner. >> amid the deepening crisis, the federal government is yet to formalize any orders. >> i think they are going to be coming out with regulations on that and if people want to provide by them, i don't think they will be mandatory. >> with little direction from the white house, states lilike w york are left with no choice but to continue taking matters into their own hands.

anthony: let's bring in a journalist who is covering this story for us. new york has had its deadliest day yet. everything points to another wantnt to follow it. whatat ithee mood of new yorork city now? >> as you saw in thatat report,e have ovever 2 2900 people who he lostst lives. that number is 562 more deaths in 24 hours than we have seenenn the first three weeks of the month alonone. devastating numumbers in the governor referred to that. in terms of what i am seeing when i see the -- when i make the government -- grocery store run, the streets are empty and that is true across the world now. in new york it is visual. empty sidewalks, few vehicles, the odd delivery truck, you hear the ambulances, which is a reminder of how the situation is

unfolding. people are wearing masks. this has been a question asked by many, if it is something that should be doing. the cdc hasn't it is a mandatory step. the new york mayor's office has said they recommend people cover their faces. he says it could not hurt. ananthony: o one constant is t f shortages. what is the situation regegardig regarding ventilators? >> we e have been hearing about shortatages, but the governor hs been warning that day is coming when we hit the worst case scenarioio. there is worries about protective equipment for nurses and doctors and ventilators. he said he signed an exexecutive order which would mandate the hospitals and other f facilities

that don't have an immediate eded for ventilators andnd other equipmenent to move those two places that do require itit. that is anan executive order he has signed.. there is a shortage ofof beds ad we saw in recent d days the u.s. navy ship p that doctor r new yk with 1000 beds, they have about 20 patients now. they are n not treating any cocoronavirus related patients. that is what is happening there. with regard to t the convenion center that was transformed into a field hospital, it wasn't meant to be for covid-19 patients. but theyey have changed ththat. ththe president says they can nw accept coronavirus cases. ananthony: i in terms of our tor response come -- in terms of hour to hour response, where is it being h handleded? >> there is a national state of emergency, but there is not a

court needed national resespons. this has b been a major concernn terms of the fact the states are the ones that have to place that seven -- stay-at-home order. florida just implemented that friday. nebraska, , despite having case, hasn't taken that step. in new york we have had it for several days. that is happening at the state level. there is not a national stay-at-home order. dr. fauci said that is necessary. that is the point of concern. the otherer point, includining govevernor cuomo, makiking bidso purchase s supplies.s. it is like being on n ebay and driving up the costs andnd urgig thee federal govovernment to stp in. a lot of cases where we could see that someme of ththe states should b be asking the fedederal government for help.

the trump administration haven't moved to take that step. anthony: thank you. the u.s. employees -- the monthly decline, the worst of the 2009 recession. the u.s. labor department reported the new numbers which are filed by employers and have yet to reflect the millilions of on deployment claims filed in recent weeks. millions of employees saw there ought -- their hours cut in march. this raises 113 straight months -- erases 113 straight months of gains. go to our new york correspondent. we knew it was getting bad. any surprises? >> what is breathtaking is the speed with which we are seeing jobs getting lost, the

unemployment rate increased from 3.5% to 4.4%. that was the sharpest and fastest monthly increase since 1975. i have standing in front of a local movie t theater in brookl. it is a small chain and they had to let go of 350 people. this is one of many other examples as we are seeing right now. even if washington is offering loans for small businesses, for a lot of companies and small business owners, this help might come to light. anthony: do we have any -- might come too late. anthony: do we have any idea how this will help the u.s. worker? >> there are a lot of expectations floating around. goldman sachs estimated the on implement rate in the next couple of months could spike to

15%. we are talking 27 million jobs might be getting lost. economists are talking about but it is certain we will go into a deep recession and if things get worse, possibly even the depression. the big question is when the job market actually might rebuild. this is one of the big unknowns at this point. you might see the billboard hot my back, see you -- at my back, see you on the other side. there is life on the other side of the crisis. and then it will be time to rebuild as quickly as possible. we have not even seen the worst on the labor market as of yet. anthony: thank you. as the virus sweeps across the globe, health workers on the front lines of the fight for

facing critical shortages of protective gear. they are continuing to risk their lives to save others. our next report shows how health care workers are confronting the reality of being overwhelmed and under protected. >> not all superheroes wear masks. but these ones definitely should. yet the masks they have are not good enough. these new y york health care workers are demanding protective equipment that will stop them catching and spreading covidid-. >> this is outrageous we have people sewing things for us, making shields, making things out of plastic. this is what we are doing now? that would be like a soldier making a plastic gun to bring with him. this is what is happening. >> from one workers across the u.s. are in the same situation. the daily toll of their exhausting and risky work

beginning to show. >> every single day, i i have nt just or hugged my daughter for two or three weeks. i go home, shower, [indiscernible] it is really hard. >> in the u.k. the army has been called in to make sure supplies get to hospitals but staff say it is nonoanywhere near enough. >> i never t tught in mymy wildt dreams i would be short of a surgical mask in this country. i never thought in my wildest dreams would be feeling consistently unsafe as doctotor. anthony: in francnce a group of caregigivers launched an eye-catching c campaign to draw attention to what they say is their lack of protection. their message, they feeeel naked in their fight against covid-19. anthony: as with many places in

the world, colombia's lockdown has his the homeless very hard. our next report comes from there. she met a man who was already a hero to the needy and is rising again. >> nobody knows the invisible bogotá like this man. he has been looking after the city's homeless for yeyears. he knows where they meet, sleep and get drugs. with his ngo, the bronx bananqu, he provides the destitute with food, cloththes and a shoulder o lean on. the most important part t of today'ss delivivery are these fe masks. >> facemask can savee many live. the drugs they smoke damaged muscles in their mouth. so it is hard for t them to control their saliva and they may accidentally spit on each other without realizing what is

happening. >> the coronavirus could wreak havoc among bogotaá's homeleless appalachian. it is not only limited access so soap andnd medical attention tht increases vulnerability. misinformation is his biggest enemy in times of the e pandemi. >> i hear 20 million people have died in spain. >> i thihink the mafia is behind it. they conjured up the virus and thth they findnd a cure. it is all about money. here on the streets we have stronger immune systems. that is better than their two or -- their cure. >> ever since columbia went t io lockdo, , it haseeeen harder r r the homeless to get money, collecting metal and rubbish makes little sense when the only people left on the street are those with nowhere to go through with policice in charge of

enforcing the quarantitine, this man tells us he is finally chased off of the streets. >> they tell us to leave, but if we don't, they tase us and beat us. i i tried t to collect money and find a place to sleep. >> those who can afford it escape police brutality in these temporary housing facilities by sharing a windowless room with dozens of people who roam the streets of bogotá during the day may increase their risk of contracting the virus. under these conditions, his masks may seem like a but -- a band-aid on a bullet wound, but it is all these people have and even the skeptics where their masks like shields -- wear their masks like shields. >> i'm sad to leave but i'm happy we gave them hope, us coming back in bringing alolong military and aid for the homeless.

>> he knows it is a stretch, but it is this hope that has kept him going the past 15 years. that and the smimiles on thehe s ofhohose he has helped, smiled he mayay not be able to see undr the new masks, but he knows they are there. anthony: was nickel from bogotá. in germany -- that was the cold from both -- set to become a coronavirus treatment center. the largest football stadium in germany will act as a testing station for suspected cases as ell as providing medical care for those who hahave tested sitive. the center which will be stocked with medical equipment and doctors and nurses will be fully operational from saturday. as millions of people around the world are cut off from their friends, families and coworkers,

many are using video chat to beat cabin fever and maintain a semblance of normalcy. zoom setting us -- its daily uses has exploded from 10 mimiion to 200 million.. now the fbi is warning cyber atattackers arare hacking in to calls, posting for vanity and offensive images. -- profanities and offensive images. i am joined by our reporter. what is going on here? >> as you u said, zoom is one of ththe hardest -- hottest apps ad it helps us stay connected at aa time when many countries are restricting g or banning s socil contact.t. until the app i is being usesedm checking in with grandparents to business meetings because a lot of wororking frorom home like im for the teteaches -- teachers teaching classsses.

it seems likike people witith ls noble intetentionsns have discsd the app asas well. in the best of cases it appears they are hacking i into other people's video chats. for sosome of the reasons likeka prank c call to keep confusion d have f. butt there have been numerous reports of abusiveve incidents likeke black people whose video chats have been bombarded with racist slurs. one company inin berlin had its meeting cut short a after the vivideoconference was disruptedy someone who inunundated their cl withth swastikikas and pouring - porn. anthony: how are they doing this? >> zoom has come under fire in rececent days and weeks for a number of privacy y and security issues. in this case it looks like many of the attacks have less to do wiwith actual flaws in zoom's ce

and a lot more to do with users not knowing how to protect c chs from u uninvited gueues. if a zoom m meeting isis set to public, , it can be a accessed y anyone with the correrect link r those can be found by s searchig social media sitites like facebook, search resume.e. - --r zoom.us. there are f forums on siteses le redit where people post these links as a way to help create confusion. and inin a lot of waysys it spes to the cares we are living through now. many of us from business managers to o school teachers se had to come e up with h solutios on-the-fly to make an i impossie situation worork. what gets losost is really thins like privacy and how to protect yourself online. anthony: the question to finish, can we protect o ourselveses frm

being zoom bombed? >> it t is quite simple.e. look for a function called the waiting room. it is in their s setting, a virtual l bouncer that allows yu to decide whoo gets s to join te call and who getets turneded aw. actitivate that feaeature, go to settings, click on the meeting -- click on the meeting tab. anthony: thank you so much. >> happy to be with you. anthony: with most of us forced to stay indoors and away from friends and family, social media is helping full -- fill the void . videos and means have become -- and memes have become a way to get a laugh. let's look at ththis. > ♪ whether you are a brothe \ >> if music is the medicine of the mind, coronavirus has its

own genre. ♪ for some home office means blowing off steam. for those getting a bit more reststless -- how about some sport? no equipment? just improvise. even if the goods are in short supply. we have seen disappearing cars. to mention disapappearing paren. some just want to ride off into the distance. others have been showing their ham-fisted attempts at homemade facemasks. don't forget our canine companions. if all else fails, just party.

♪ anthony: you are watching dw news. maybe some sad news now with one of song music biggest voices has been silenced. bill withers who was known for his 1970's hits passed away from heart publications at the age of 81. here is more from one of the legends of r&b. >> ♪ no sunshine when she's gone it's not warm when she's away ♪ ♪ lean on me when your not strong ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accucy. sit ncicaprg] ♪

in the u. s. the number of people infected with calvin nineteen calls for the million the death t toll climbs to pulse six thousand six hundred. was not told that surging immune center laces will be redistricted strip you should see the state's wororst casese. u. k. confirmed with three thousand six hundred because the nineteen related deaths meanwhile a temporary hold special set to house four thousand coronavirus patients opens its doors in the capitotol london. it's a coming up in the press from ten to three three all they nationwide lockdown to prevent