brent: this is dw news live from berlin. tonight, the question before much of the world, is now the time to start lifting the coronavirus lockdowns? here in germany with the easter holiday weekend now over, the country's most stages science academy has recommended a start to lifting restrictions. also coming up, no lifting of the lockdown in france. french president macron extends his countrieies restrictions for another month and tells the

french they will have to live with the coronavirus even longer. and a landmamark anniversary moh -- marked by isolation instead of a party. new york's metropolitan museum of art cancels the celebrations for its 150th birthday. plus, navigating the corona crisis. we will take a look at the app valved in kenyaya that is now being used around the world -- val up in kenya that is now being used around the world to help cope with the pandemic. ♪ brent: i'm brent goff. to our viewers on pbs in the united states and all around the world, welcome. is this the week we begin leaving the lockdown? that is the question many are asking here in germany. the country's influential national academy of sciences today recommended that a start be made to easing the

restrictions caused by the coronavirus. new cases fell for the third a running. german angela merkel begins discussions on whether to extend the current restrictions, which are scheduled to respire next sunday. in its report, the academy recommends gradually reopening primary and secondary schools all across germany. the report said schools could soon be followed by shops and restaurants, with one important condition, that tables be positioned to comply with social distancing. the academy also recommends that people wear face masks in public places for additional protection. and the academy warns that these reductions and restrictions should only occur in conjunction with nationwide testing for the virus. so they are giving a big yes to testing and a nod to some data surveillance. the academy says gps data collected from our mobile phones could be used for contact tracing.

earlier i spoke with our political correspondent and ask her how likely is it that the german government will follow those recommendations and ease the lockdown? reporter: i think it's certainly too early to talk about implementing all of these lifts on the restrictions that are currently in place. of course the measures that were put in place a few weeks ago are also going to be in place until april 19 in these talks are set to be held between german chancellor angela merkel and the 16 state premieres on wednesday. there was indication last week from the german chancellor t tht if there was indeed a steady and continuous flattening of the curve here in germany, that that would perhaps give way to a relaxation of some measures here , or restrictions at least, that are currently in plalace on movement here in germany. the ququestion is whether the fl and the new -- the fall in the new number of cases we are

seeing over the last three days, the question is whether or not that is steady and continuous enough. another thing to look at as well is the fact that one of the recommendations given by the institute is the idea of making or wearing masks compulsory in public. for something like that to be implement it as well, the german government would have to ensure that there are enough masksks available toto everyone in germy , which is something the health ministry has alreaeady been workining on. so we will have to wait until wednesday for more definitive answers from the government, but it certainly will be a very slow and gradual relaxation, if any at all. brent: so are germans tired of the coronavirus lockdown? i'm joined by my colleague who has been following this story for us. joe, that is the question, how are the germans reacting to this lockdown? are there ready to see the restrictions and?

-- to see the restrictions and? -- end? joe: if they are going out to nash for exercise, they can only be in pairs. so what do germans think about it? a recent poll was taken and it found that arounund half of the respondents say that they would favor extending the restrictions. about one third said they want the restrictions to be relaxed, and a small minority, 8%, said they should be abolished all together. that is what people told the pollsters when they were contacted, but there is another set of data that tells a different story. that data comes from mobile phones. your mobile phone sends out a signal every time you move around and change cell phone towers. those changes have been tracked by a company that shows how much people are moving around germany.

we look at some of the data from the mobile phone tower changes, and as we can see, at the start of the lockdown, people were staying at home. in fact, movement dropped by about half. now it is starting to creep back up. there are twice as many people out on the street as there were two weeks ago, according to mobile phone data. that is not the curve the german government wants to see flattened. brent: you can see that curve kind of corresponds to the weather. the weather has gotten nicer, and of course or people want to be outside and moving around. what about civil liberties here? or germans worry they could be losing some of their rights? joe: some are. a small minority is in favor of getting the restrictions all -- all together. some are going out to the street for the right to demonstrate. we saw this on saturday, there was a small demonstration here in the heart of berlin. a group held at demonstration --

held a demonstration. this was an odd mix of people, both freedom rights activists as well as some conspiracy theorists. they were all asked to keep a good distance from each other and try to abide by social distancing laws. but some were breaking the laws. other demonstrations have been held for causes such as taking refugees off the islands in greece and bringing them to a safe place. they have also been shut down. some might say these kind of demonstrations are irresponsible, but others would say that we need to find a way to be able to voice our opinions safely, even during these really extraordinary times. brent: people's patience is wearing thin. there is not a majority for extending or for reducing, so it is a mixed bag bear. as always, joe, thank you -- it

is a mixed bag bthere. brent: we now know what france will do with its lockdown. french president emmanuel macron said the country will have to endure another four weeks, saying progress has been made against the coronavirus, but the battle is not yet won. the country has already spent a month under unprecedented restrictions that are keeping peopople at home for all but thr most essential needs. >> hope is growing, but nothing can be taken for granted. from the northeast to parisis, hospitals are saturated. across the country and our overseas territories, the health system is under pressure. we have not yet overcome the epidemic. so we must continue our efforts to keep applying the restrictions. the more they are followed, the more lives we will save. brent: that was the french

president speaking earlier this evening. let's go to lisa louis on the story for us in paris. good evening to you. several countries here in europe are thinking about easing the lockdown restrictions. french president macron is going the opposite way. why? lisa: absolutely. he said in his speech that he didn't want to have to go back into lockdown once the rules are lifted, the restrictions are lifted, like some asian countries, where he sees that the number of infections is going up again, and they are thinking to go back into lockdown. he doesn't want to do that. he wants to continue the strict lockdown at least until the 11th of may, and after that, some restrictions will stay in place. primary schools and colleges will open bit by bit, that will stay closed longer and restaurants will stay closed longer.

the government will decide at a later point in all these businesses like theaters, music calls, etc., where lots of people come together, can reopen again. he also mentioned the possibility of a rule that everybody needs to wear a face mask in certain situations, for example, on public transport. that would be cotton face masks and not the ones for surgeons, which are still lacking. brent: the french president has promised a plan for secretaries of the -- sectors of the economy that have been hardest hit by the lockdown. what do we know about that tonight? lisa: that would be sectors like restaurants, the tourism industry, hotels, the music industry, theaters. they will receive government subsidies, the president said, and they also wouldn't have to pay social security fees and contributions.

beforehand he only said those contributions would be pushed back or delayed, but now apparently they are going to be canceled. the president also talked about a widening of other economic measures for other independent workers and for other companies that are at this moment receiving government aid. brent: what about the controversial reforms the president wants to see when it comes to the country's pension systems? people were expecting him to read -- withdraw parts of that reform tonight. did he do that? lisa: he didn't, but he might do so in the coming weeks. he says he's thinking about re-founding the country, the economy, the policies, and he said we all need to reinvent ourselves. i am the first one who has to reinvent himself. so there might be more to come in the coming weeks. brent: we will watch for that. lisa, thank you. staying here in europe, spain is loosening its coronavirus

lockdown, allowing some construction and factory workers to return to work. it comes as the number of new viral cases has slowed in recent days. the government hopes that a gradual easing of restrictions will boost an economy that has been battered by the lock down. >> anxious or steps toward life after lockdown. in madrid, these workers are back on the job for the first time in weeks. ththey have been allowowed to rn to work in hopes of getting the country's economy back on its feet. even with covid-19 stilill claiming hundreds of lives every day. it's a tight roll back the prime minister said was necessasary. >> the virus threatens to take lives and at the same time, crush t the sociaial and economc fabric of our country, which is why it requires accommodation of measures to prevent contagion to allow w the recovery of our heah systemem and to avoid the

paralysis and collapse of our economy. >> nearly a million jobs have been wiped out since spain went into lockdown in mid-march. employers say acting now to reopen b businesses while observing strict measures could prevent more job losses. >> so far the company has not had d to consider laying off workers. we will try to getet allll the activity going again and keep the jobs that way. all workers are wearing masks and gloves. we have stocked up on sanitizer and we are actively looking for morere masks, because we don'n't know how many times they can be reused. but at the moment, we all have enenough. yet even as spain moves cautiously toward reopening the economy, sobering reminders of covid-19's terrible toll persists. in madrid, these doctors and

nurses pay tribute to a colleague who contracted the virus. he was one of the many health workers around the world who have died trying to save others during the pandemic. brent: time to take a look at the other stories making headlines s around the world. u.s. senator berninie sananderss endodorsed joe biden as the demomocratic party's candidadatr u.s. president. sanders appeared o on bidens livestream, encouraging followers to unite to defeat donald trurump in novovember's electition. sanders last w week withdrew frm the race to become the party's nominee. a sailor who was stationed on board the uss theodore roosevelt aircraft carrier has died of covid-19. the u.s. navy said he died in intensive care at the naval hospital in guam where the ship has been docked since the end of march. he is the first for tally aboard -- of more than 500 confirmed cases among the crew. amazon is hiring an additional

75,000 workers in the u.s. amid a surge in demand for online orders, on top of 100,000 new jobs edit field just last month -- jobs that it filled last month. with the shutdown of brick-and-mortar retailers to stem the coronavirus. i'm joined by our financial correspondent in new york. good afternoon to you. the lockdown obviously means big business for online retailers, if the retailers can meet the demand. the latest move by amazon, does it show us they are struggling to keep up? reporter: to a certain degree, yes. we also heard from amazon that at least for now, they will stop accepting new customers for their grocery deliveries because of how risky -- because they are

overwhelmed at this point. on the other, and shows that amazon is running a pretty successful business. that is also what investors on wall street are focusing on. the stock of amazon was up on monday by 6% and is toying with a new record high. brent: we have to remember that people who deliver for amazon are exposed to anything and everything that is out there. u.s. stocks down again today as investors anticipate dire first-quarter earnings announcements. is the outlook for the second quarter even worse? jens: in general, yes. for the first quarter, spectate shins are that profit should -- expectations are that profits should drop, not every industry will get hit by the same, but you can imagine what is going to happen with the earnings reports

from cruise ships, airlines, and even agricultural companies, so it will clearly be a pretty bad quarter that we will hear about in the next couple of days and weeks. the pain for u.s. corporations and the prophets is not going to end anytime soon, but it is impossible at this point to put a number in front of what we have to expect. brent: jens, thank you. there has been a dramatic rise in coronavirus cases in russia. hospitals in the capital of moscow have seen a big influx of patients. our correspondent introduces us to a woman who has made it her mission to help medical staff on the front line in the battle against the virus. reporter: she has converted her parking spot in an underground garage in moscow into a storage

space. she is coordinating nations for doctors treating coronavirus patients. things like disinfectant, disposable plates and utensils, and protective gear. >> we have very important things here, because without this, we cannot win right now. the main goal here is to say thank you to the doctors, because i really appreciate everything that they are doing right now, that they are fighting e every day in order to live in a healthy world and help us get back to our common life. reporter: despite the lockdown in moscow,w, she wants t to ense heard donations reach doctors as quickly as p possible. there are now eight moscocow hospitals s treating cororonavis papatients, and a n new hospital with 5 500 b beds is being completed. but ununtil it is operatitionale

majority of patients are being treated here at the capital's outskirts. as well as needing protective clothing, medical staff also have to eat. anastasia succeeded in getting a canteen kitchen quickly onboard. it was already producing up to 10,000 ready to eat meals with fresh vegetables for regular clients. at anastasia's request, they are also now delivering 650 freshly made meals to doctors and nurses in moscow every day, for free. >> we consider it our duty to help the doctors. they bear the most responsibility right now. we are making special finger food for them, so that they can eat quickly and get back to their patients. >> word of anastasia's initiative has spread throughout moscow.

she has managed to convince or than 40 companies and organizations to donate goods. >> it is a good sign, because it is showing how important it is to be together, to be connected, and how easy to do this. it's bad to say that, but it's probably a good sign because it means that people can still have acaccess. reporter: no one knows when russia's coronavirus epidemic will peak, but it is clear that anastasia's help is needed now, more urgently than ever. brent: in times like these, knowing where to get medical help, where to get tested, or perhaps just finding hand sanitizer, is all vital information. a kenyan crowdsourcing technology has in the past been used to collect data for disaster relief and crisis

response. now, organizations all over the world are using that platform to navigate the coronavirus crisis. >> collecting data and information, that's his job. he is the project coordinator at an organization that has been mapping this out for the last 10 years. the coronavirus is the focus of digital maps. documented handwashing stations, clinics, and aid maps. >> it's on the map, but we also have other platforms where we share it. [indiscernible] we also have faced group, where we also have a huge number of people. >> joshua and his team have started documenting all corona cases from the ministry of

health. ththey feed the information into digital maps and the platform allows users to create their own topical maps, adding information to geographical points. >> other initiatives around the world are using the technology to collect data aboutut cororona related responses and p problems in their p part of the w world. >> the website shows it is being used in europe, asia, the u.s., and latin america. in italy, for instance, an initiative is in place to get food and medical supplies. in japanan, users are r reportig their corona testing experienences. >> we'veve seen momore thahan 30 properties and maps on the platform and it's being used acrossss the world. fofor us to be a able to deal wh this c crisis, we are goingng to have to rely on -- people are

being a asked to stay homome and flatten the c curve. there are information gaps that exist out there thatt people on the ground arere experiencncingn sosome of thesee issueues. these will be brought to light and inform people who cacan jump in and support. >> while the technology is making his way around the world, the hope is that the data will also help governments and international organizations in responding to the crisis. brent: today is the 100 50th birthday of new york's metropolitan museum of art. in the pre-corona calendar, today was supposed to be filled with fanfare and style. however, with new york's lockdown for the coronavirus that putting into the celebrations. in addition to not having a party, the met doesn't have enough money, either. >> new york's metropolitan museum of art, usually teaming with visitors wild by its exhibits and the venue of the glamorous met ball. today its famous steps are

empty, it's anniversary celebrations canceled. the interior abandoned. aa short walkk away in central park, doctors treat patients suffering from covid-19. seeing there is a field hospital in central park, is not appropriate for us to be celebrating our cells. what is important now is what can we do, what can we g give bk to s society?? news videoconferences have resulted in this, a digital museum accessible from home. virtual tours through 500 years -- 5000 years of art history and picture book videos for children. social media challenges during fans to reenact works of art. >> private foundations, privately financed, are the norm. the met is certainly a wealthy institution. if we have to remain close for many more months, it will be impossible for us to keep all of our staff on. >> the salaries of the 2000

employees are safe until the start of may. the museum hopes to be open by july at the latest, but even that is uncertain. brent: some sports news, belarus is the only country in europe that is still staging football games amid the coronavirus pandemic. within 1000 fans were tracked on sunday, despite calls from supporters to boycott games. some fans who prefer to stay at home have found a novel way of making sure they have some presence at the stadium. take a look. >> these football fans are not taking any chances. a virtual experience amid the coronavirus pandemic. they can have their face did -- their faces pasted on top of mannequin sitting in the stands with the purchase of a global ticket. >> england, china, australia,

russia, lithuania, latvia, and the usa. >> not everyone is keen on the virtual experience, especially some locals. >> football is about emotions, competition. it is difficult to feel those emotions virtually. there is no comparison with real life. >> belarus has more than 2000 cases of the coronavirus, but says it cannot afford a lockdown. some have called for a boycott of naches. so far, it has not kept supporters away from the stands. >> we know our team. we went to all the games last season. it is bigger than the cocoronavirus. >> not every football fan would agree with that payment like these virtual fans, they know they cannot scream or jump for joy, but for them, football is just not worth the risk. brent: you're watching dw news.

after a short break, i will be back to take you through the day. in the meantime, here is italian tenor andrea bocelli, singing in milan's closed cathedral on easter sunday. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

the french president has announced a lockdown will be extended until at least the eleventh of may by then the money rachael is promising more testing and protect mosques one so cool to wait for the- call prices. that. you're staying tries to be the by using lockdown meshes news the case is unfolding even though there are now sevenenteen and a half thousand lolost their lives if we never fixed