04/15/5/20 04/15/20 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new yorkrk, the epicenter of the pandemic, this is democracy now! pres. trump: we're going to put a hold on money spent to the who. we''re going to put a very powerful hold on it and we are gogoing to say. amy: as a confirmed cases of coronavirus surpassssed 2 mililn araround the world, donald trump says he is cutting u.s. support for the world health organization. one sense leader called itit a

crime against humanity.y. we will get response from the head of oxfam america on how this could i impact ininternatil cooperation critical to saving lives around the world and we will look at their new report that estimates the pandemic's economic fallout could push more than $600 -- 600 billion more people into poverty. in the coronavirus in indian country. the navajo nation is reporting nearly 30 deaths and 830 confirmed cases. >> it is shedding light on the disparities that have already existed the lack of federal funding to meet t the demand of the health needs. amy: andnd we will l go to miam, floridida, to speak with a an african-amamerican doctotor whos handcuffed and attained outside his home fririday as he was wearing a a surgical mask andd preparing for volunteer shift to test homeless p people for covid-19. all that and more, coming up.

welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.o.org, the quaranae report. i'm amy goodman. president donald trump saidd tuesesday he wouldld cut off u.. support for the world health organization, even as the e deah rate from the coronavirus pandemic continues to accelerate, with worldwide confirmed deaths topping 127,000. speaking from the rose garden, trump sought to shift blame for his administration's disastrous handling of the pandemic onto the united nations public health agency, accusing the who of helping chchina to cover up the spread of the coronavirus when it emergeded late last year. pres. . trump: the world depenes on the who to o work with countries to ensure that accurate information about international health threats is shared in a timely manner. and if it is not come at independent until the truth about what is happening. the who failed in this basic

duty and must be held accountable. amy: trump's decision sparked international outrage and condemnation. richard horton, editor-in-chief of the lancet medical journal tweeted -- "president trump's decision to defund who is simply this -- a crime against humanity. every scientist, every health worker, every citizen must resist and rebel against this appalling betrayal of global solidarity." the united states reported 2228 people died of covid-19 on tuesesday, the highest one-day death toll for a any nation. here in new york, , city officis have revised the death toll since the start of the pandemic to more than 10,000, adding in nearly 4 4000 preveviously-unreported deaths presumed to be caused by the coronavirus. about one in 800 new york city residents has died of ththe disease. on tuesdsday, new york's metropolitan transportation authority agreed to a union demand for covid-19 death benefits. beneficiaries of transit workers

who die of the virus will receive $500,000 and three years' worth of health care benefits. at least 59 new york city subway and bus workers have died of covid-19 so far, with more than 2200 testing positive. new jersey reported 365 coronavirus deaths tuesday, a record daily toll for the nation's second-most impacted state. new jersey's health commissioner says 324 of the state's 375 nursing homes have confirmed cases ofof covid-19. >> we are making the assumption that covid-19 is the most, if not all, all of our nursing homes at this point. amy: nationwide, more than 3800 people have died at long-term care facacilities, about 15% of alall u.s. deaths. in california, governor gavin newsom on tuesday outlined a road map to eventually reopen parts of the economy, in tandem with oregon and washington state.

governor newsom's plan calls for greatly expanded testing, tracing the contacts of people who test positive, and isolating those exposed to the virus. it would also expand protections for seniors and other vulnerable groups while ensuring that hospitals don't get overwhelmed by surges of covid-19 patients. schools would develop new protocols for keeping students physically separated. and restaurants would be required to provide strong safefety measures. >> you may be having dinner with a waiter wearing gloves, maybe a face mask. dinnerware the menu is disposable, where the tables -- half of the tables in that restaurant no longer appear. where your temperature is checked before you walk in to the establishment. these are likely scenarios step amy: in flororida, republilican governrnor ron desanantis is defending his administration's decision to classisify professional wrestlingng eventss an essential service during the lockdown.

world wrestling entertainment resumed live matches without audiences on monday. the governor has repeatedly defied calls by local officials to take stronger actions to slow the spread of the virus. on monday, florida surgeon general dr. scott rivkees was removed from a press briefing after he said social distancing measures might need to remain in place for a year or longer. >> so as long as we're going to have covid in the environment, and this is a tough virus, we're going to have to practice these measures so t that we are all protected. amy: just moments after those remarks, dr. rivkees was ushered out of the room by governor desantis' spokesperson. governor desantis s is a closese ally of presidenent trump. a budget watchdog g warned tuesy the federal budget d deficit wod rise by a record-smashing $3$3.8 trillion this year, even if lawmakers don't pass any more stimulus bills -- whicich they'e widely e expected to do.

deficit spending is on track to top 18.7% of the entire u.s. gross domestic product, the highest rate since world war ii. today, april 15, is typically tax day, but the irs has extended the deadline for income tax filings until july 15. the treasury department says more than 80 million people who've authorized the irs to make a direct deposit on a recent tax return will see stimulus payments of up to $1200 added to their bank accounts. others will have to wait for a check. in an unprecedented move, president trump has ordered the treasury to print his name on all stimulus checks. senior irs officials warned the "washington post" the reqequest could d slow delivery of the checks by a a few days. in more ececonomic news, the international monetary fund warned tuesday the coronavirus pandemic will spark the worst economic downturn since the great depression of the 1930's. the imf said global economic

output could contract by 3% this year. it originally predicted a 3.3% rate of growth for 2020. in indndia, press freedom and civil l liberties groups are sounding the alarm that the government of narendra modi is using the coronavirus outbreak to crack down on opponents and dissidents. earlier ththis month, popolice arrested prominent analyst siddharth varadarajan. they accused him of spreading discord and rumors after he reportedly criticized a hindu nationalist politician for participating in a religious ceremony with dozens of people during the national lockdown. elsewhere, activist anand teltumbde and journalist and activist gautam navlakha were arrested tuesday. prime minister moody announced the country's nationwide coronavirus lockdown, affecting 1.3 billion people, is extended until may. in mumbai, hundreds of migrant workers held a protest tuesday

demanding the government deliver food and assistance. >> we are not getting anything here. the government promised to provide money and amenities and nothing has been delivered yet. >> we have nothing to do now. we h have smsmall kids andnd the not getting anything to eat. what should we do? amy: in japan, a team of medical experts predicts 400,000 people could die from covid-19 unless strong measures are taken to stop the spread of the disease. the findings, commissioned by japan's health ministry, come as japan still has no stringent lockdown measures in effect. last week, japanese prime minister shinzo abe declared a state of emergency and asked citizens to voluluntarily mainin socialal distancing, thohough my retail outlets remain open. japan has confirmrmed more than 8000 cases and 162 deaths fromom covid-19.

british officials said tuesday the true death rate of covid-19 deaths may be 10% higher than official r reports, adding t to evidence that european nations have been significantly undercounting the true toll of the virus. this comes as some hard-hit european countries began reopening some business. andtaly, some bookstores children clothing shops have reopened. in parts of spain, some coconstruction and factory woros are back on the job. meanwhile, german health officials said 285 people died of coronavirus-related symptoms on tuesday, the highest daily death toll in germany so far. turkey's parliament v voted tuesday to t temporarily free 45,000 prisoners, about a third of its prison population, to limit the spread of covid-19. the prisoner release will exclude critics of authoritarian president recep tayyip erdogan who've been convicted of terrorism charges. in a statement, amnesty international called for the release of all political

prisoners, adding -- "those convicted in unfair trials under turkey's overly broad anti-terrorism laws are also now condemned to face the prospect of infection from this deadly disease." in ecuador, nearly 1900 people's inains have been collected the past two weeks. are overwhelmed with hundreds of covid-19 patients. in brazil, a study has found the number of coronavirus cases in the country is likely 12 times higher than government figures and that only 8% of cases are being officially reporting. testing remains scarce in brazil and there arare extremely long waits to confirm test results. in guatemala, health minister hugo monroy on tuesday blamed a spike in coronavirus cases on u.s. deportations, saying at least half at the people who have recently been deported have tested positive for covid-19.

>> this is the situatition. there are flights with guatemalan citizens who have been deported from the united states and who are put on the planes and they have fevers. once they arrived here, we automatically evaluate their health. immediately test them for covid-19. and a a lot of them have been testing posisitive. amy: china has approved clinical trials for two experimental vaccines against the novel coronavirus. both chinese research teams have skipped testing on laboratory animals and are fast-tracking tests on human subjects. in the united states, human trials of a vaccine candidate began in washington state last month. top scientists at the world health organization caution it will be at least a year before any vaccine becomes widely available. meanwhile, south dakota's republican governor kristi noem announced the first state-wide trial of the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for covid-19. president trump on tuesday once again touted the drug, as he's done repeatedly for weeks, even though there's no medical

evidence it's an effective treatmenent. in ohio, thehe head of a prison guards' union says a fifth prisoner has died of covid-19 at the elkton federal correctional institution, where 36 prisoners and 26 staff members have tested positive. elsewhere, virginia, maryland, south carolina, ohio, and indiana have reporteted the firt covid-19 deaths of people in state prisons. a prisoner at the d.c. central detention facility died of the disease on and at the rikers monday. island jail here in new york, a second prisoner has died of covid-19. in michigan, where at least 10 incarcerated people have died, prisoners have filed a federal lawsuit alleging they've been given a death sentence. in new york, viral videos show a grgroup of pololice officers ina harlem subway station forcibly detaining a young boy for selling candy at the subway station in an alleged violation of social distancing rules. police officers are also seen pulling the boy's sweater, holding him by the chest, as he cries and struggles to get away

from the officers. the boy's mother was reportedly present during the incident. meanwhile, in philadelphia, police officers were filmed violently pulling out a man from inside a bus because the man was not wearing a face masask. in campaign nenews, former presidenent barack obama on tuesdaday endorseded his former running mate joe biden for presidident with a an appeal to senator bernie sanders' susupporters. pres. obama:: if i wewere runnig today,y, i would n not r run the race or have ththe same platform as i did in 2008. the e world is difffferent. ththere is too m much unfininisd business for us to just look backwards.s. we have e to look toto the futu. bernie undnderstands that and je understandnds that. amy: obama's endodorsement came one daday after senatotor sandes backed joeoe biden's bid d for e white house,e, calling preresidt trump the most dangerous president in the moderern histoy of the united states. ohohio governor mike dewewine hs delayed three upcoming executions saying the e state hs

struggled for years to obtain aa new combination of lethal injection drugs. this is the eighth time dewine has delayed an execution since he took office in 2019. last year, a federal judge ruled the lethal injection drugs that have been used in ohio are unconstitutional and produced a painful drowning sensation similar to waterboarding. that ruling was later overturned by an appeals court. and those are some of the headlines. this is demomocracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman. we are broadcasting from t the epicenteter of t the pandedemicw york city. as t the death rate fromom the coronavirus pandemic continues to accelerate with more than 2 million confirmed infections worldwide and at least 127,000 deaths, presidenent donald trump said tuesday he would cut off u.s. s support for the world health organization. speaking from the rose garden, trump sought to shift went from his administration's disastrous handwriting of the pandemic onto the u.n. public health agency,

accusing them of helping china to cover up ththe spread of the virus when it emerged late last year. pres. t trump: the world depends onon the w who to workrk with countries to ensure that accurate information about international health threats are shared in a timely manner. muchf it is not independent until the truth about what is happening. the who failed in this basic duty and must be held accountable. amy: trump's decision sparked international outrage and condemnation. richard horton, editor-in-chief of the lancet medical journal tweeted -- "president trump's decision to defund who is simply this -- a crime against humanity. every scientist, every health worker, every citizen must resist and rebel against this appalling betrayal of global solidarity." the american medical association president's patrice harris called on trump to reconsider the cuts, saying -- "fighting a global pandemic requires international

cooperation and reliance on science and data." the global anti-poverty organization oxfam america said the cuts slash "any hopes for the responsible international cooperatioion and solidarity tht is critical to save lives and restore the global economy." this comes as a new oxfam report estimates the pandemic's economic fallout could push more than half a billion more people into poverty. for nearly 3 billion people already living in poverty and facing malnutrition, the virus could be deadly. in all, it estimates half of the world's 7.8 billion people could be living in poverty in the virus's aftermath. the report is called "dignity not destitution: an 'economic rescue plan for all' to tackle the coronavirus crisis and rebuild a more equal world." for more, we're joined by oxfam america'a's vicece president pal o'brien. welcome to democracy now! let's begin with president trump in the midst of this pandemic where the u.s. . is thehe epicer

of the worlds pandemic -- more deaths than any other country in the world -- president trump announces he is enending support forr the world health organizazation.. paul o'brien, your response? >> inc. you for having me on. it was pretty shocking to hear that last night. we have predidicted lasast weekt the numbers of deaths s from corononavirus could be as high s 14 million over the coming period.. so we are already in c crisis bt it could get defininitely worse. prpresident trump has his treasy y talking to other g20 finance ministerers today, and what that leader needs to be able to show i is americica'ss e in leading multilateral cooperation. anand at the same time, hehe is announcing that hehe is going to cucut the lelegs off the world health organization. therebeby undermining his o own

attempt to show global leadership. it was profoundly p previousctiveve leadership. it is profounundly harmful for r world. and it seems t to be notothing r than shohort-term blame shifting and scapegoating in order to distract people from the fafailureses of this administran to properly lead on the issue. bubut its consequences could be devastating for people. amy: paul l o'brien, there are many critics of the world health organization, but across-the-board now with president trump announcing that he is cutting the funding for this organization, the u.s. the largest funder of the world fourth oh -- world healthh orgaganization, explain what ths organization does and why it is so critical. and d with president trump so deeply concerned about what is happening in the united aides, one would take why would happens in the rest of the world makes enormous inferencece and whahatl happen inn -- diffeference in wt will happen in this s country.

close u.s. is now facing more deathshs per day than has beenn seseen. we are facining her own health crisis herere. you're also facicing her o own economicic crisis at. at ththe same time, have 17 million new unemployed in the united states. even befefore the crisis starte, you had 40% of amemericans d dit have $400 to theirir name e forn emerergency. andd then the e crisis hits. you have crisisis and an economc crisis.. in many ways, that is even wowoe in manany of the comommunities t oxoxfam workrks in. we w work in 90 countrieies, inincluding g the u.s. yeyet the health and economomic crisis c coming at the same tim. you have the world health organization whose job it isis o convene leaders to make sure the reresponse is coordinated and evidence-basased, based on scscience, and therere is a t ty global responsnse to a global pandemic. aparart from the f financingng e

ororganization, the leadership n the e moral authority ofof the orgaganization to be able to dre globobal consensus, to rerespono thisis health and econonomic cr, is absolututely critical.. her presidident trump, the wor's most powerful popolitician, to stand on the statage yesterday r whatever reason he had an to attack them in order to blblame shift undermines their ability to get that global consensus at a critical time. so this act in itself could have profound repercussions for many of the people that we see as particularly vulnerable in the united states and d around the world. amy: he made the announcement in the rose garden yesterday. the single -- the highest one-e-day deatath toll for anany nationon in the world, 2228 peoe died of covid 19. that is the united states.. talk about the rest of the world where covid-19-

has not hit as hard yet, main the, for exaxample, in africa, d with the world health organizationon means particulary for these areas ofof the w worl, the most vulnerable.e. >> right. well, the wholele world is vulnerable. we think particularly when you look at the combibination of f d health systems or weak health systemems and economic vulnerability, three areas are at greatest risk. sub-saharann africa,a, north africa, and the middle east. , we found we think 500 million more people coululdo into poverty as a consequence of this. essentially, wiping out all the progreress that has been made or in some 30 years context. on average, the last 10 years of progress.. isen are going to be, as often ththe case, facing the brt of much of the consequences of

this. in bangladesh, for example, a billion, w workers were laid off from their job. 80% of them are women. in kenya, flower facactories jut shut down.n. 30,000 people sent home.e. most of them are womenen. we don't have enough protections in the united states because we have not address the problem of chronic extreme inequality. but when you look at what is going on in outside of the united states where 80% of the people of the workers on the planet have no health insurance, 2 billion people are in the informal economy. let me just raise five contacts for you.u. these are the five largest in the world. there are slums in karachi and a and mexico nairobi city. the largest t single s slums in larger cities have 5.7 million people.

when coronavirus hits those environments, first, there's no health care system in this context that stock ventilators. in some countries there are literally two or ththree ventilators s in the whole country.y. but economically, people are living in close quarters. there is no physical distancing possible. they get no sick pay. their economies s are been shut down. they're being told to stay in place. they are not a able to trade. they're not able to access goods. in many contexts, the borders are nonot allowing food if their net importing countries. we have an economic crisis potentially coming along with the health crisis that is going to be profoundly harmful for many people and potentially destabilizing in ways that we will all face the consequences. amy: your report i is calledd "d"dignity not destitution: an 'economic rescue plan for all' to tackle the coronavirus crisis and rebuild a more equal world." you say o oxfam is calling g for wealthy countriries to agree toa global economic rescue package

that includes canceling $11 debtilion in debt paid -- payments. they say debt cancellation could free up to $400 billion to free up money to fight thee coronavirus pandemic. > yes. therere are ways forward.. this is an incredibly porton week. today isis an important t day. yet ministers of finance of thee g20 is meeting, and ministers of finanance from the 189 countries are meeteting to a ask and answr the question, what can i do collectively to address the economic fallout of thisis cris? you reported what is going to happen to thehe global economy. we think there are three ways forward and we are calling on thesese governmements to work together to show the kind of multilateral leadership t that presidident trump failed to show last nigight. the first is debt. we have s seen some really movevement this week. yesterday we got some of the beginnings of gogood news in tht the g7 supported sumummit

extensnsion. the imf agree to a debt moratorium and p put in plalacee debt relieff packages for 25 countrieies. ththat is a starart. it is nowhwhere near enough. what we don't want to see happen this year is thee debt payments are essentially suspended in a moratorium andnd where the interestst will accccrue and countrtries are e going to be fd to p pay that over thehe followg years, even if they sususpended for 2020. think ofof it thisis way. in 45 countries, their health syststems are a quarter of t the size of the debt payments that they have to make. so they have to pay 400% and their health budget just in paying their debt allocations. amy: very quickly, i w want toto about yememen and gaza. from whicich perspectivive? both o of thehem are facing both health and e economic crisis. in those contexts, and we work

in both with refugee populations and those who have been forcibly displaced to try and reduce the level of conflict, but as you know, i was in gaza not long ago. in incrediblying constrainened quarters. itit is very dense. theyey have almost no economic activity at the best of times because of restrictions that are put on the environment. when you put covid into that context from an economic perspective, it creates potentially catastrophic levels of slowing down any form of economic activity. so we are deeply worried about both yememen and gaza. as i saidd earlierer, we think e middle east is probably one of the fulcrums of concern for harm from this crisis. amy:, thank you for being with us. we will link to your report. paul o'brien is vice president

of a seminar cup. the report "dignity not , destitution: an 'economic rescue plan for all' to tackle the coronavirus crisis and rebubuild a more equal world." whwhen we come b back, we loloot coronavirus in indian country. stay with us. ♪ [music break] amy: "medicine" " by christophpr mike-bidtah, a dine musician

also known as defyfy. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman.n. we arere broadcasting from the epicenter of the pandemic, new york city.y. we t turn now to look at how the coronavirus is impacting indian country. as the covid-19 death toll continues to rise in the u.s.,., fear is mounting t that the sprd of the virus could devastate tribal communities. already, at least 44 people in the indian health system have died and there are more than 1100 confirmed cases according to "indian country today." navajo nation, which stretches across parts of arizona, utah and new mexico, has been the hardest hit by the virus so far, with more than 830 reported cases and 28 deaths as of tuesday. in arizona, 16% of covid-19 deaths have been native americans, who make up only 6% of the state's population. meanwhile, two pueblos in new mexico -- zia pueblo and san felipe -- have some of the highest rates of infection in the country. in oklahoma, the first covid-19 related death in the state was a citizen of the cherokee nation.

and experts warn these numbers will only grow due to a disproportionate number of pre-existing health conditions in tribal communities and resource-starved t tribal l heah care systems ill prepared for the pandemic. the coronavirus federal stimulus package provides in relief for $8 million the 574 federally recognized tribes, but many say far more is needed to adequately protect indigenonous people frfm the virus's spread. four - -- for more, we are joind by a public health leader for american indian and alaska native populations, epidemiologist dean seneca. he spent nearly 20 years as a senior health scientist for centers for disease control and prevention. he is now executive director of seneca scientific solutions plus. he is a citizen of the seneca nation. welcome. can you give us a lay of the land? how hard is that pandemic hit indian country h here in the u.?

>> thahank you for having me. , it has hit pretty hard in certain a areas throught indian country. like you said, navajo nation has been h hit the hardest. some areas where we have h high population were cities where people - -- were cities wherere people can c come togogether, we cases.sparse amount ofof in portland, oklahoma, and some , givenreas, but o overall the situation t that native p pe are inin regarding healtlth didisparitieies and pre-existing conditions, , except for navavao nation, i think we are not doing pandemicas far as the hitting indian country. inh just the 12,000 tests over 1100 confirmed, like you pointed out, many at navajo

nation, the rest of the country is faring pretty well in my what the outbreak has donee throughout t the restf the e country. now w having said that, mymy fes that the virus hasn'n't reallylt rurural americaca yet. as you know, many ofof our tribl nations are in rural america. that w will be the big test. i feel thahat it will bebe a mar of time before we reallyly see f the spread has hit into the deep pockets of and in country. amy: i want to go to navajoo nation for a moment, the largest tribal nation in the united states and the hardest hit by the coronavirus outbreak with nearly 30 deaths and more than 830 confirmed cases s as of tuesday. government and health officials, as well as community members, are scrambling to protect the roughly 175,000 people living on and around the reservation, as manyny residents still lack k as

to clean water and face the scarcity of other resources that are crucial to curb the spread of the daily virus. i want to go to navajo council delegate amber crotty. >> when you come back come to your remote area, you're surrounded by family and friends . that is where the contact also happens, we knew you are in a household with multigenerational families, grandma in the household with grandpa, then it is you and your children and possibly if you have older children. so it is multiple generations that are being hit, and that is what we are seeing. and the remoteness now -- as long as we are moving, the virus is moving with us. it is shedding light on the disparities that have already existed and also the lack of federal funding to meet the demand of the health needs. amy: navajo nation is currently on lockdown. meanwhilile, navajo nation president jonathan nez and vice president myron lizer have quarantined themselves after learning they came in contact

with someone who tested positive for covid-19. neither of them is currently presenting symptoms. i'd like to bring navajo water projecect director emma robbins into this conversation. she's a navajo activist and artist. the navajo water project is a community-managed utility alternative that brings hot and cold running water to homes without access to water or sewer lines. it people were to say what is the number one rule all over the country right now, it is wash your hands and wash them well and often. nation comeavajo how hard it is right now, and your access to water. looks good morning. thank you, amy, for having me. as you mentioned, one of the hardest things right now is being able to wash h her h handn the navajo natation. if you don't have hot ankle running water and access to so, that is extrememely difficult.

as we have all heard throughout the past weeks, ththat is one of the ways to flatten the c curve the most. in addition to that, not having drinking water on the reservation is very difficult because whehen you needed acceso runnnning water, you need to actually get bottled water and travel to ththese difffferent grocery stores. and a lot of times when the residents arrive, there just isn't any left. hard-hitalk about how navajo n nation is right now. mentitioned, we arere one of the hardest hit a areas. nonot only does our reservation have an n extremely hihigh infen rarate, but thosose surroundings as welell d do, toooo. it is very concentrated in one area. as you mentioned, there are over 800 cases of covid on the navajo nationon c currently. unfortunately, we have lost 28

community members. amy: dean seneca, if you can talk about the trumpet administration's response to the pandemic in indian country. and overall. i mean, for years, you worked -- you are and epidemiologist, and you work for the centers for disease control, an agency that now w everyone in this couountrs cocome to be familiar with. tell, yous you can knknow, right from the v very beginnnning -- i meaean, he didt make t this pandemic a priority. he did a lot of mixexed messagig in the very,y, very y beginningn he started to talk about t this. you see ththat he is now t tryi, in his recent repoports, t tryio justify, no, we e were on topp f this from the beginning. that is far from the casase. is s what wasaging really c criticacal. at times he e would say, hey, ts virus is just t going to go awa. we will wakeke up one day and it

won'n't be here. pepeople listen to this infoformation.n. that is ththe wrong thing to se. he made e a major m mistake i in eliminating his cocounsel on inteternational healalth and gll pandndemic. that was huge rife no beginning. amy: explained. that was in that national security council. when he is talking in december about more money for building a groupif that pandemic or representatives, sir, what about china? although it is clear early on the intelligence agencies, his closest cabinet members and heheads of agencies were actually warning him about this. >> yes.. and he kind of put it aside thinking that the pandemicic wod never leave chinana and reach te unitited states. onee of the things i predicted early when i saw 20,000 cases in china, said d the virurus is aly here. i said that way before manany of the experts.

but t here's the big ththing. whwhen i did the people outbrea, i can say --- the ebola outbrea, i can say that white house, cdc, usda w were literally cononnectt the hip. i t think that is one of the big things thahat made us sucuccessl is that our comommunications wee very, veryry tight and we werere working togetherer and communicating g several times a day.y. during this response, , we know the white house is rereally struggling on who is in charge and who is overseeing this. at one time it was cdc that was in charge. then they recentntly moved into the fda.. so they are scrambling for leadadership. that speaks to poor leadership right fromom the top. i hate to say that being a veveteran myselff, militatary pn in the army, army reserves. i don't ever want to see ththe uniteded statess fail, but i rey do feel that the administration really did not get on board in a

timely manner when they needed to. that i is evidentnt. the leading g expert f from nihs also pinpointed to that a little bit, and then he had to go back on tv recently to justify his hypothetical comments. strong leadedership right at the beginning o of a pandemic like thisis is c critical, essential. we are fighting g a war. this is a war w where youou cant see e the enemy. you don't t know w where thehe y as most of the enemy can be around youou at any time. you hahave to do your best to protect t yourself. this is a different kikind of wk anyin any kindnd of war, , in kind of situation like this, you need strong leadership. that is evident it did not happen. amy: your perspective is an unusual one, dean seneca. you are in seneca nation, upstate new york. your native epidemiologist, worked for the cdc for years. you took on zika and h1n1.

explaiain the differences. is thoseg difference viruses -- i i meaean, they didt the united states b but they ner hit the united stateses heart. we were able to do variousus cah very e effective conontact trac. that i is one e thing i hahave n preaching brothers condemning is just pandemic is conontact tracg is a tool we can stop and mimitigate an outbreakak. 82820 and one,e, we had d a fews here, , something that t we nevr saw beforore as a country.. -- raramped up our emergency opoperations compopon. we did seeee a couple of deaths and we e did see a minor spread and then afterer a while it was anotheher strain of the flu. very, veryry differerent. it did give us a an oppoportunio exexercise our emergrgency preparedness ability. a little bit different. it did impact the southern part

of the country butut not a major life-threatening situation with zika --not in all l cases. he much the e southern border. a different kind of s situation where he was a vectorborne virus that was transnsmitteded. it caused d several different chronic condnditions. amamy: a and ebola. >> and ebola.. i must say the ebola was probably the hardest thing i ever did in mymy life. when you go ovoverseas andnd you have to o prepare for something like ebola, which is a verery violent kind of hemorrhahagic fevever where the body, whwhen infected, litererally leads internally -- bleeds s internal. that was the hardest thing i ever did. very dangerous situation. i wentnt over ththere and i i wt of the team of scientists. i am proud to say we were p part of puttiting the curve intnto te grground. what we did is we went from

passive surveillance to active surveillance. being actitive in gettingg out o the communinity and seeeeking cs ahead of time insteaead of peope beining sick and getting the information reported to us. amy: dean seneca, when you hear president trumpmp is ending fufunding for t the worldld heah organization, what is your response? >> thihis is a very ill responsiblee move on behalf of a world that is leading the and go public health. and honest world every facet, economics, militaryry, educatioion, health. it r really -- i''m speechless t i is.responsible that move ifif anything, we should b be tg to work with the who, which is

such a v very nononpolitical,l,, very pasassive, has a lot ofof empathy organization. it is a caringng organization.n. they t try to do theheir best fr the limited resources they have. and they are all around the world. amy: very, very quickly, dean seneca, for understanding how in country works, when a governor like governor cuomo says s shelter a at home, dodoet apply to thehe reserervationss w york or do you issue a separate order? > w what i had d been promoms we coordininate with our s statd locacal and county healthh departmentnts, but tribal natios hahave the u ultimate public h h auththority. they need to exercise that public health authoririty whenn necessary. given the situation, yes, , we to work triball nation

with other statete entitities ad those kinds of things in order to isosolate and practice social distancing. i knknow, for exampmple, seneca nation recently president armstrong i issued a stayay-at-e order - -- which is a very, very reduceing -- the kikind of the spread of this virus. amy: i want to go back to emma for a moment. one thing we've been focusing on is the mutuaual aid efforts that are going g on all over. this is kikim smith, a navajo woman running a farmer in hogback, new mexico. >> we are stepping up for the community members at a time that is so crucial. and that is what we are here for, ultimatately. as youngng people, to be able to sacrifice ourselvlves, sacrifice our well-being so that more o of our people don't get sick. and the reality is that our

ancestors sacrifice so much more for r us to continueue to be he. amy: i went to go back now to whatrobbins to talk about is happening in novo houck country. you run the navajo water project . the mutual aid that is going on navajoo walk -- the country is a hotspot in not only places like new mexico and arizona, but in indian country overall. thahat is such a great question bebecause the navajo nation experiences some of the highest rates of water povererty in the united states. are more than 6 60% for likely did not have water inside their homes. getting back t to not being able to wash her h hands, nonot ableo flatten the curve. we h have seen aa rise of covid cases when that happens. as i mentioned, when people go water from stores

or watering point, they're also exposing themselves to others. tough becausealso you don't have heaealth facilits across the reservation. those that do have access to it, often live very far away and are not able to get there in time. amy: can you talk about the role of navajo women in leading mutual aid? >> i am glad you asked that question. i think i've seen many navavajo women step u up and fight for communities, which are our traditional role. that is s not to say we're in te 1960's and it is the idea of state in the kitchen, it is that we are the caretakers ofof our communitities. this is nothing new for us. it is time to step up and work together and just make it hahappen. where people are able to get the help they need d and really just comebackck and serve ourur communities. i i think of thihis ass by navaf

four navajos. amy: and now the chairman of the navajo nation and the vice prpresident currently in quarantine? >> that is correct. they do believe that could have come in contact with covid themselves. amy: and the hospitals and clinicics on the reservatition,e they adequate? and what you think needs to happen at the national level? we're talking stimulus package, the kind of aid that indian country is getting from -- obviously, much more stingless package? >> it isis important u understan the navajo nanation, we have two types s of hospitals. one is indian health service, which is across indian country. then we have what are called 630 eight hospititals, which arere hospitals that were originally part of the federal government that have been taken over by the tribal government.

on the reseservation, there e a6 healalth centers. none of those are clilinics. seven are hospitals. -- nine of thosee are clilinics. seseven are hospitals. ththere are 46 icucu beds. talking about these numbers, that is not proportionate e at l . it is scary to think about these numberers rising and soap, yes,e are a sovereign nation and we are able to hehelp ourselveses,t it is also important to have our treaties honorored and havee tht fundining from the federalal government because t this is whn we need help. right now we can't wait. amy: emmmma robbinss, thank your being with us, head of the navajo water project. anand i want to think k dean se, citizen ofist and the seneca nation. for years he worked at thehe cd, and on h1h1n1, took onn zika ebola, now dealing with the

century's most significantnt coe hardest hitting pandemic of all, the coronavirurus. back, why was an african-american doctor wearing a m mask, getting togogether his equipment to test homeleless people in n miami, florida, handcuffed? stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: givining a quarantine performance of the band's song "mad world." this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodmaman. we are broadcaststing from the epicenter of thehe pandemic, new york city. we end today''s show in florori,

where e the miami polilice department is under fire after a video surfaced of an officer handcuffing and detaining an afrirican-americanan d doctor oe his home friday. the e man, dr. armrmen henderso, wawas wearing a mamask and prepg fofor a volunteer shift helplpig prprotect homeleless people froe spread of covid-19 when a patrol car pulllled up to his h home. surveillllance video f from dr. hendersoson's housuse shows himm loading a van w with supplieses before thehe encounter. dr. hendnderson says thehe polie officecer handcuffeded him after accucusing him of lilittering ad then asking g for idenentificat, whicich hendersoson did not hahn hihim. the policece officer wasas not wearing a mask. dr. hendererson was. hehe had to yell t to his wiwife inside their home toto present did the vacation before the officer finally rereleased him..

on sataturday, miami police chif has orderered an internalal investigatation into the incide. the e officer r involved has not been identified. the encounter sparked d widesprd outrage and d comes as afrfrican american men report fefears of increased d racial profililing e to the cdcdc's suggggestion that people wear masks while in public. for more,, we go to miami to speak to dr. armrmen henderson. he is s an interernal medidicine physician n and assiststant professor of m medicine e at the ununiversity of miami. also an organizer with dream defenders. he was recently profiled by "the miami herald." tell u us in your own wowords wt you u are doing on frididay andn what happened. >> so i w was pretty much just putting tenents in mymy car. i was loloading other supplies into my van. whenen i was doingng that, i nod the e police officer road dodowe streetet. that a cross-secection, reallyly

slow. then he came b back around the street the other way and basically turned down my block was not peopled up next to me, questioning me if i lived thehe, if i i worked here. i told him i i live there. i totold himim what i was doing. i told him where i w was pututtg the boxes was where t the city f miami comemes to pickup p our th every week. fofor example, there here ththis week.. people on my locker puttiting te trash h in the same e place i pt the boxes.. at some popoint he justt did not belilieve what i i was saying ge he thought i was being disrespectful and d decided to t out of the car and escalate e te situation. car he e got out ofof the asked me for id -- which i said i didid not have.e. i was trtrying my best to keepp

cool dururing the sitituation ad remain steadfafast in what i i s doing,g, which was t to be e at downtown miami deliverering food and tents to hohomeless indidividualals that lived down. i prpretty much wentnt ahead and continued toto do what wasas gog to do because i did not know where this encncounter wasas go. ththen he just dececided to put cucuffs on me, , basically. once he did that, i call for my wife. she came o out and pretty much dede-escalated the sitituation. but even b before she e came, hs like inches s from my facece, shouldly,y, yelling t that i call him sergeant, i shoululd cl him sisir. with no mamask on. he had no gloves on. i could feel his saliva on my lips. it was a crazy e encounter. amy: this is such h a horrific situation. it reminded me so much i professor henry louis gates of harvard who was on his front porch when the police came and

challenged himim and arrested h, came into his house. so you are wearing a mask. the police officer is not wearing a mask or gloves. youou.thehen handcuffed what ultltimately leled him to release e you? >> i i pretty muchch, while he s in my y face, i pretttty much kt ququiet and jusust waiting g foy wifefe to come,, basically. once she camame outside, she asd why i was in handcdcuffs and she said we e live here anand he sa, wewell, i'm m going to need tote sosome id. go g get it for meme. she wewent and got herer id and shshowed him we e actually livid herere. at t that point, he pretty much just let me go. amy: this is astounding. are you satisfied with the police report -- police department's response? and dr. henderson, this is whyhy profiled you,ald" you have beeeen working with the homemeless, giving all kinds of

mutual aid, and also have been testing them for covid-19. if you could talk about your workrk and then the miami polile department. >> first, i want thehe officicer heheld accountntable. no waway you racially profile me and thenn you arrest meme, detain me, and then during the pandemic w where you havee o mask on, whehere hundreds of police officerers throughout miami-dade have testeted posisie anand you arare up in my face, spittingng on n my lips s when e supposed to be practicing social distanancing. he broke a numumber of protocol. and violated my rights. first,t, i want t him held accountable e and i want an apologogy as w well. outside ofof that, i think thehe bigger p picture is that i was going to s serve homeless individuals throroughout mimiami-dadede countnty. --isically, the city has said cities across the u.u.s. have sd the same thing whehere we have o

shelter-r-in-place, we have to sosocially distant. for s someone who doesn't haveva house, for someone who liveses unsheleltered, it is very impossible to do those things. inin a pandemic, these are the most vulnerable inindividuals.s. these are the e individuals whoe are supposeded to be payining te most attentionon to bececause te are e the individuduals that slp on buses, on bus stops, on benches. because of that, when n you're talkingg abobout public healthh respononse to a pandemic, you he toto focus on thosee individuals who are using the public spaces the most. amy: can youou talk k about you testing ththem and the respoponf unhousused peoplple to youou teg them? > rightht. it is been hard to get testing if y you're n not a basketbtball player, , if you are not a rich person. literally, we have just been going out - -- first of all, wee did a survrvey of individuals to see what t their symptomoms ared

we identify pepeople who neededo be tesested. because we are the epicentnter f ththe epidemic,c, and this is te most vulnerarable population,n,i just f figure we should be testg people at random m as well to sample p populatation sizezes te how far thisis virus hasas spred already. honeststly, this i is supposed e the cityty and thehe county's jn dodoing this and providingng the necessities and testing individuals s that are i in this vulnerable population. i think itit speaks s to the fat this.s.ven haveve to do it should not be my job to volunteer r out therere to makee that homelesess individuals are cacared f for, especicially in a pandemic stop a at the surface t feels like a feel-good story, but it is really not. amy: dr. armen henderson, i would ask you to stay so we can

continue our conversation about the unhoused and your detention. dr. armen henderson is an internal medicine physician and assistant professor of medicine at the university of miami. handcuffed by the new york police -- by the miami police. we w w

hello. welcome to nhk "newsline," i'm yamamoto miki in tokyo. the coronavirus pandemic reached another grim milestone. johns hopkins university says more than 2 million people have now been infected around the world. europe remains the second-largest coronavirus hotspot after