brent: this is dw news, live from berlin. donald trump, in quarantine after testing positive for coronavirus. the president is suffering mild symptoms, the white house says, but is in good spirits and will carry on working in isolation. >> we have a president that is not only on-the-job and will remain on the job. i'm optimistic he will have a quick and speedy recovery. >> we will bring you the latest

from washington. ♪ i'm phil gayle. welcome to the program. president trump is an quarantine in the white house in the west wing, suffering from what they say are mild symptoms of covid-19. taking off the campaign trail, just a month before the u.s. presidential election, the president and first lady tested positive shortly after one of his senior aides was found to have been infected. joe biden has tested negative despite sharing a platform with mr. trump during this week's heated presidential debate. reporter: for president trump, it's been a next her narrow reelection campaign during an unpredictable year. and that was before the president shocked the world by revealing he and his wife,

melania, the most powerful couple honor is, had been infected by the coronavirus. he tweeted, "and i come other first lady and i tested positive for covid-19. we will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. we will get through this together." >> president does have mild symptoms. as we look to try to make sure that not only his health and safety and welfare is good, we continue to look for that for all the american people. he continues to be not only in good spirits, but very energetic. reporter: at the white house, anxiety had been rising after the news that a trusted campaign aide was diagnosed with the virus on thursday. hope hicks often travels with the president, seen here in the brown coat. donald trump and his circle are tested regularly. now, a race is on to test the people who might have come into contact with the president.

and the pool of potential people is huge. with an election to win, trump has been on the road, addressing voters, and he has not always worn a face mask or follow guidelines on social distancing -- followed guidelines on social distancing. here he is two days before the positive coronavirus test results, at a campaign rally in minnesota. but for now, in person campaigning is on hold. in the key state of florida, an empty venue. trump's event planned for friday night is canceled. if donald trump of stomach america, he's going to have to beat the coronavirus first. phil: straight to washington, where we join our correspondent, stefan simons. what does that mean for the campaign? >> good question.

the campaign is a disaster now. it's an absolute disaster for the trump can think of it everything they had planned for this week, the next w week, the week after that is out the window. it's over and done. the president will not participate in person at any event. he will, if possible, virtually campaign. that is not only ask him, but his entire core team, that means the first lady, the vice president. of course, we know the vice president has tested negative, but we are still in the incubation timing for the vice president. helpers or stuff for the vice president had been in contact with hope hicks and the president. you now need to test a large amount of people inside the white house, outside the white house, in the campaign repeatedly to make sure that they stay negative, if they are negative. this is a major blow to trump as president and a major blow to donald trump as the campaigner,

the man who campaigns for reelection on november 3. phil: the mood in washington must be quite bleak at the moment. what's it like? >> i think that hits the nail on the head here. it's a lot of shaking heads. it's a lot of head scratching. for example, yesterday october 1, the president, knowing that hope hicks was in contact with him many days closely, he still went to a donor event, speaking to people there with apparently not a care. hours later, informing via twitter he is found to be because -- found to be covid-19 positive. the -- did the joe biden

cap and receive a call from the white house about getting a test done? because less tuesday, those two men were in an animated debate, but in close quarters. they didn't receive any notice whatsoever and learned about this via twitter, as everybody else in the world. to make sure they get tested themselves. lots of questions, lots of head scratching. the republican party, definitely not a very happy camper right now. phil: what has the biden campaign been saying about this? >> the biden campaign's trying to find the right tone here. even the vice president himself, confirming he did this just a few hours ago, that he is not covid positive. "i i'm happy to report jill and i have tested negative for covid. thank you to everyone for your messages of concern. i hope this serves as a reminder, wear our mask, keep

social distance, and washer hands." there you have it. the biden campaign, two thumbs up. nobody, as of now, so far, as we know, impacted, not covid-19 positive. and the vice president and the democratic campaign, trying to find a little bit -- not making it a got you moment, but bringing the message across. look, you, president trump, now covid-19 positive. you dissed anybody who can close to wearing a mask, keep social distancing, washer hands, it is essential, do it. you downplayed it over months. here are the bidens now saying, you should have listened and told the american public, please listen. it is also hitting the president himself. nobody is safe. phil: thank you. let's get a medical perspective on this.

here's a professor of epidemiology at the columbia university of medical center in new york -- columbia university medical center in new york. what went through your mind when you heard of the president's diagnosis? >> of course, it was a great surpririse, but perhrhaps not sa surprise g given that almost everyone around him had been coming down withth the infectio. often, symptomatically. and had been diagnosed.. i think it wasas a matter of ti. this was a s shock, comoming no. i think itit also indicates the importance of taking thehese precautions. they clearly have prprevented a lot of people from getting infected. hopefully, thihis will be a good message e for ople t tbecause hihis -- to be cautious, and we hope the president and his circle will be well. phil: were talking about an

obese person, with a stressful job, what is the likelihood of making a full recovery? >> well, the course of disease variries considerarably from the individual to o individual, , bg an older male iss a d disadvant. there's a greater risk for more severe diseaea and being overweight, having stress,s, are all obviously risk factors. on thehether hand,d, the vast majoririty of peoplele who do be infected, even in that group, who do survive, it is impossisie to say whether it is a mild case, or like boris johnson, hee will require hospitalilization. itit happened so quicickly, it s imimpossible to detetermine that until the events actually unfold. phil: so the president is

isololating, tracing his contacs over the last few days, that's going to be a massive job. >> it is a massive job. asas you can imagine, this increases exponentially, as you findnd individual contacts. whenen you havave large group gatherings, such a as the donors gathering, with people who may have been in close contact, you have a lot of people to trace, a lot t of people to test. it is a massivee job. new jersey, i think, will tatake onon the bedminsteter context,,t leleast the ones i in washington have largely been identified.. though as you know, t there wass a recent positive from a senate jujudiciary coitittee memberer o met withh amy cononey barrerett. ththere's sosome c concern, even though she was l last reported negative, , about the impmpact n other parts ofof the political

establishment, as well. phil: how far back do they have to go when they do these tracings? you get a diagnosis today. hohow far backck do they go loog for people he's met with? >> that depends largely on what you find after the initial tracing. usuall you test t people who may have been in close enough contt. thatat's usuaually consididerede 15 mininutes, less than -- at ls than two meterers' distance. with a wider net, you wowod then identify their contacts and test them. if they test negative, you may want to d dthis a dayay or two lalater. at that point, you can p probaby move on to testing other coacts. on the other hand,d, if they hae had contact and are p positive,t could be a long trail.

phil: thank you for your analysis. >> thank you. phil: w we will turn out to some of the other stories making news around the world. armenia's military released a video of what it says shows the downing o of a helelicopter duriring a dispute. the fifighting betetween the t o former sovereign republics enters its sixth day. they are ready to discuss a cease-fire in armenia. -- armenian officials are ready to discuss a cease-fire. arrivals from new zealand will be allowed quarantine free entry into two australian states if they have not come from a covid-19 hotspots. storm alex has left more than 100,000 people without electricitity in france. the storm has mididland fallen e u.k. now. residents are bracing for heavy rain this weekend.

you have already been a number of power outages along being list coast. this weekend, germany marks 30 years since the heart of the once divided nation can together. it was hailed as a historic achievement. the former west spent billions reviving the old east, which had been left bankrupt the communist rulers. -- bankrupt by its communist rulers. but, some relations remain unhealed. reporter: there was no master plan, no example worldwide for the historic event. german reunification. not even a year before the berlin wall had come down, after months of peaceful protests in the former east germany. the u.s., the u.k., france, and the soviet union gave the green light, pavaving the way toto uny the two germanys. they had t to adapt to many this

, new mononey and a new economic system and lifestyle, soon with disillusionment kikicking and. -- kicking in. > what wawasissing was public detete about the c cost of unificication. ththe economic and d financial costs, but t the social c costsd ththe psychologigical b burden e economic d decline for eastt germanyy and the m mass unemployment, which nobody mentioned before in east germany. reporter: as many as 4 million workers saw other jobs disappear in the east. cap as others had to take on work below their qualifications. many young and educated people left to look for a better job. some areas feel the neglect to this day. >> there a are rural areas whehe there's a lot of poverty andnd where pepeople feel left behind, turning towards what they have, which is their

national identity or racial identity. reporter: the last national elections, the center and centerleft parties were more popular in western germany. far-left and extreme right in eastern germany. a celelebration, , nevertheless, takes ace evevery year, with go reaeason. >> we have had 30 years of peace and prosperity for a lot of people. we think of germany a as a stabe and secure country. it's amazing when you look back at german histsty, over 100 years, germamany went frorom a monarchchy to a failed democracy, to a dictatorship, to a communist system, to a succsfsful democracycy, then to reunification. reinvention is the real headline for german history. reporter: regardless o of the differences, reunified germany is often seen as an example of a

stable and democratic country. phil: the house of political mode in germany, 30 years after reunification. the leading polling institute just published a new nationwide survey which shows some interesting results. people in the former east germany seem to feel less than home than their western compatriots. only 16% feel they are west german. in the old east, only 55% of people identify as german. 41% still see themselves as east german. let's bring in our political correspondent, simon young, to make sense of some of this. 30 years on, is a reunified germany less unified than we thought? >> i think t there stitill are y significant differences when you compare the former west and the former east.

there's a dividing line and a fairly clear one. people in eastern germany are more likely to be unemployed than those in the west. if a have got a job, it's likely to be lower paid, on average, it will be significantly lower paid than people in the west are getting. people are less likely to build property of their own, assets, that is an economic context. politically, there's a division. more abortions take place in eastern germany. these are just some examples and indicators that show that 30 years is probably not long

enough to cover the tracks of german division. phil: we are going to have a look at other questions the survey asked and come back to you in just a moment. did they unification of germany deliver better times? apparently not. only 36% of western germans think germany is now more community minded than it was in the former communist east germany. 42% think things have got -- have gotten worse. only 16% say reunified germany has more social solidarity than the former gdr. a stunning three quarters think the opposite. back to simon young, what would germans think -- why would german spent the country today has less social solidarity than under the communist east germany regime?

>> perhaps, if the former gdr is getting rosy as it receives further into history, the clue is in the naming. a socialist state, that called itself. there was lifetime guarantee of a job in the place to live if you didn't fight against the system too much. the reality they have now, comparing that to the former gdr, they may find life tougher, conditions harsher than they were back then. of course, you don't get to put in jail these days for applying -- get put in jail these days for applying to leave the country. it's hard to say what people in the west make of what used to be the case in the gdr. they only knew it through the media. their opinions on the east are mediated to say the least.

phil: i will have a look at a couple of questions and come back to you. one of the most disturbing findings of this new poll, showing to set a section with democracy. 68% are satisfied with the political system. but roughly a third are not. it is even worse in the former east. here, only half of voters are satisfied with the democratic system. nearly 50% say they are not happy with german democracycy. simon young, these are alarming figures. what is behind them? >> simply put, the economic conditions in the eastern states are worse than in the west. social change has been too quick for some. the result is a significant support for extreme parties, particularly t the far right, people in the east are twice as likely to be members of a far right party than those in the

west. if you look at state elections, just last year, 2019, three state elections were held in the east and afd, the far right party, they got a quarter of the votes in an astonishing level of support. the east germans, much less likely to have trust in the political system generally, partly because the mainstream political parties have repeatedly said they will not cooperate with the far right or with the far-left. which is also popular in eastern germany. it is a complex picture. i think there is still a long way to go. maybe three decades is not long enough for germany to be fully united. phil: simon young, thank you. now to italy. the world health organization is describing it as an example of best practice in dealing with the coronavirus. officials are praising government policies and the discipline shown by italians.

we went to my land to find out how a nation hard at the start of the pandemic is now coping much better. reporter: she lived through the spanish flu, the two world wars, and now survived covid-19. fatima is 100 years old. -- 108 years old. during the first wave of the coronavirus in italy, she saw many friends in her nursing home die. >> i have been through so many things in my life, and i amm still here. it looks as if jesus christ does not want me. reporter: care homes were hard hit in the early stages of the pandemic, when milan was at the epicenter of the outbreak. more than half of the 33,000 lives lost in italy were here in the city and the surrounding them bardi region -- lombardi region. this volunteer with the white crust provided emergency -- wiwh

the red cross provided emergency help during the crisis. >> we lived through a very traumatic experience. like a tsunami. the moment it arrives, it changes everything completely. from that moment, we change our approach to life. reporter: people are legally obliged to wear masks in crowded places from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and many keep theirs on during the day. another reason infection rates are rising slowly is the long-term effect of ititaly' harsh lockdodown, which kept people can find to their homes -- confined to their homes for months on end. she says there is no magic formula for countries to follow. italy is not perfect. it is certainly -- and it certainly cannot go it alone. >> i think an important thing is

to think about european health, to have the same protocol of therapapy, the same exchanged experiences, the same quarantine, not just localized health, but a strategy to face the virus. reporter: the professor also has high hopes for a rapid testing scheme. the government plans to roll it out in schools. that is good news for the student and his sister. they started less only two weeks ago and do not want to go back to homeschooling -- class only two weeks ago and do not want to go back to homeschooling. >> i heard we can soon take off the masks and get closer to each other. without having to keep our distance all the time. reportrter: this cemeterery is a

bitter reminder of milan's collective trauma. the 128 people laid to rest here were brought here from over credit hospitals and morgues. those who have not been able to claim bodies because of the tough quarantine restrictions, because they were sick themselves perhaps, can move their loved ones from here to other parts of the cemetery within a period of two years for sanitary reasons. march and april 2020 changed the north of italy forever. the ongoing restriction remains high. many now fear the approaching winter. phil: on to sports. if formula one japanese manufacturer, honda, will live the sport at the end of the 2021 season. it is moving toward d greener solutions and away from internal combustion engines. the decision means red bull and offertory will need to find a

new engine supplier ahead of the 22 season. the sport will have only three, including mercedes and ferrari. how do olympics gears keep fit during the off-season? many had to travel a blood, but in australia, freestyle skiers can now hit the slopes. year-round, thanks to a new water kangaroos making a splash in brisbane. they can reach speeds up to 70 kilometers an hour on the plastic ramps. here's a reminder of our top story, the white house says he was president, donald trump is suffering from mild symptoms of covid-19. he and his first lady have tested positive and are quarantining at the white house. the president's chief of staff says he's in good spirits. you can always get dw dues on the go, just download our --

dw news on the go, just download our app. if you are part of any story, you can also use the app to send us photos and videos. more world news, at the top of the hour in just a moment -- at the top of the hour. in just a moment, i will be back to take you through the events of the day on "the day." where also live at dw.com -- we are also live at dw.com. have a good day. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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>> 10:00 p.m. in the french capital. madrid becomes the first european capital to go back into creditors lockdown. millions facing new restrictions from this friday evening. we will have the latest from spain with our correspondent. donald trump is apparently feeling good as he and the first lady self isolated after testing positive for covid-19. joe biden and his wife tested negative. trump's e election campaign is thrown into disarray. armenia is ready for talks in a truce in the green occur