velshi. thank you for joining us for this special report, "coronavirus: into the red zone." you're about to see an incredible documentary from our partner, sky news, in london. it is comprehensive and it is compelling. sky news special correspondent stuart ramsay shows us the devastating impact of coronavirus on the people of the

hardest-hit city in the hardest-hit country in the world, bergamo, italy. more than 15,000 deaths so far in italy alone. now there are signs of a possible plateau in new infections. but this fight is far from over. sky news gets amazing access going inside overwhelmed hospital emergency wards and intensive care units. you'll hear the critical warning from those on the front lines. you'll hear what they want the rest of the world to heed. now we take you "into the red zone." >> isolation is the only antidote, and you feel very alone. there are people everywhere, of course. but when you're in the red zone of infection and you want to stay well, you pray for this. emptiness.

this is a journey into the center of the coronavirus epidemic. a journey to see how people cope with an illness you can't beat with medicine. an illness that's changing the entire world. killing people. destroying society, infrastructure, and business. what was normal doesn't exist anymore. here what represented continuity and permanence or links the past to the present, what we assured us of humankind's advancement lies empty. as the virus spread west, italy shot above china, becoming the most-infected country in the world. in the wake of this disaster, the monuments to an

all-conquering past are now just monuments. the present is all consuming. trying to protect the present is the only thing that matters. this is balanzani hospital in rome. it's the center of the disaster response effort. security is tight. they're prepared to talk to us, but bear in mind, even families aren't allowed in. the country is dependant on the people who work here. they're planning the strategy for the whole of italy. we stop to meet the health boss

who's coordinating the effort. franco lafrani is managing the emergency, trying to make sure the hospital isn't overwhelmed. in the car park, they're building triage tents. they're worried that this outbreak is going to spread even further. the infection rate here is manageable. but we've only been in this country a few hours. and even here there are people who are very sick. ambulance teams in full protective suits bring the latest casualties for treatment. they pause while a coordinator decides which route they take. direct to the center of the infectious disease ward. the coronavirus cases aren't allowed through corridors the uninfected are using.

two of the patients are clearly very ill. a third is much worse, sealed inside a plastic containment chamber. it's our first glimpse of the disease, or rather, a first view of its host who's suffering. the whole country is now in lockdown, but the red zone of infection is in the northern province of lombardy. milan is its capital. it's a six or seven-hour drive north through the farmland, plains, and mountain ranges. there is traffic, but it's mainly trucks. and they're mainly heading south. police control convoys away from the red zone.

lombardy is one of the richest areas of italy. its border with the outside world is the po river. so we're now in lombardi. so the majority -- this is like a hot spot of the coronavirus. concentrated here. milan, the home of style and high fashion, is deserted. this vibrant place is closed now. the milanese know that just 45 minutes away, the virus is out of control. [ bells tolling ] at this stage, if the epicenter

of the coronavirus outbreak in the world is in this province, then the absolute center of the epidemic is here in the town of bergamo. more people have died here than anywhere else, and they still are, every day. the warnings never stop. they're telling people to stay indoors. this is what a total lockdown looks like. it's quite scary. you don't really get used to it. it is apocalyptic, and of course here they're calling it the apocalypse. it doesn't feel that life will ever be the same again.

here they believe the only way to stop the virus is to shut everything. only essential shops are open. the man tasked with dealing with this crisis, while protecting his family and leading his community, is the mayor, giorgio gori. he imposed the lockdown. he's doing this to save his town, but he's unwittingly designing policies that all of europe are about to follow. >> how are you? >> he doesn't know it, but he's changing history. >> is your message to the outside world, if you like, that you have to lock down? >> absolutely, yes. absolutely, yes. i have two daughters. they are studying in england. one in taunton, in college, the other in canterbury. she's doing a master. when i saw what the english government was thinking about

this problem, i decided to bring them back. because i think that even if we are at center of the epidemic, probably -- they are probably more secure, sure, here than in england. because i don't understand why the government didn't decide for time, in time, to protect the citizens. >> he's scared the world isn't listening. he's trying to get us entry into the town's main hospital. it's not happened before. >> i try because i think that your work would be strong, would be good. >> the authorities said it couldn't happen.

but the mayor's trying to get them to change their minds. he told us the world knows about the virus, but they don't know what it looks like when it hits. against the odds and many phone calls later, they agree. he was the first to impose a lockdown, and now he's the man who's letting the world see what this disease looks like. papa giovanni hospital in bergamo is absolutely vast. 13,000 people a day pass through its doors. there's every specialist department you can imagine. it's rich. it's well organized. but it's on its knees. and so are the staff. we're taken inside, past closed cafes, and into its cavernous atrium. it's deadly quiet now. there are virtually no visitors anymore, just a few relatives waiting for news.

they can't visit their family members, they just have to wait. there is only one focus here, trying to beat the virus. in a corner we set up a clean zone and change into protective clothes. there is a procedure you have to follow to get dressed correctly. but much more importantly, to get undressed safely. we practice this often, but every time you do it for real, you're nervous. we're going inside the emergency wards where the most sick are being admitted. we don't know what to expect. allstate has been helping customers overcome catastrophes for 89 years. we move quickly and put people first. as the coronavirus is keeping many

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they're fighting a war here, and they're losing. >> i want to show you a room, a particular room. don't touch anything. >> we're in the middle of the emergency room now.

we have down there on the left the shock room for very sick people. there are now four patients intubated. and you see many, many patients in the hallway because we don't have any room available. there are now 15 patients. we started with eight, but there was not enough. we go up to 16. because it's a maximum capacity, a full capacity. you see they're all on ventilation with a helmet or with a ventilator.

>> the staff are working flat-out trying to keep these people from deteriorating further. they're trying to stop them from dying.

sheer numbers succumbing to the coronavirus is overwhelming every hospital in italy. it isn't an intensive care unit, it's an emergency ward, because the icu is full. people have only just arrived here, and they're in terrible shape. this killer pandemic is virtually out of control. the patients are literally gasping for air. plastic bubbles staff are attempting to communicate through attempts to equalize the air pressure in the lungs. and it's not like flu. it is severe pneumonia, and it is killing hundreds each day. head of emergency admissions is roberto constantini.

he's never seen anything like this before and is warning other countries, especially the united kingdom, they will see it as well. >> people describing it like flu, it's worse than that. >> no, it's definitely not the thing. more pneumonia than flu. because it's a very severe pneumonia. so it's a massive, massive strain for every health system. because we see every day 50 to 60 patients who come suffering from pneumonia and most of them are so severe, they need very high levels of oxygen. and so we have to reorganize our emergency room and our hospital in three levels of intensity. >> this is the main hospital in bergamo in lombardy province. it's one of the most advanced hospitals in europe.

but it's also the most hard hit of all the hospitals in italy, because the town is the center of the epidemic. this isn't a ward, this is a waiting room. wherever you go, people are on gurneys in corridors, in meeting rooms. they're everywhere. all the medical staff urge other nations to see what's happening and lock their nations down. right now. or face this. many have friends in the uk health service. many have worked in britain's biggest hospitals. from there, panicked doctors and nurses are ringing italy hourly, desperate for information. >> what i would suggest is just to shut down to stop all the outbreak and not come in this kind of situation. but it's very, very difficult to manage. >> can i ask you personally what it's been like?

>> i've never felt so stressed in my life. i'm an intensivist and quite used to intense moments and choices. people are critical and will die without any treatment, and you make the difference. but when you're at this point, you realize that you are not enough. and maybe all the -- we are 100 here. we are doing our best. but maybe it is not enough. >> the problem facing health services across the world is that when the infection curve goes up, it rockets. and all the resources, all the testing, all the supplies, are used up instantly. multiple hospitals, all at once. they're trying to develop a vaccine in the hospital labs.

they're making progress. but it is still, in all likelihood, a long way off. >> they are studying -- two studies ongoing for three patients in this moment, okay, at bergamo hospital, okay? >> and are they seeing any good results? is it too early? will it take a long -- >> it's too early. they are trying because the -- unfortunately we need more time, probably one month, two months, to get some results. >> bergamo wanted us to see this. to show what a catastrophic emergency nobody has experienced before actually looks like. and their message to us and everyone, really, is simple. get ready.

>> well, yeah, i reckon this is probably one of the most modern, up-to-date hospitals i've ever seen. and it's utterly overwhelmed. utterly overwhelmed. they just cannot cope with the numbers of people that are needing intensive care treatment. and that's the difference. it's not -- it uses up so many resources because people can be kept alive in intensive care, but it is so intensive that it takes up huge arounds of resources, time, and people. and they never, ever, ever thought they would have to have 60, 70, 80, 90 intensive care beds, plus hundreds of others, plus thousands more who have been sent home, who have coronavirus, but aren't needing this sort of care. if this sort of place can't cope, you know, some countries,

britain as well, but some countries, it's just a disaster. a disaster. there's just no way around it. >> these vast corridors are usually filled with relatives waiting to visit their loved ones. not anymore. the wards are full, but nobody can visit. the lockdown inside this hospital is as complete as the lockdown outside. to return to the outside world, we must remove our protective clothing for disposal. it's possible the suits are carrying tiny particles of the virus, even though we've touched nothing and nobody. if putting it on is called donning, taking it off is called doffing. carefully, one must follow the same procedure in the same order every time. each piece of clothing removed is followed by more sanitizing. we don't want to infect

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hi, i'm richard lui at msnbc headquarters in new york with a news update beginning with breaking news out of the southeast. mississippi governor tate reeves has declared a state of emergency. this is in the wake of severe storms and at least two tornados that have left at least six people dead. you can already see the fallout in covington county where homes have been flattened and trees and power lines are down. about 300 homes were also damaged or destroyed in monroe, louisiana, after a tornado touched down there today. officials are now trying to secure hotel rooms for displaced

families, and they estimate it will take two or three weeks for things to return to normal there. meanwhile, a top envoy at the world health organization saying coronavirus is advancing worldwide. today david novarro warned covid-19 will be a virus that quote stalks the human race for quite a long time until a vaccine is developed. meanwhile, president trump continues to weigh his options action eager to reopen the country for business as soon as possible. all 50 states are under disaster declarations right now with no end in sight. this morning dr. anthony fauci saying a return to normalcy will take some time, happening gradually, not all at once. and dr. fauci also confirmed reports he and other administration officials wanted president trump to respond sooner to the coronavirus. this comes after a "new york times" report that has president trump saying that he did not take recommendations to begin social distancing for almost one month. i'm richard lui.

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he's become a distinctive presence on the street. he is doing this on purpose. he's trying to reassure everyone that while they may feel alone during the lockdown, they haven't been forgotten. he's the first mayor in the town's history to be elected to office for two terms in a row. he's well respected here, and he's leading the response. working with businesses and the community alike, trying to keep everything going. >> for the people, their work, the cashiers, they are really protected. they have a plastic screen. >> these are all new things, yeah? you're sort of learning as you're going along? >> absolutely. they said me at the beginning, first days, that people used to buy small things, few things.

but in a short time, everybody understood and now people come, they can big -- big shop, you know, for the family, in order to not come every day. >> the normal business of running bergamo has been suspended for now. only the mayor and his two closest members of staff work at the town's elegant offices. in bergamo, the only people allowed to gather, always keeping apart, are coming to the town hall to register the deaths of family members. there is a mournful silence everywhere. everyone is in shock, trying to compute what's just happened in a matter of weeks. >> it's important to understand

the power of this kind of new enemy. and the fact that nobody has any defense against this. so it could be so dangerous because nobody ever -- there's not a normalcy. >> how the communities are going to get over this is difficult to predict. everything has changed. and every day there is more bad news for everyone to see. all the reasonable-sized towns in lombardy have newspapers of their own. as you can imagine, they all have front-page news, 59 dead, 3,000 contagious. the remarkable thing is when you come to the obituary pages. there would usually be one or a

half one. that's a double page. here is another double page. and here, another double page as well. a lot of the people are in their 70s and 80s. but there are some who are slightly younger. certainly the impression you get, it is the much older who are very, very vulnerable indeed. but this is staggering when you think about it, how many pages they're having to put aside for photographs of people who have died as a result of this virus. towering over bergamo is the upper city, once the westernmost point of the venetian empire.

it's borne witness to cataclysmic events for centuries. it's now at the heart of another. the virus storm swept through these beautiful ancient streets. this medieval town and its modern city is utterly locked down. only a few venture out. everyone knows someone who has died or is ill. and everyone is scared.

>> the vast majority of those dying here are in the high-risk elderly group. serena and michaele are both 73. they came out to get some sun for the first time in days. they never leave each other, and they meet no one, and they're still scared.

>> everyone is trying not to panic. everyone is trying to act normal. but it's hard when nothing is normal now. this is the hardest hit when the virus first came. it's the most-hit city in the most-hit province in the most-hit country, italy, in europe. and widely regarded as one of the most dangerous places in the world at the moment because the virus so is virulent here. it isn't empty. looks it, but it isn't, it's full of people, all self-isolating, all following the rules. very few people have come out onto the street. everyone we've spoken to has said this is what the uk should

look like already. recent figures have indicated the death and infection rates are slowing. but in reality, you'd never know. another ambulance passes. it's an absolute constant in the red zone. people are still being picked up all the time. you go past ambulances -- literally, if you stand still, an ambulance will pass you every five minutes, lights on, drivers in full hazmat suits. it's quite astounding. in this crisis, the local community is rallying to help the most vulnerable. urged on by the mayor, shop

owners are trying to make sure that people who struggle to get out in normal times can at least get basic supplies brought to their homes. volunteers take food and water to the old and the already sick. sergio capitano has been appointed by the mayor as a chief coordinator of the many charities and community groups doing their best for the most vulnerable in society. one of the problems that's risen because of the lockdown is what to do with the homeless. the priest who runs the hostel they usually stay in is in hospital with covid-19. father ricardo is looking after them while they work on getting new accommodation. what's helping bergamo is the willingness of people to trust the mayor and the council to give them what they need.

>> how are people getting on? >> a stronger connection than before this disease. approximates very good because we can give the answer very immediately to the needs of people. like the food and the medicine. >> sergio takes us to meet local business owner valentino trivie. with trade on hold during the lockdown, he's delivering medicine to those who would simply die if they were infected. valentino lost his uncle to the virus this week. like so many, he wants to help. and like so many, he is broken inside. >> why do you volunteer to do this? why give up your time?

>> this city has a history of sending money and resources to disasters around the world. it's something they're very proud of. but disaster has come to them. and they didn't expect it.

their slogan now is, bergamo for bergamo. dealing with this crisis is absolutely relentless. the mayor is working 20 hours a day and is exhausted. he admits he's obsessed with covid-19 data. contacting the mayors of other towns and building a picture of the actual death rate here. he is convinced the official numbers are an underestimate because too many deaths aren't being included. >> there isn't any official study on this, only my, you

know, internal aircraft as they say, you know. >> the number of dead may actually be higher? >> yeah. >> why is that? >> in this moment, only people with hard symptoms are tested in the hospital. if you are with a high temperature in your home, with cough, you are not detected. the doctor will say you stay at home and take this medicine. and if you breathe quite well, you don't need to be called -- bring -- go to the hospital. so you are not in the statistics. if you die in this condition, you are out of the -- you know,

you are not considered died for coronavirus. >> we move to cremona hospital, a town near to bergamo. the authorities are overwhelmed here as well. they've agreed that we can go into their intensive care units. this is where the most sick are hanging on to life. the icu is on the brink of collapse. this is what it looks like when the virus overwhelms, and here in lombardy, it's overwhelming.

these patients are critically ill. in all probability, they won't make it. the staff have no cure available to them. they're just trying to keep them alive. every 13 to 16 hours they turn the patients over to relieve the pressure on the lungs. without doubt, she wouldn't survive without constant attention. the first, perhaps only good news for the teams here, is this man. we couldn't approach him. he's still too weak. but he waved. he is recovering. after two weeks he is getting better.

patients are highly contagious. where possible, they're observed from a distance. but most of the time that's not possible. nobody takes any risks. they wash and sanitize constantly. gloves, masks, and protective clothes are regularly changed. in truth, these men and women are exhausted. the system is at breaking point, and they are as well. but they keep going. they aren't the front line in this war, they are the only line.

>> we have a disaster, say a tsunami, we are here 12 hours a d day. we are go to home for a few hours. and come back here for the work, because we are here for the patient patients. >> the only illnesses being treated in caroma hospital are now linked to the coronavirus and it's spreading. >> we open the side of the department to intensive care only yesterday and today it's already full. >> in one day it's full? >> one day. less than one day, yes.

>> reporter: emanuella is a surgeon normally. now she's working in intensive care. clearly working in this environment and under such enormous pressure is taking its toll on the staff. but in a way, what is worse, is that more often than not they can't save their patients, it's that they also know that they are alone. the families can't see them. everyone here dies alone. >> these people are alone. the families can't come in. >> this, i think it's one of the most difficult things to manage with our consciousness, with our emotional, because see here, people without anybody at their beds, it's very difficult.

>> she asked to send a message to the world. lock down. >> if you can see what happens in other countries or in other part of your country and wait to do something, i think now it's not more an option. maybe at the beginning, we didn't know exactly what would be happening, but now we know what happens. you don't -- you don't think that it's happening here and it can't happen everywhere else. >> it will. >> because it will if you don't do anything to stop it. >> they've run out of room at the morgue, but they haven't run out of respect for the dead at karoma hospital. the next batch of the lost waiting for cremation are laid out in the hospital chapel waiting for collection. their families couldn't say good-bye. they're all in quarantine.

they haven't run out of hope, but they're struggling with pretty much everything else. all of these towns center in the center of the epidemic are struggling now, but are all trying to pull together. trying to make it through. giorgio lives in the old city. we met for a final time. it's his 60th birthday. he's having a quick break, showed me around the historic central square. empty now, of course. >> the most western city of the republic. >> reporter: he's haunted by the effects of this invisible enemy he can do so little to stop. across the world, parallels are being drawn with the greatest conflicts that have shaped us

al all. will any of us, will any nation, will italy ever be the same again? >> no, nobody of us will be the same. i remember the tales of my father, my mother, concerned in the wartime, they were kids, but they gave me the idea of something that you cannot cancel of your life, forever. and i think this moral, the same thing. there are no bones, no blood in the streets, fortunately. but i think that the effect is quite similar. >> to a war? >> to a war, yeah. a silent war with a lot of dead people and the same need to

restart with the same spirit. >> reporter: perhaps some good can come of this, seems about the only positive that anyone can take. as we chatted, a consensus growing anguish. i could feel he didn't want to let his guard down. >> maybe effects people on a small level, as well. maybe communities and towns will be closer than they were. >> okay, guys. >> thanks very much for everythin everything. >> in the end, he needed time to think alone. bergamo's magnificent cemetery is receiving a new body every

single hour. time is strictly allotted for the funerals of loved ones to take place and there's a huge backlog. they break the curfew to pay their last respects. some parts of italy will never be the same again. this virus has changed a key element of what makes the very dna of family in italy tick, the oldest generation. when the virus storm passes, significant parts of a whole generation will be gone. >> thank you to our partners at sky news london for this compelling journey into the red zone. i'm ali velshi. good night. and...smooth jazz? i can't feel my face. i don't care for smooth jazz.

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this sunday, flattening the curve. >> we know now for sure that the mitigation that we have been doing is having a positive effect. >> good news as new cases are easing. >> the last few days we have been able to take our first breath. >> but the death toll still rising. >> the bad news isn't just bad. the bad news is actually terrible. >> it's almost unfathomable, folks, when you think about that. >> with millions newly unemployed, president trump wants to reopen the economy quickly. >> hopefully we're going to be opening up very, very, very, very soon, i hope.