greetings and sal you take those here in the united states of america things are definitely starting to get heavy not only on the numbers of infected rising steadily each and every day but this week also saw a bomb drop on both state and federal governments in the form of unemployment claims according to a recent labor report from the labor department more than 3000000 people filed for unemployment benefits in just the us in the united states just last week breaking all previous records including the one set back in october of 1902 but while millions of u.s. citizens and thousands of industries are facing massive economic turmoil and hardship there is of course one industry that appears to be immune to the economic followed to the covert 19 pandemic i am talking of course about our good friends in the military industrial complex yes the washington post is reporting that while stores and factories around the country are shutting down and millions are

teleworking from home defense contractors have been by and large required to stay open meaning most of the industry's 2500000 employees have continued to work. why well according to the united states undersecretary depends ellen lord those businesses are considered critical infrastructure because while we may be in desperate need for face masks ventilators another life saving medical supplies and equipment we can't stop working on the f. 35 fighter jets or the predator drones or all the other wildly expensive implements of death that our wonderful merchants of death provide merchants of war provide for us this comes despite the united nations secretary general antonio good therapists calling on all governments of the world to put down their guns stating the theory of the virus illustrates the folly of war that is why today i'm calling for an

immediate global cease fire in all corners of the world. somehow tragically i don't believe we are going to heed that message because here in the united states the employees and factory workers toiling away in our department of war are not allowed to protect their health and their lives i mean after all there's taxpayer dollars to waste and bombs to continue building as we start watching the hawks. she was. on a city street you want to. see this joyce state see. graves see this least systemic deception leak show which. so you'll. welcome everyone watching the hawks i robot her and joining me now to discuss just how vital the business of war is to a mation turning

a virus crisis is the co-host of r.t. america's boom bust investigative journalist button swan ben always a pleasure. so ben the excuse is that we need the military factories and businesses to stay open for national defense purposes but isn't sending over 2000000 people in the close proximity in factories and offices does not pose a little bit more of a danger given the current enemy that we're fighting. well it absolutely does look you have to go one way or the other with this you either have to believe that yes in fact people need to stay home and therefore create this distance between them governments are saying that meaning the federal government is saying it state governments are saying it and local governments are saying so everyone across the board is in agreement about that i don't necessarily agree with the bar owners and restaurant owners don't necessarily agree with them you have you have about 15000000 service workers right now who many of them want to go to work but are being told not only shouldn't you go to work but you cannot go to work you have to

stay at home order and yet we're also being told simultaneously as you said about 2500000 defense contract employees are allowed to go to work because they're critical infrastructure and many of those employees are actually saying they don't want to go to work they want to stay home during this time give them a few weeks off so they don't have to be in such close proximity to other people you're exactly right in fact union leaders representing general dynamics workers up at bath iron works in maine. you know told the media you know and they said the work force is essential to being used as sacrificial lambs to meet our needs of to meet the needs of our customer you don't here's my thing with the closing of these factories for 3 to 5 weeks actually represent a danger to our national defense i personally don't believe they do what do you feel. no absolutely not i don't think there's any any argument that any coherent person could possibly make this say that 3 or 6 or even 8 weeks of not building new you know fighter jets is going to put the united states in harm's way of an attack

that way the bottom line is we have literally the largest as you know military defense budget in the world larger than than everybody else combined and so we're so far ahead of everyone else in the world 8 weeks is really going to have an impact it's absolutely not and what's really ludicrous about this is this is one of the few positions if you work for one of these defense contractors where you absolutely know your job is going to be there when you come back in 6 or 8 weeks there are so many americans right now who are being told you must stay home and they don't know to if they're going to have a job when the when the into that time comes there are projections right now that as many as 3000000 american jobs will disappear by this summer meaning those are jobs that are not going to come back because the economy will contract so much so if that does take place one of the few groups of people who know that that will not happen to them because they're guaranteed they're funding our defense contract

employees so give them the time off and then bring them back when the time comes it doesn't make any sense at all it really doesn't matter you know that's one of the scariest things of what happens when you base a bulk of your economy on the service industry as you're saying is that when something comes along to disrupt the service then this is where these problems begin this week it appears that you know hopefully the u.s. congress will pass apparently their 2 trillion dollar stimulus package but i think one of the biggest mysteries. going is where does all this money come from i mean we hear all the time about how we don't have any room in the budget for health care or student debt forgiveness or all these other things but miraculously we suddenly have billions and billions for corporations and taxpayers in this emergency where does this money come from well the money is really coming out of thin air and this is what's really it's truly terrifying if you think about a type 2 trillion dollars is roughly half the size of the entire federal budget for the year that's how large of an amount this is but that's not all that's coming in it's 2 trillion but the congress is saying we're going to approve as you said about

$500000000000.00 is going to go to large corporations about $350000000000.00 to small businesses about $100000000000.00 would be sin and direct checks to 2 american citizens but that's not all the money there is an additional $4.00 trillion dollars that the fed has said it's going to print and begin loaning out to corporations and to businesses as well now the thing that's supposed to make us all feel better is that the fed is saying well these are loans don't worry these will be repaid at some point so but we're talking about in total 6 trillion dollars in a matter of weeks being dumped into the economy and again it's money that's coming from nowhere it's just being created invented and so when that happens it puts us at significant risk for hyperinflation that a most definitely does you know one of the things that i've been bothered by all week is i almost have to ask this question and tragically it took the virus to really expose this is you know is a is

a government or an economy worth keeping if it can shut down for a few weeks in order to survive a catastrophe like this i mean you know i mean like what led into this in the sense that i was arcano me really that week but it could not survive allowing citizens to stay home and as our government weak that it cannot provide for citizens and the economy in order for them to stay home and be safe for a few weeks you know it's a really good question i think there's a. a couple of different ways of looking at that i think you can absolutely look at it from the point of view you're stating because that's that's a real question right how is it that you have so little savings in america you have such a dwindling middle class where people are living paycheck to paycheck that they really can't take a few weeks where they're not working without falling possibly into a spiral of the extreme poverty possibly losing their home or you know being evicted from their apartment so you do have these struggles and there's serious questions about that but i think another question is and this is what really gives me pause is when the calvary comes riding in known as the federal government with

their stimulus checks and saying don't worry we're here to save the economy what they're really saying is we're here to save parts of the economy and parts of the economy means that not everybody is going to be saved through this there will be businesses that are shut down and that permanently cannot recover from this there is no way the feds can save everyone and so instead what happens is you find that when money like this comes in that ultimately washington is picking winners and losers and that destroys the free market it means if you're the friend of a friend you're the one getting the bailout you're the one getting the money and speaking of friends of friends how about boeing we started the segment talking about defense contractors will boeing their defense contracts are still moving forward meanwhile they have 70000 employees they've sat down and said you can't continue to work right now and we're going to lay you off but simultaneously boeing that created that 737 max jet that killed over 300 people last year and has really destroyed its own company is getting

a $60000000000.00 bailout by the federal government and their failures to have nothing to do with coronavirus their failures have to do with the fact that they created a jet that killed people and they laughed about it in email saying that the f.a.a. wasn't really monitoring them and they could do whatever they wanted but i'm going to it's crony capitalism at its finest is it not. and it's tragic that is one of the true tragedies come out of us thank you so much for illuminating our audience with what you have to say today always a pleasure having your arms are. 5 things. tragically the city that never sleeps new york city and its surrounding areas have quickly become one of the major epicenters of the covert 19 pandemic with the new york times reporting that the city and its suburbs account for approximately 5 percent of all cases globally are to america's trinity chavez is in new york city with the latest on how the big apple is taking on this pandemic. today hospitals

in new york struggling under the weight of the pandemic people come in they get into bed it they die the cycle repeats elmhurst hospital in queens the bureau with the most coronavirus cases in the city in the center of the outbreak the hospital confirming at least 13 patient deaths within 24 hours right now it's every day it's nonstop literally and. unfortunately it's my get to see question you have to pick and choose what you're going to do how you're going to do it. as the doctors say a lot of people call it not to be survived to expire and you put the same machine in the not the 1st time as medical staff operates out their limit hundreds of more people wait lining up outside to get tested for coated 19 but officials say the 545 bed hospital is overrun and in desperate need of medical supplies yeah those are the systems overwhelmed all over the place the shortage of safety gear out one new york hospital so dire nurses have resorted to wearing trash bags the situation in new york worsening by the hour the state accounting for roughly half the cases

across the country this grim video shows teams setting up a makeshift morgue outside of bellevue hospital something that was done during hurricane sandy and 911911 was nothing compared to this we were open waiting for patients to kabul never came. ok now they just keep coming however a small sign of hope governor cuomo announcing that for the past few days the rate of hospitalizations is slowing although he cautions that the peak of the crisis. could still be about 20 days away i closed the schools we closed gathering. we brought in testing and we have dramatically slowed the increase the governor adds that while only about 15 percent of cases have required hospitalisation the state into supports $140000.00 people will need to be hospitalized warning that he does not have enough beds or lifesaving ventilators so ramp up the hospital

capacity to make to be able to handle that apex volume and as medical personnel remain on the front lines we are learning that a member of mt sinai is nursing staff who has been treating coronavirus patients has passed away from coven 19 the hospital saying in a statement today we lost another hero a compassionate colleague friend and selfless caregiver meantime the hospital system initiating a procedure called plasmapheresis where they transfer antibodies from patients who have recovered from co the 19 to those who are critically ill from the virus the procedure could be life saving reporting in new york trinity chavez r t. r as we go to break remember that you can also start watching the hawks on demand or the brand new portable t.v. app which is available on smartphones through google play and at the apple app store by simply searching portable t v or you can stream us to your own t.v. by downloading the fordable t.v. app on apple t.v. and on line a portable t.v.

the t.v. will be available more in the bios is coming soon and coming up next we delve in to how the 5th biggest economy in the world california is dealing with the unemployment crisis and then we talk about the postponing of the olympics with our 2 sports crew for g.m. stay tuned for watchable. a dark industry comes to life in los angeles every night. dozens of women sells their bodies on the streets many of them under-age. los angeles police reveal

a taste of their daily challenge no if you're going to exploit for a child here in los angeles they were going to come out you see officers going undercover as 6 workers and customers to fight 6 trade. shows seem wrong. all just don't call. me. yet to shape out just because that's ok and engagement equals the trail. when so many find themselves worlds apart we choose to look for common ground.

your government and our government and all the other major governments of the world know what's going to happen and when it's going to. but they haven't told you and they haven't told me they haven't and they'll. imagine something as big as the earth. is going to cause tidal waves earthquakes volcanoes are going to wrapped and it's going to chill. so we're in for a while right. my great grandfather's court. nobody would care about the law or prison so you'd have wallace the should have. a terrible life between now and the.

as i mentioned earlier in an unprecedented crisis more than 3000000 u.s. workers applied for unemployment in just one week's time the effect of this is send shock waves to both the federal and state governments across the united states of america including the golden state of california are 2 of america's matushka sweet joins us now to bring us the latest on how the state and how the state with the biggest economy in the world is dealing with the covert 19 unemployment crisis. yeah well tyrrell you know california has certainly been impacted by cope with 19 and in the just 2 weeks alone more than a 1000000 californians have filed for unemployment benefits that since march 13th and that's when businesses began shutting down to comply with the state's stay at

home order to help lessen the spread of the virus nearly 3300000 americans applied for unemployment benefits last week almost 5 times the previous record set in 1982 amid a widespread economic shutdown caused by the crown of virus a big portion of those claims coming from the state of california a whopping. 1000000 within the last 2 weeks stephanie myers says she's hoping to see a stimulus check arrives soon the can't help but worry about the bills piling up i've been pretty good about holding it together and i just finally broke down and cried . because you have to think about what's in that bank account. how you're going to start paying those you know i got home and started making a list you know ok i've got car payment i've got rent the san francisco area was the 1st region in the country to install a shelter in place order governor given you some signed a stay at home order for the entire state 3 days later new some is praising the

proposed chrono virus relief bill currently california allows up to 450 dollars a week for unemployment insurance their relief bill would add an additional $600.00 a week for up to 4 months giving california residents up to $1000.00 a week liz number of new claims one on one and this is truly unprecedented and that represents the unprecedented nature of what we're going through right now during the national crisis and great recession the highest or national number of new claims or one benefits we saw was approaching with say to some $100000.00 more so we've done several times over that record number as for banks wells fargo u.s. bank city and j.p. morgan chase will defer mortgage payments up to 3 months according to a new some everyone is eligible for garlic of how much they make the governor is criticizing bank of america for agreeing to waive mortgage payments for only one month he says he hopes they will reconsider and do the right thing but

a spokesman for bank of america says they will consider extending their offer for more than 90 days depending on the crisis meantime cities and counties have begun halting evictions against tenets who cannot afford their rent in the san francisco and sacramento regions cities and municipalities have already passed a vixen moratoriums that prevents anyone financially impacted by the bye. iris from getting kicked out by their landlords. now california is seen an influx of on a virus cases as more testing is being done and we're seeing those numbers doubling every 3 days or so and according to john hopkins we've seen at least $65.00 deaths and at least 3000 infections have been counted so far. thank you very much natasha for that. from economic losses to sports losses this week the 2020 olympic games were postponed to 2021 due to the covert 19 pandemic but the

sports and business of athletic competition have been hit hard by the virus and the measures implemented to stop it spread but that hasn't kept eyebrows from being raised in questions from being asked about how professional athletes and other cultural be ips have had such quick and easy access to coronavirus testing while the rest of us are stuck in the wind with either no tests at all or a very very very very very long wait for results joining us now to discuss the great 2020 olympic delay on the controversy surrounding crowbars testing is r t american sports producer extraordinaire regina regina always a pleasure having you on so we all knew this was going to happen after you know the training was postponed for their volunteers and countries threatened to send a delegation our athletes responded to this and what did the international olympic committee say about this postponement so you know athletes are there so they're mixed you have some athletes who completely understand they're like i'm glad we're doing this for safety and the safety and health of not only the athletes but the

spectators and the organizers because they're also at risk you have some athletes who are happy they're going i have been doing all this training you put in months of work you go to these qualifying events they have the marathon qualifiers a few weeks ago in atlanta those are 6 people who probably trained for weeks on end to qualify for the u.s. team and now they're being told you know what. great job no wait a few months and that is understandable granted this is a public health emergency but i think you're still allowed as an athlete to feel a little disappointed. as a present the i.o.c. has some interesting thoughts about how he wants the 2021 olympics to be take a listen. elsley will have a chance and the opportunity of their life to make their olympic dream coming true even in these uncertain times we are all going through it together. and we all want to see the olympic flame at the end of this doctrine.

that that's a good positive notion coming from the i.o.c. but it's really interesting namely that now that 48 hours after canada was like we're not sending anybody if you're going to hold them absolutely not and they're one of the 10 largest largest delegations in rio in 26000 so having canada pull out and say we're not doing this if you're still going to have this that is the huge thing and the i.o.c. i think didn't have any choice there hands forced it seems that was your other any details on when and how they're going to reschedule reschedule the olympics or is it all up in the air is it still going to happen in japan i mean where was this or do you know there are so many questions that us as sports people want to know they're going to have in next year they will still be titled the 2020 olympics i guess you've done all that marketing money why not if it does make a event but they are going to have them in japan they will still be held in tokyo now the time frame is a little iffy they're shooting for summer box so they could be as early as spring

this really kind of can be hashed out or the next few weeks we're going to finally see where the i.o.c. is heading because they also have to work with the tokyo government as well and if you think about all these other sports a start in the spring you have track and field events you have baseball that starts so you're going to have an end of the season potentially overlap with the world with the olympics that that's just scheduling headache it's going to be a hot bath it did sounds like it will be no look i have to bring this up and we talked about it actually you know earlier this week privilege kind of has this new meaning with athletes and the age of the grown and i was a bit as if to say is there a systemic abuse because i mean you're seeing these athletes get these. 58 tests right away you know and yet everyone else is struggling to find it is that because of this wealth disparity that like you know certain industries get access before other certain people with a lot of money to get access but for others they tell us it isn't but we both know that if that's the case of course you have more money of course you can jump the line if your elbow didn't show any symptoms in the eye because he was around a member of a team a cast member he was like i'm going to get tested but if i got around if i was

around somebody and didn't have any symptoms i'd go i want to test their own n n n o u k. and you have no symptoms so you're seeing people like really go bare the entire utah jazz including the beat writers that had came with them on this away trip were also tested and they got their results right away mayor de blasio when the brooklyn nets had some of their players test positive going this is ridiculous this should not be about well it should be about the fact that you are sick and you need to get the care you need or you see if you go on twitter you see all of these people lighting up celebrities n.b.a. players n.h.l. players you have 3 of them who tested positive they can't even get their children tested one woman said her some of the i.c.u. by the time rockland county called back and she's like you can't test me in an intensive care and was it really just a girl just come down the money i mean was there really any of it was it just the n.b.a. was ahead of the game when they bought these test kits are we were there are these really that i'm like better though you know you have to you know what western can i said i mean i'm happy these people have tested as they need to care regardless of where you come from whether

a celebrity or about us everyone should get tested and get proper treatment but it is terrible that they have this divide and especially when average americans are being turned away people who are dying in their thirty's and forty's now who may not have preexisting condition is absolutely ridiculous that you're seeing these athletes who might have a symptom or who are just around somebody but aren't showing symptoms whereas you see signs up and down in my home signature say no symptoms no test no man regina thank you so much for bringing us an enlightening us on the world of sports right now in these very strange times always a pleasure having you know thank you so much and that is our show for you today remember everyone in this world we are told your love and not so i tell you all from my heart. i am tired roven turkey watching all those sparks out there have a great day and i are.

you doing it with i don't know maybe the. just after they caught up with you why would they have never been involved ready. that's why i. always hold was oh yeah measures are more wise you have. all the measures when you was going to. trade and investment to become magic spells to come to economic development. most people think about trade they think about goods and services being exchanged between countries and the investment chapter of a trade agreement as a pow something very different but won't when investment leads to toxic manufacturing that destroys secret sites all the environment. that means if local

communities that are being poisoned if they object if they do anything that the company feels is interrupting their profits they can be sued. the nationals are taking on the whole nation philip morris is trying to use i.s.t.'s to stop tour of the by implementing new tobacco regulations aimed at cutting domestic smoking rates a french company sued egypt because egypt to raise its minimum wage to democratic choice trump. joined us as we try to find don't want to. is your media a reflection of reality. in the world transformed. what will make you feel safe from.

the isolation for community. are you going the right way. or are you being led somewhere. direct. what is true what is faith. in the world corrupted you need to descend. to join us in the depths. or a maybe in the shallows. i can't show you my face but i'm going to teach you must door in 9093 this man was sentenced to death. they could charged with capital murder even though he didn't have the gun didn't pull the trigger didn't intend to kill anybody imagine living in your bathroom for the week which is the end of the $23.00. hours to be.

confined within 4 grey walls the phone it's using. turn on to help them to leave dents room. welcoming our viewers from around the world life from central london this is r t u k. m developed tomorrow symptoms of the corona virus that's to say a temperature and a persistent cough a cold medical advice i was tested not tested positive u.k. prime minister boris johnson and health secretary matt hancock are confirmed to have coronavirus as the pandemic hits the heart of government. doctors in northern ireland claim they're being forced to work in special virus centers risking cross infection to their practices and families we hear from a frontline physician. and critics say it out of the business leaders including

celebrity chefs the sacking staff despite the government bailout. welcome to our team u.k. prime minister barak's johnson and health secretary matt hancock have tested positive for corona virus but the pm has confirmed he'll continue to remain in charge of the government to evers' deputy choice for now with the latest on this so they shot it coronavirus hitting the heart or even dare we say the lungs of government absolutely coronavirus has indeed hit the heart of westminster as you say the prime minister and the house secretary both testing positive for kovac 19 firstly the prime minister says after exhibiting mild symptoms he was advised by the chief medical officer to get tested and yes he has quote the infection now

right here on twitter he says himself isolating a number 10 will still be in charge of operations to tackle the virus hi thanks i want to bring you up to speed is something that's happening today which is that i developed models symptoms all the coronavirus that's to say a temperature and a persistent cough and on the advice of the chief medical officer i've taken a test that has come out positive so i am working from home i'm so far isolating and that's entirely the right thing to do but be in no doubt that i can continue thanks to the with the reborn technology to communicate with all my top team to lead the national fight back against corona bar so i want to thank everybody who's involved i want to thank but of course about all our amazing n.h.s. staff it was very moving last night to join in the national crap for the n.h.s. . so as he says there he is well enough to continue working at the top of government

using technology instead of face to face meetings it's also understood he didn't do chair the daily covert 19 meeting with the cabinet earlier today from isolation via video link link now shortly after the prime minister announced his health issues matter kok the health secretary did the same he says he too has tested positive for corona virus after developing marts symptoms although fever and a persistent cough on wednesday night and is self isolating and working from home also had some mild symptoms of corona virus and a palm medical advice was tested and that test has been positive sabi self isolating here till next thursday fortunately for me the symptoms so far have been very mild so i've been able to carry on with the work driving forward the u.k. response. the question now though is who has the prime minister and indeed the

health secretary been in close contact with we know of course boris johnson for weeks now has been working very closely with both the chief medical officer and the chief science officer just last friday he was of course on the podium with both of them and clearly not observing the 2 meters distance at that point of course then obviously he was indeed present at the house of commons for prime minister's questions just on wednesday a very unique an unusual setting that time around because m.p.'s were trying to socially distance and therefore undergoing a rotation system so m.p.'s doing their best to try and socially distance but many m.p.'s of course were in that vicinity those some indeed isolating but most crucially then the prime minister was pictured just last night paying tribute in that national tribute to the n.h.s. he was alongside the chancellor of or she soon actor who has not yet been tested another key figure that hasn't been tested is dominic cummings he of course is the chief advisor to the government and earlier today was even pictured running out of

downing street after hearing about the prime minister. did the comings was going on today but what's the reaction been overall to these 2 ministers being you know well the issue of testing is sensitive if not more controversial in schools in quite a stir because the key issue is many are wondering whether indeed the government can actually cope and is prepared enough for this virus because in comparison to other european countries it certainly appears that we don't have as many testing kits the real anxiety though is the fact that medical staff and professionals those on the frontline didn't with this crisis are not yet being tested i think though most people would agree that it's fairly reasonable to test and track the medical records of the prime minister and those that are dealing and navigating through this crisis that accept that is certainly something that needs to be done to assess their medical records but the lack of testing for the n.h.s. is really causing a stir. somewhat online what we can see is the reaction is one of anger twitter

users arguing that there's a real hypocrisy another one argues that there's a element of queue jumping remember of course earlier this week prince charles also tested positive positive and many of really angry that those on the front line not being adequately treated or protected so for now though boris johnson is not stepping back from running the government's response but dominic robb the foreign secretary here is standing waiting in the wings ready to step up to the plate if boris johnson needs him to do so but just as a reminder you are in the month house health minister doris she tested positive at the time it seemed like a real shock in westminster but today we're seeing that this pandemic is getting through parliament. it seems to me doesn't shock you thank you very much indeed thank you what discuss the outbreak in the government are now joined by dr david bill. thank you very much indeed for joining us i mean this is very concerning isn't it the prime minister and the health secretary by thing fact and well yeah well good afternoon kate yes absolutely and i think what this shows more than

anything is the virus doesn't discriminate you know rich and poor those people in power those people like the rest of us who are normal working people and that's why the government has been really clear about this whole isolation which is as the as the curve started to increase dramatically that's why they imposed those isolation measures in that particular that 2 metres distancing but clearly there is a huge concern hey you've got the prime minister who has it now you've also got the house secretary who also has it but it's also worth mentioning that 80 percent of people who have coronavirus will have mild self limiting illnesses and the ones that we are really worried about those people who are at high risk so those people over 60 those with chronic underlying health conditions such as heart disease and shortness of breath and immunosuppression and diabetes and those are the people that we are trying to isolate to protect us but yes of course it's a moment that is concerning but it's important that this is also seen through this

through the prism of actually the majority of people would have a mild self limiting illness but there's also criticism isn't there david that they're getting testart that well the rest of us can't but more particularly also that the n.h.s. the frontline staff cond yeah this is a huge bottleneck now obviously i think it is right the prime minister has a test i think is right the house secretary has a test and prince charles as well but what we do need to do is to get frontline medical staff tested urgently now i know these tests are being rolled out and these are the and to gen test these are the ones that show if you have active virus but for me the game changer will be the antibody tests and these are the tests that show whether you have already have the corona virus and that will be a game show. and you because if you have had it it means that we can liberate you back into the workforce we can start you getting going back to your jobs getting the economy moving but more importantly it means that you can then go and look after elderly relatives that means that we can actually provide family support and so those tests are coming in as you heard the government has actually bought those

tests but what we don't know right now is how sensitive and how specific they are and what that means is how how how good do they work are they good and at the moment the evidence is they're not that good they're ramping up the scientific efforts and many companies are now trying to make these antibody tests but the ones they've been using in the states from what i have from my colleagues on the front line they are not very good the ones that they've been using and so those people who have symptoms have had negative tests so it shows that you need a test that's both sensitive and specific it could also be that david that most of us would test positive because that we don't know it well i think that's really interesting we simply don't know how many of us have actually had a corona virus and it seems that retrospective flee a lot of people may well have had those symptoms and it looks like it may well have been around as early as january now if that is the case we may well have what we call herd immunity which if you remember was the government's original objective that is you need a certain number of people in the population to have had it to develop antibodies

and therefore to be immune and that way the infection then tails off so it may be that actually quite to what's happened is you've got some herd immunity you've also got this social isolation that is she making that curve come down but at the same time if you've got herd immunity as well we may be in a better position than we 1st thought but as you say we need antibody testing to be sure let's talk about the broader picture as well i mean scientists they seem to be downgrading death because that they have been the peak could come as soon as a couple of weeks yeah you know actually right at the beginning of this outbreak i wrote on my calendar i thought it would be east of the outbreak here the peak and that's now what people are saying but i think yes. that curve is flattening it does look a little more positive than it didn't you know and also well done to the british public for actually isolating washing your hands having social distancing i can't reiterate enough how important this is but actually at the same time you don't build that huge hospital in exile in london to 2000 bed wards 4000 beds if you

don't think you need to be prepared now i hope that will never be used i hope we don't need those ventilators but this relies on the public actually doing all of those measures and of course we've only been doing it for 5 days now so what will happen in the next 2 to 3 weeks is anyone's guess but it's so important the one thing you can do for your country stay home and wash your hands in data social distancing that to meter that to meet a distance that's really key isn't it but it seems likely that given that the way the government is actually structured in a physical sense as well it seems that the whole cabinet is actually downing street small code is little rooms and we know how infectious the virus is yeah absolutely of course and it will affect any any organization like that i mean the great thing is as long as they remain well and they have relatively mild illnesses thanks to technology as you saw they did a cabinet meeting the other day using zoom but it's important that technology is used in actually funny enough way as medics were talking about actually we're in quite a good position because actually with technology people are still able to work from

home and so in history this is probably if you need time to have it we're in a better position than we would have been say 10 years ago but you know make no mistake this virus can affect anyone it doesn't matter where you are it's who you've been into contact with and remember that incubate sion period the period where you are asymptomatic seems to be lasting as long as 14 days so you need to self isolate and make sure you follow the government's guidance and i'm not positive that we will leave it to david bill thank you very much and thank you. now still to come this hour. doctors in northern ireland claim their health is at risk by being forced to work in emergency by recenter as we hear from a frontline g.p. . while some of the country's top business leaders including celebrity chefs are criticized for smoking start to spike the government bailout.

as the election cycle rages on the media highlights or even invents what they deem to be important even radical what they don't tell you is how the political center is collapsing in today's campaign is what voters think about the status quo. seemed wrong but old old just don't call. me old but yet to shape out these days to come out of it and in again from an equals betrayal. when so many find themselves worlds apart we choose to look for common ground.

join me every thursday on the alec simon show and i'll be speaking to guest of the world of politics sports business i'm show business i'll see you then. welcome back doctors in northern ireland claim they're being forced to work in special coronavirus centers which pose a greater risk than usual to the health 14 centers are being opened in northern ireland to keep those with symptoms of the virus away from other patients but g.p. say a letter from northern ireland's department of health implying that they're forced to work in the the plan will not protect routine g.p. services because doctors will be coming and going between practices and covert 19 centers several times a week by forcing us to work in these centers they are exposing us to viral overload there is much greater risk of death not just for us but for our families

it comes as the number of those confirmed with the virus in northern ireland reaches 241 with 10 people having died however the british medical association says the centers are in line with w.h.o. guidelines and that shifts at the centers are voluntary. well for more on this i'm joined by northern irish dr andrew couples start to couples thank you very much indeed for joining us i mean it is normal though isn't it for doctors to be asked to step up in a time of national crisis. yes there's an incident of good well most doctors all across northern ireland under cross the world at this time that we recognise that this isn't a special crisis and doctors the length and breadth of the country recognise that we will have to step up that we will have to work hard that we will have to put ourselves at risk. we are very prepared to do that we also want to see the authorities are meeting us the middle in terms of providing on a mission and terms of listening to our concerns and also the recognition that so because this is happening so very very quickly we want to be done and not manner

while the dangerous manner but in a way which should which provides other protection for patients but also for ourselves indeed i mean as we've been saying by some of the numbers of volunteers that are coming stay was well i mean it seems as you said a collective will i mean all my stock just wanting to work on the front line anyway yes absolutely we have many many doctors and nurses and some retired stuff as well here here are willing to come back and do this front line work that's this will be signed up to do we will be trying to do the. there's the great deal of. desire to work hard peter champing at the beth to get in there and get stuck and obviously we've made stuff from their homes here or in the cells in the high risk category we have we have stuff i mean it's a presence here not able to do this work we're looking at finding other ways of them doing remote work working from home doing video call stations and that it's been a busy couple of weeks putting all those into practice some lower date i can imagine i don't understand about that isn't it that as they add that they shift kits i mean

there is enough kate we know this the whole world is trying to get the same equipment at the same time unlike the lately we all recognise that ideally we would . have p 3 mosques we also recognize as a limited supply and this should go to the stuff you're doing aircel reducing procedures and debate sort of thing and but because of the concerns over the the adequacy of the notes for frontline staff dealing with separate tensional coronavirus the potential to see. read this in an asymptomatic manner as your previous doctor was saying they're very worried about spreading this from our symptomatic patients to our nursing home patients are cancer patients are very high risk patients who we still are providing a routine daily services or we do not want to be the factor or are causing a mosque and section and nursing data to help us i mean is this problem specific to know that a lot of do you think you know this is a worldwide problem northern ireland is somewhat behind the curve yes. as far as i

can see our testing capabilities are very much less than there were out of the rest u.k. on the provision of protection that has been slower and more. places in the world i would just point is the fact that only a couple of tests have been done. probably reflects the new numbers that we have so far apocryphally speaking to people on the phone there is a greater degree of infection like there are there was a kind of 4 of those the tests for example absolutely stunning for 2 weeks at the moment because we can't test kept on my family so we do anticipate this problem being herself satan and how do you think the government has responded to the situation i have a new toy there are many people working long hours to put these things into p.s. and. with a limited supply and i know that there are technicians there are monitors are getting an argument every configures getting test gets orders. we're just watching and waiting and there's a certain one of helplessness which goes along with not generates

a lot of anxiety amongst medical so we would like answers i think all of us would like answers. that i don't think anybody has no answers a response to they want to specifically i mean do you feel that doctors are being strong armed into having to walk. yeah. you know i think it's our duty as doctors to do this work and not everybody likes being told what to do that's the nature as a general practitioner is because we're not strictly employed by the health service we have a certain level of autonomy for the work that we do and some people have objected to that so one of the communications that have gone as i said there's a tremendous good well amongst the city this work. and i think people will do it but i think people are expressing their anxieties and concerns lately and vocally and those need to be listened to and heard but i would hope that we will also go to andrew couples thank you for joining us.

now the united states is at the center of the coded 19 pandemic with the largest number of cases globally almost 86000 americans have tested positive for the virus and walls and 1300 have died york city has been by far the worst hit with nearly 40000 cases which is about half the national total and 466 people have died in new york state yesterday there was a 40 percent surge in hospital admissions according to governor andrew cuomo and there's a severe shortage of hospital beds and ventilators america's trinity chávez reports from new york. today hospitals in new york struggling under the weight of the pandemic people come in to get into bed if they die the cycle repeats elmhurst hospital in queens the bureau with the most coronavirus cases in the city in the center of the outbreak the hospital confirming at least 13 patient deaths within 24 hours right now it's every day it's nonstop

literally and. unfortunately it's my get to suggestion you have to pick and choose what you're going to do how you're going to do it. as the doctors say a lot of people call it not to be survivor to expire but you put the same machine in the not the 1st time as medical staff operates out their limit hundreds of more people wait lining up outside to get tested for kovan 19 but officials say the 545 bed hospital is overrun and in desperate need of medical supplies the system's overwhelmed all over the place the shortage of safety gear out one new york hospital so dire nurses have resorted to wearing trash bags the situation in new york worsening by the hour the state accounting for roughly half the cases across the country this grim video shows teams setting up a makeshift morgue outside of bellevue hospital something that was done during hurricane sandy and 911911 was nothing compared to this we were open waiting for patients the combo never came. ok and now they just keep coming however

a small sign of hope governor cuomo announcing that for the past few days the rate of hospitalizations is slowing although he cautions that the peak of the crisis could still be about 20 days away the governor as that while only about 15 percent of cases have required hospitalisation the state into supports 140000 people will need to be hospitalized warning that he does not have enough beds or lifesaving ventilators and as medical personnel remain on the front lines we are learning that a member of mt sinai is nursing staff who has been treating coronavirus patients. has passed away from coven 19 the hospital saying in a statement today we lost another hero a compassionate colleague friend and selfless caregiver meantime the hospital system initiating a procedure called plasmapheresis where they transfer antibodies from patients who have recovered from co the 19 to those who are critically ill from the virus the procedure could be life saving reporting in new york trinity chavez r.t.

. critics have hit out at celebrity chefs for sacking their staff at their restaurants despite government pledges to bail out the hospitality sector employees at restaurants owned by gordon ramsay were informed that contracts have been terminated and were immediately placed on gawping leave from the beginning of this week in an instagram post the kitchen nightmares star told his staff to continue to support everyone through this terribly challenging time this decision comes in spite of the chancellor's furlough payment scheme where the government agrees to pay 80 percent of workers salaries to encourage businesses to retain stuff while celebrity chef rick stein followed suit and temporarily laid off staff members at his country wine chain of seafood restaurants stein who when was the restaurants with his ex-wife jill told workers they wouldn't be paid for over a month or until the government's furlough package is expected to pay out in april or despite the layoff stein who's worth an estimated 50000000 pounds sent his

former staff members in a social media post. i'm not feeling great about having had to shop all the restaurants to be honest not feeling great about it all i think the worst thing really is our stock of this so good a lot to think of all restaurants belong well machines and i would like to take this opportunity to thank you a star particularly for their hard work over the last few uncertain weeks but now they're all going to be despondent and that's all great but what i do think is this corona virus is so serious the government is doing the right thing i really think we will be back well this comes after a pub chain wetherspoon's faced a public backlash after reading it to martin told his staff he couldn't afford to carry on paying them one of his london pubs was recently found alive and sprayed with graffiti calling on the owner to pay his workers martin has faced widespread

criticism after he told his former staff members to go work at tesco supermarket wetherspoon say their actions were responsible and currently working out the details of the government furlough scheme. the u.k. police of powers to fine and even arrest those who aren't obeying the current law down artie's israeli looks at who's following the new laws and who isn't. now the u.k.'s passed new legislation to give police more powers with which to enforce the corona virus the police will also have more powers to make groups disperse and go home as well as ensuring parents do all they can to make children stay indoors those ignoring the rules can be hit with a 60 pounds fine reduced to 30 pounds if paid within 14 days a 2nd offense carries 120 pounds find a nonpayment could result in a court appearance and a potentially unlimited fine if people still refuse to comply the police can arrest them so it's been about 3 days since the prime minister announced the country was

going on lockdown i'm going to go out and see how many people are actually baying that one of the conditions to be allowed to go out. since people can go out in order to have an exercise once a day. and ironically you've probably seen this park busier than ever. as the game of. the park people going for a walk just before sundown. it's almost like. this. crisis is coronavirus crisis is. a fact and that people are actually maybe socializing more going for walks that they wouldn't be doing getting more in touch with nature. in ways that they wouldn't normally well that's as new police checkpoints are installed where officers can stop measures to check if that journey

is genuine essential some forces are accused of being overzealous targeting members of the public trying to exercise old walk their dogs which is currently not restricted by the government. well meanwhile after a spate of attacks on americans he workers by the public the crown prosecution service reiterated that such offense would result in 2 years in jail while police officers also have the power to arrest those claiming to have coronavirus and coughing at key workers that's as the chief constable of mercer side says people shouldn't be afraid to report their neighbors if they see large gatherings taking place we would expect people to call as they would urge them to be sensible when you've got 2 or 3 people stood at the end of the road we don't need to be told the great thing is we police by consent staff are been instructed to encourage people convince people interact with people the use of the powers will be very much a last resort so should people report mass gatherings to the police or not in the

next hour i'll be joined by a former home office minister and a former superintendent in the metropolitan police to discuss this. and i'll be back with more news in just over half an hour see them. you know what i mean maybe up there see i don't think about it at all many roman not new dorp or. kind of around the. course of the now i think it's higher than our. members of the african mafia has promised them safe and quick passage to europe but once they. leave they are in sleeves they count speech util. will not some of them leave your mama

not under you know. this you need to get it out it meant. to be a chink with. the soul the. police . court of the and. the persona that can't even your skull be the norm. is you'll be a reflection of reality. in a world transformed. what will make you feel safe. isolation community. are you going the right way or are you being

led to. direct. what is true what is faith. in the world corrupted you need to descend. to join us in the depths. aura made in the shallows. now welcome to so. well the noble call of 19. but the show goes on. it's a bit of a different format now but it's better.