let's go to rome where we find our ben wedeman. when are authorities expecting to reach the peak? >> reporter: well, that were hoping to reach it sometime, since the totally lockdown in the country happened about two weeks ago. they're hoping by now there would be at least some leveling off of the number of new cases. but what we've seen, earlier this week, a decrease in the number of -- rather, a decrease in the increase of new cases. but that shot up yesterday. and, of course, this death toll of 969 people in just one day that was reported on friday evening, indicates that, really, that leveling off just isn't happening yet. so the italian authorities are originally talking about easing restrictions on the 3rd of april. that clearly is not going to happen. as long as these numbers continue to increase. and, in fact, you know, italy now has surpassed china with the total number of recorded cases. it long ago surpassed china the number of reported deaths. so this really, you know, people are talking about a light at the end of the

ben wedeman is in rome. italy was reporting that the number of infections had stabilized slightly offering some caution of optimism but that's no longer the case. what happened? >> reporter: well, we still don't know, actually. keep in mind that these draconian measures, the lockdown that's been put on italy is now almost into -- the end of its third week. and this is basically what the officials here said, that after about two weeks it would start to show some sort of impact on the numbers. what we saw since the beginning of this week a slow down in the increase. so the numbers are still going up, but not quite as dramatically as they were before. now day before yesterday we saw a large increase, then yesterday the increase was down a bit. so we really have to -- i hate to use cliche but wait and see. but if you speak to doctors and officials, they seem to indicate or believe that perhaps the worst is over that we may have passed the peak that the icus, the emergency wards are going to be able to handle the

and ben wedeman has more details 0 that country's outbreak. >> reporter: italy is reporting the largestingle increase in the new coronavirus cases yet, according to the civil protection agency there are 4,636 reported cases of coronavirus. among them, 197 dead. the authorities continue to struggle to bring this outbreak under control. meanwhile, the cardinal vickar of rome are calling all christians to fast and pray or wednesday. he's calling for the help on the city and the world. while the islamic community is calling for all public acts to stop the spread of this virus. >> ben wedeman reporting there. >>> the slowdown of the chinese travel in the wake of the coronavirus is being felt across the globe. how the tourism industry is now coping with this outbreak. >>> also, when we come back, another deadly attack in afghanistan, despite a deal to work with peace in the region. what the taliban has to stay about the violence, next. yes. at kay... we've learned the most important love stories... will always be... your own. every yes. oh my gosh, yes begins with kay. save 20 to 40 percent o

ben wedeman, cnn, milan. >>> coming next here, climate change isn't exactly thought of a top prioritylican party, hardly, but we'll meet some young republicans trying to change that. at leaf blowers. you should be mad your neighbor always wants to hang out. and you should be mad your smart fridge is unnecessarily complicated. make ice. making ice. but you're not mad because you have e*trade which isn't complicated. their tools make trading quicker and simpler so you can take on the markets with confidence. don't get mad get e*trade and start trading commission free today. >>> you're looking at a region here of northwestern oklahoma where a wildfire continues to rip through the region and evacuations are now under way, it has burned at least 13,000 acres so far and is just 10% contained. people in at least two towns are being asked to leave as officials warn the fires will threaten homes there. >>> climate change has been at top of the democratic party political agenda but many young republicans say, fighting climate change is a generational issue not a political one, in fact, some of

. >> let's go to our ben wedeman. he joins us in bologna, italy. good morning, ben. you had this decree that came out yesterday morning about essentially trying to impose travel restrictions on an area in northern italy that has a population of about 60 million people. we are outside that area, and you see buses are running, people are out in the street as normal. now, in theory, it means that people are not supposed to leave those areas, but in fact the authorities simply haven't had the time and perhaps not even the resources to make this a reality. so as of yet, people are still moving in and out of this area of the lombardi region and 14 other italian provinces, so we have yet to see how effective these new measures will be. but what we're hearing is, for instance, we've haefeard cnn ha spoken to the coordinator for the intensive care units in the lombardi region. he says they are getting a tsunami of patients. that's the phrase he's using. and he's saying that the health system is one step from collapse. intensive care treatment is being given in the corridors o

i am ben wedeman. cnn reporting from bolivia. . >> quite a change in much of italy. as communities around the world and here in the u.s. struggle to contain the spread of the virus. there is increase scrutiny how the government is responding. gave the answers three governments gave just this morning on how many test kits will be available. >> we have 75,000 tests available right now for folks. by early next week we should have 2 million tests available and by the end of the week we'll have 4 million tests available. >> right now is 1.1 million tests sent out and by monday there will be 400,000. >> over a million test kits have been shipped out. tomorrow another 640,000 will be available. >> i can't keep track of all these numbers. i want to bring in cnn's national security analyst who serves as a former secretary o at the department of homeland security. it is confusing. there is a lot of muddled messages when you heard the president says anyone who needs a test will get one. vice president says i am concerned of a shortage of testing kits so now they're supposed to

here's cnn's ben wedeman. >> reporter: coffins, one next to another next to another next to another,hurch in northern italy, the epicenter of this country's coronavirus outbreak. social distancing means family and friends can't say their final farewells. the sick were all alone as they lie dying. there were people, says the father, without anyone to hear or see them, without the possibility to talk to their loved ones, with no one to comfort them. the increase in new cases has of late shown signs of beginning to slow down. now, covid-19 has killed more people in italy than anywhere else on earth. the public health's system, one of europe's best, has been pushed to the limits. the disease has killed more than 50 medical personnel, more than 7,000 have fallen ill. italy has been under lockdown for almost three weeks. severe measures may be starting to bear fruit says the doctor. we should see less people arriving in the emergency ward, he says, and we will be better able to look after patients. even if the numbers are starting to level out, the damage coronavirus has done to this count

cnn's ben wedeman joining us from milan, with more. know ben you've been talking a lot about how these new restrictions put in place have really changed the rhythm of daily life. first off, talk about the lockdown in the northern region and how that compares to the restrictions placed on the rest of the country. >> reporter: well, it's important to keep in mind that the original restrictions that were in place for the last two and a half weeks or so only involved 50,000 people. this includes around 16 million people, that's about 25% of the italian population. in this part of the country is of course the most prosperous, the most productive. it's a bit as if 90 million people were put under closure like this in the united states, as if basically every city between baltimore and boston were put on lockdown. now, how exactly this lockdown is going to work is not all together clear. we're in front of the milan train station, where last night there was a bit of a rush of people trying to get out, but now things seem to be back to normal. tr

ben wedeman looks at the devastating toll the virus has ta taken on that country. >> reporter: coffins, one next to another next to another next to another. lined up in a church in northern italy, the epicenter of this country's coronavirus outbreak. social distancing means family and friends can't say their final farewells. the sick were all alone as they laid dying. there were people, says father mario who died without anyone to hear or see them, without the possibility to talk to their loved ones, with no one to comfort them. the increase in new cases has of late shown signs of beginning to slow down. but now covid-19 has killed more people in italy than anywhere else on earth. the public health system, one of europe's best, has been pushed to the limits. the disease has killed more than 50 medical personnel, more than 7,000 have fallen ill. italy has been under lockdown for almost three weeks. severe measures may be starting to bear fruit, says this doctor. we should see less people arriving in the emergency ward, he says. and we will be able to better look after patients. even if

for more let's bring in cnn's ben wedeman in italy who just evacuated himself from the so-called red tell us about what your experience has been like and what you're seeing there. >> reporter: well, our evacuation from the red zone was really we just got in the car and drove down here. even though this decree was announced earlier in the morning by the italian prime minister, it hasn't been put into effect essentially. i spoke with some policemen along the way who were guarding a previous red zone who told me that until the ministry of the interior hasn't come out with orders or directives on how to implement this new decree which of course expands the red zone area from an area with 50,000 people in it to 16 million. they're probably going to require the army among others to come in and enforce it. therefore, when the news first came out that this decree was going to go into effect, there was a rush on the train station in milan with people wanting to get out of there and not get stuck inside. this morning we were at the train station and there wasn't much going on. i spoke to one w

cnn's ben wedeman, how are hospitals able to function with so many health care workers falling victime virus? >> reporter: actually let me update you, jake, it's 63 doctors said, 8,300 health workers have tested positive. and italian hospitals are struggling as a result. now, this evening we spoke to a doctor, he's a gp, but he volunteered to join the effort. he told us that every day he works 16-hour shifts and at the end of the shifts all he wants to do is cry, because of what he's seen in the hospitals, particularly in the north of the country. but there is finally some good news coming out, jake. today, the number of new cases was half the number of cases reported yesterday. and the number of people who are reported to have recovered from coronavirus reached a record high, in sort of the 24-hour period. however, the draconian measures are going to continue, the lockdown here. it had been extended from the 3rd of april to the 12th of april, easter, jake. >> thank you, ben wedeman, stay safe, my friend. cnn's fred pleitgen joins me from berlin. germany is treating patients from othe

jim, poppy. >> ben wedeman reporting for us from bologna, italy, thank you. >>> across the globe, the games. march madness is a week away. no decision it appears made on whether fans will be able to attend that or not. much more ahead. whether you were borne for more dance-offs... more travels... or more touchdowns. get the immune support that gives you more. airborne's crafted blend has vitamins, minerals and herbs. and no gummy has more vitamin c. airborne. sales tax, real estate credits, solar incentives... and we have no way to integrate all that? no...but bdo does. (announcer) people who know, know bdo. you will see at vgreat and look great.ee "guaranteed" we say that too! you've gotta use these because we don't mean it. buy any pair at regular price, get one free. really! visionworks. see the difference. >>> we have been talking a lot about the risks at big gatherings. here's a big gathering. sporting events. will march madness, for instance, go on as planned or will coronavirus force some big changes? >> there's not really a direct word as of yesterday from the ncaa. andy joins

ben wedeman in italy, where 16 million people in northern italy are on lockdown as the country undergoesin cases. ben? >> reporter: i'm ben wedeman in bologna, northern italy. the coronavirus crisis is getting worse by the day. cnn was able to speak to the coordinate for intensive care in the lombardi region, home to 10 million people. he said the health system is one step away from collapse. patients are receiving intensive care in hospital corridors. the hospitals remember said, are receiving a tsunami of new patients. >> reporter: i'm oren liebermann in jerusalem. there are travel restrictions and mandatory self-quarantine and officials here are considering imposing those on israeli citizens and foreigners alike. meanwhile, the city of bethlehem has been locked down, the center of the outbreak in the palestinian territories. israel and the palestinian authority are working together to coordinate their response to try to keep the spread of coronavirus under control. >> reporter: i'm david culver in shanghai. as the rest of the world is grappling with how to handle the worsening coronav

ben wedeman, cnn, rome. >>> we'll teak a short break now. when we come back, dire warnings and urgent pleas from the prime minister on down. why are many people in japan still getting out and about during the pandemic? we'll check in with will ripley in tokyo when we come back. when the murray's go to work... michelangelo goes to work, too. good thing they use new gain ultra flings with two times the oxi boost, and febreze. fresh again... who has the highest percentage of its vehiclesto longevity, still on the road today? subaru. when it comes to best overall value, who does intellichoice rank number one? subaru. and when it comes to safety, who has more twenty twenty i-i-h-s top safety pick plus winning vehicles? more than toyota, honda, and hyundai-combined? subaru. it's easy to love a car you can trust. it's easy to love a subaru. - oh.- oh, darn! - wha- let me help. lift and push and push! there... it's up there. hey joshie... wrinkles send the wrong message. help prevent them before they start with downy wrinkleguard. ♪ after being a pa

cnn's ben wedeman joins us from bologna in the north. they're telling people in effect not to travel. are people listening, even specially not to travel. are people listening? >> reporter: it's not all together clear. the restrictions they're calling these new areas covered by this new decree the orange zone. it's not the same as the red zone. people can actually go in and out. they need to give the authorities at the checkpoints a decent explanation. so it's a little looser than that, but nonetheless, the numbers are disturbing. they've made the numbers of recorded coronavirus cases has tripled in italy since last wednesday to more than 7,300, and there's another disturbing development today, in 27 prisons around the country, there have been riots after the authorities decided to limit the number of family visits. during these riots, six prisoners were killed, two of them from drug overdoses after they broke into one of the pharmacies in a prison in poulia in the south, 20 of the prisoners have escaped, and this of course at a time when

cnn's ben wedeman is in rome.has more on the number of covid-19 related deaths in the past 24 hours. we've been watching italy because it's been exacted so devastatingly. talk to us about, about what is happening there now. how are people holding up? >> reporter: we're now two weeks into this nationwide lockdown. and it certainly has changed the life in ways nobody could have imagined. we're in the part of rome where normally on a saturday morning there would be cars out, sometimes a market across the street in that park. that park is closed so people can only go out if they really have to. walk the dog or something like that. but, yes, basically this country holds its breath every evening at 6:00 p.m. when the latest numbers come out. as you mentioned 969 deaths reported friday evening. that is the largest daily death toll yet in this country. also another milestone, italy has now surpassed china in the total number of reported cases, more than 86,000 reported cases last night compared to 81,000 in china. however

ben wedeman is in rome. first to you, ben. why is italy's death rate so high given everything they've been doing to try to stop the spread? >> reporter: basically, officials will tell you it is because italy has a very large, elderly population. many of whom have pre-existing conditions, but because of the excellence of italy's national health system, they have been able to -- the medical system has been able to keep many of these elderly people alive even though they have pre-existing conditions. unfortunately, they are more susceptible to coronavirus. officials will tell you that the average age of those who have passed away is about 78, and, for instance, in china, even though they had until yesterday roughly the same amount of cases, only had a death toll that was about one-third of what italy's is. also, italy has been testing only those who it is believed most desperately, urgently need the test, so the actual number of cases of coronavirus in italy, unfortunately, is probably well over the current number that was report

cnn's ben wedeman, joe ins he j from milan, an area that has seen a lot of cases.of scrutiny is the italian health service facing, that's the question, not just the spread of this, but how governments respond to and try to stop the spread. >> reporter: jim, there has been criticism of the italian public health system, people say that the medical personnel don't have enough equipment like masks and gloves and also we know that for instance 12% of the total number of cases reported in italy and as of yesterday that was 3,858, 12% of those cases are medical personnel. it is having an impact on the way the national health service is able to deal with the situation. there is a shortage of beds in the icus. in fact, we did hear the prime minister of italy yesterday saying that the medical service is in danger of being overwhelmed under the circumstances. having said all that, generally people are very positive about the health service here. it is a national institution. the attitude of most italians is that quality healthcare is a right and not a privilege. and this is a

the entire country, roughly 60 million people, is now on complete lockdown, ben wedeman joins us again north, an unprecedented move by the government. >> reporter: it is unprecedented. here is the newspaper, shock, treatment, everybody stay at home. however, not everybody is staying at home. it does appear that the sense of urgency isn't sinking in everywhere at this point. the restrictions that were just a few days ago on just 50,000 people supposed to be in place for now the entire country, italy with a population of 60 million. but it is not altogether clear if the italian state has the wherewithal, the resources, the manpower, to actually enforce it. and in fact some italian politicians who are generally united in support of these draconian measures are saying that perhaps more needs to be done. several politicians have said that everything in this country should be closed, only supermarkets left open so people can at least get something to eat. jim, poppy. >> ben wedeman on the story there, thank you very much. >>> back here in the u.s., markets have just opened. and they're picki

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let's get the latest from italy and cnn's ben wedeman joining us now from milan with more.n will be closing essentially all public gatherings. >> reporter: yes, certainly in this area that's covered by this new decree which is the lombardi region, which is where we are, and 14 provinces. it covers around 16 million people, but it's important to keep in mind that this is really the economic heartland of this country. so as i said before, it's a bit like closing down every city between baltimore and boston in the united states. and just the list of the measures being taken is long and alarming. for instance, marriages, baptisms and funerals in this part of the country where this decree will come into effect are banned. all medical leaves or leaves for medical personnel have been canceled. schools and universities will be closed until at least the 3rd of april, all professional sporting events will only be held with the teams themselves, no spectators in the stands. bars and restaurants in this part of the country will be allowed to open only from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and t

cnn's senior international correspondent ben wedeman is live in bologna, italy, with the latest. at this hour, ben? >> reporter: poppy, the latest figures are disturbing. 168 new deaths in the last 24 hours. and really italy today is sort of a jarg jucring juxtaposition disturbing images coming out of the hospitals which are overwhelmed and people trying to go on with life, which must go on. inside the intensive care unit in the hospital in northern italy, doctors and nurses struggle with what they say is a tsunami of new patients. every day brings ever more new cases, ever more deaths. despite it all, the few tourists lift in the northern city of bologna pursue the dolce vita, though many areas are closed. >> i have next trip, i think. >> reporter: the country of 60 million souls is now in theory under lockdown. movement is restricted, schools and universities closed, public gatherings prohibited and all sporting events canceled. >> every day this main square is full of people that are very close, kissing, handshaking, you don't see that now. >> reporter: the bubonic plague kill

>> all right, ben wedeman, thank you so much. and my next guest is dr. charles bailey.fection prevention at st. joseph's hospital in orange county, california. doctor, thank you so much for joining us today and sharing this information that's so important here. we're keeping this eye on italy because we see what's happening. and the health system there, you heard it there, it's on the brink. >> yes. >> hospitals are overwhelmed. do you think that's where the united states is heading? >> certainly, we don't know what to expect exactly, but i would be confident that the domestic public health infrastructure and hospital system can manage the cases that we would anticipate getting here in the united states. >> okay. so, just walk us through what happens if your hospital receives a coronavirus patient and also what you do to try to minimize the risk of, from the moment that person walks in the hospital until they are at least considered to be suspected coronavirus. >> sure. well, since the outbreak first originated, hospitals have taken the precautions of screening patients

thank you so much, ben wedeman, appreciate it. >>> all right.than 1800 people have now died of the coronavirus in the united states with more than 110,000 cases reported across the nation. joining m joining me now is a cnn medical analyst and infectious disease specialist and she is also the host of the epidemic podcast. good to see you. so the fda, i guess this is a little glimmer of hope, you know, in some circles the fda approving a coronavirus test that would provide the results in 15 minutes, meaning it is going to let the medical community know whether a patient has coronavirus, right, in 15 minutes. why is that a potential breakthrough or very important at the very least? >> well, this will, fredricka, help us triage patients as they come into hospitals and other health care facilities to decide, who do we want to keep in the hospital? especially if they test positive for coronavirus and they have pre-existing conditions. maybe cardiovascular disease, lung disease. maybe they're older. and who we can send home potentially. this is really

our ben wedeman is in rome. he's joining us on the phone. ben, these numbers may hold some promise, but this is, obviously, very cold comfort for italians. what's the latest? >> yeah, what we've heard from the italian civil protection agency is that in the 24 hours before 6:00 p.m. local, 756 people died. that is down somewhat from the record high that we hit on friday of 969 deaths. so we are seeing a decline in deaths, the weighted increase in new cases is also slowing down. but really, as you said, that is cold comfort, because the death toll here is approaching 11,000 people. and that is the highest on earth. and keep in mind, wolf, the average age of those who died in italy is about 78. and it's raising fears that in some parts of the country, particularly the north, where 80% of the cases have been reported, that the older generation is slowly being wiped out. it's expected that the italian prime minister, ygiuseppe conte will extend the nationwide lockdown. and today, pope francis appealed for a global cease-fire, as nations struggled

>> let's go to ben wedeman for that. he's in milan, which has created red zones.t been effective? >> these are so-called containment areas, covers about 11 towns where 50,000 people live and around those so-called red zones, the police, the army, the military police have set up roadblocks where they check everybody going in, and going out to see if they are permission to do so. most of the in habitants of that area simply cannot leave. the whole idea is to prevent the spread of the coronavirus because that's where the outbreak was first concentrated. what we've seen in this part of italy is that despite these containment areas, these red zones, the virus has spread to other areas, so the government is considering creating new red zones. now, the red zones that were set up are due to, at least in theory, they should come to an end this coming sunday. there's a question of whether they will be extended. and therefore there's a big debate here in italy whether they have been effective at all because the numbers, frankly, continue to rise. when we arrived here ten day

. >> i am ben wedeman where people are reacting favorably what is being described as a lock-down of thisntry of 60 million people. most people say they support these new measures and now all restaurants and bars will be closed at 6:00 p.m. and most shops, not because they're under closure because there is so little business to be had. they're bracing for what may be prolong period of economic downturn on top of the coronavirus. >> i am david culver in shanghai. president xi jinping traveled to the city of wuhan and greeted medical personnel and spoke to president. the visit is a significant step and this country is getting back on track. some of the extreme lockdown that has been in place in nearly seven weeks. >> all right, everyone, thank you very much. to full any understand the scale of the coronavirus in the u.s., you need to know how many people have been tested. >> here is health and human, alex azar. hopefully this week we'll get them down and keeping track of how many we are testing. later the director of the cdc giving more specifics of 5,000 tests have been run in public healt

our ben wedeman is in rome. ben, glad to see you're inside now. sense of relief based on the new numbers? >> reporter: well, there is a sense of comfort. it is calmed comfort when you look at these numbers. yes, for instance, on friday afternoon, fredricka, we were talking about 969 people dieing in a 24-hour period. a day the italian civil protection at 6:00 p.m., the news conference, did say that the death toll was 156. over the last 24 hours. but that is a lot of people to die in one day. keep in mind, 80% of the coronavirus cases are in the northern part of the country. so you are talking about a huge number of people dieing every day. yes, numbers are going down ever so slightly in terms of the daily death toll, but keep in mind that the average age of those who are dieing is 78. so we're talking about gradually, daily, losing its older population, and this is a country where grandmother, grandfathers, fathers, mothers, are cherished by italian society, and to see this daily death toll is disturbing for many people, and in general, there is a

ben wedeman is in milan where they are scrambling to get the outbreak under control there. ben?me out the with latest figures of the coronavirus here and 2,062 cases and 32 dead. the interesting thing is that the new cases 342 is less than 200 than the previous number of new cases recorded in the previous 24 hours. hard to say if it is the beginning of the downward trend. we will have to see in the coming days and now the fred pleitgen for a update on the situation in iran. >> thank you, ben. in iran, the situation is more difficult. the iranians are confirming that more than 60 people have died because of the coronavirus and more than 1,500 have been infected including top government officials, and in fact, a senior adviser to supreme leader has died of the disease and now the world health organization who is trying to help out says in iran one of the workers have also tested positive. brooke? >> all right. fred, thank you, and quick check of the dow before we go. in the green this afternoon and up 1,200 points and soaring after last week's free fall. how about that to start yo

ben wedeman, cnn, rome. >>> and to find out how you can feed the hungry, protect health professionalsaid refugees, and support service workers during the pandemic, you can go to cnn.com/impact. >>> coming up next on cnn newsroom, now doctors in spain are using snorkeling gear and a little ingenuity to solve their shortage of surgical masks. we're back with that in just a moment. s clinically proven ingredients that fuel 5 indicators of brain performance. memory, focus, accuracy, learning, and concentration. try neuriva for 30 days and see the difference. youyour dishwasher looks cleans but when grease and limescale build up its not as hygenic as you think use finish dishwasher cleaner its dual action formula tackles grease and limescale finish clean dishwasher clean dishes >>> much needed medical supplies have arrived in madrid, spain, a country with one of the highest rates of coronavirus infection in the world. military planes delivered the stock pile from the czech republic. with protective masks in short supply, some doctors in spain have gotten creative, turning snorkeling masks

ben wedeman, cnn, rome. >>> the british government is preparing for a surge of many more cases.workers are converting london's excel center into an emergency hospital. more than 1,000 british patients have died. the medical director of the national health service says if the total death toll can be kept below 20,000, then britain will have done very well in the epidemic. boris johnson has been self-isolating after testing positive for the infection. he's writing letters to some 30 million households urging people to stay home. he writes, we know things will get worse before they get better. but we are making the right preparations. and the more we all follow the rules, the fewer lives will be lost and the sooner life can return to normal. 20,000 deaths, that is quite alarming. are britains heeding the warning? >> reporter: those are very worrying numbers. what we can say is for now, the decision is precarious. as you just mentioned, the prime minister has tested positive for coronavirus, the health minister has tested positive for coronavirus, various other members of the govern

ben wedeman, appreciate all your reporting for you and your team. stay safe. in china, some possible good news. health officials are claiming they are seeing a decline in the number of new cases. two weeks, ago -- today, nearly 81,000 cases with death toll climbing to nearly 3,200. cnn's david culver joins us now in shanghai. david, what are officials in china attributing to what they say is this leveling off of new cases? >> anderson, it's interesting listening to ben reporting there in italy. and the fact that where this started, they are now sending help out to the world. to the epicenter of all of this here in china is now under control to such an extent that they feel like they can help other countries like italy. it is a significant turnaround. especially, when you look at the number of daily reported cases. we are taubilking about single digits now. going back a few weeks, we were talking the hundreds if not thousands. when we were in wuhan, they had allegations of coverup. allegations of underreporting. they had really, only 200 tests a day for a city

. >> reporter: i'm ben wedeman in rome where monday evening, the total number of reported cases of coronaviruseeded 100,000, and the death toll surpassed 11,000. yet, there is a hint of good news. for the fifth day in a row, the number of new cases went down and monday evening, authorities here reported that the number of people who've recovered from the disease saw its largest daily increase. >> among the dead in italy are at least 63 doctors. that news hitting home for health care workers here in the u.s. and guidelines from the cdc show that if doctors are asymptomatic, if they're not showing symptoms, they can still go to work. that's the situation that dr. haval kelly finds himself in. he's a cardiologist in atlanta. thank you for being with us. first of all, you contracted the virus. do you know when you contracted it or how? >> thank you so much for having me, mr. cooper. i'm talking about my personal experience. a couple of weeks ago, we visited a relative after surgery who told us like a week later, they were having symptoms of cough and fever. similar symptoms, so we called the next

i'm ben wedeman, cnn, reporting from blown i can't. >>> and in the u.s.here are more than 550 cases of the coronavirus. but the u.s. surgeon general believes the outbreak is being contained in certain parts of the country and the government's response is shift sboog a mitigation phase. meanwhile the trump administration is coming under increased scrutiny for the response to the outbreak. u.s. officials are now offering different answers on the number of test kits available. >> we have 75,000 tests available right now for folks. by early next week, tomorrow, we should have over 2 million tests available. by the end of the week through partnerships with private industry, over 4 million tests available. >> right now 1.1 million tests have already been sent out. by monday, there will be an additional 400,000, and by the end of next week probably around 4 million. >> over a million tests were shipped out already this past week. tomorrow another 640,000 will be available. >> joining me now ivan huang, chief professional at the university of hong kong. good to h

cnn's senior international correspondent ben wedeman is in bologna, italy. how and what are you seeing and hearing from folks who are facing this lockdown now? >> reporter: well, what we're seeing that the italians aren't really panicking, kate, at this point, but they are having a bit of difficulty coming to terms with these latest measures designed to stop the outbreak of the coronavirus. but this comes at a time when italy's public health system, especially in the north of the country, is dealing with its worst crisis since the second world war. inside the intensive care unit in a hospital in northern italy, doctors and nurses struggle with what they say is a tsunami of new patients. every day brings ever more new cases, ever more deaths. despite it all, the few tourists left in the northern city of bologna pursue la dolce vida, though many sites are now closed. >> italy is so beautiful outside, but i think inside is better. but i have, next trip, i think. >> reporter: this country of 60 million souls is now, in theory, under lockdown. movement is restric

that's where we find cnn's senior international correspondent ben wedeman. he's live in bologna. t this hour, ben? >> reporter: well, alisyn, italy at the moment is sort of a jarring juxtaposition of disturbing images from the front lines in this emergency -- the hospitals, the intensive care units -- and daily life in the streets of cities like this, bologna, where life must go on. outside the intensive care unit in hospital in northern italy, doctors and nurses struggle with what they say is a tsunami of new patients. every day brings ever more new cases, ever more deaths. despite it all, the few tourists left in the northern city of bologna pursue la dolce vida, though many sites are now closed. >> italy is so beautiful outside, but i think inside is better. but i have next trip, i think. >> reporter: this country of 60 million souls is now in theory under lockdown. movement is restricted. schools and universities closed, public gatherings prohibited, and all sporting events canceled. >> every day this main square is full of people that are talking with each other, very close,

ben wedeman is reporting out of northern italy has been really unbelievable to see what he's seeing.rrun, as he described it, that is the situation you're trying to avoid here because, you know if you don't avoid that situation, then people who would have otherwise recovered well with more minimal treatment, they don't. >> and that chart that is going around, sanjay, of flatten the curve, you don't have a peak, you spread it out, there are enough resources to save more lives, that's why listening and social distancing is so important. dr. gounder, do we know definitively that our children, whether they be infants or toddlers or 9, 10, 11, are not as susceptible to this, do we know that for sure yet or is it a presumption? >> we really have not seen severe cases of disease in that group, so the children under 18, in particular, now that said, i completely agree with sanjay, i'm hearing from providers out in seattle that they definitely are seeing people in their 30s and 40s with very severe disease who are ending up on ventilators. it is not -- it is less common, you know, than the se

ben wedeman, i appreciate your reporting. stay safe. >>> in china, possible good news. health officials are claiming to see a decline in the number of new cases. two weeks ago, 78,000 new cases. a week ago 80,000 cases. today nearly 81,000 cases, death toll at 3,200. cnn's david culvert joins us now this shanghai. what are officials in china attributing to what they're saying is this leveling off of new cases? >> anderson, it's interesting listening to ben reporting there in italy and the fact that where this started they are now sending help out to the world, to the epicenter of all of this in china is under control to such an extent they feel like they can help other countries like italy. it is a significant turn around especially when you look at the daily number of reported cases. we're talking about single digits now. just go back a few weeks, we were talking about in the hundreds, even in the thousands. what we need to stress though is that it did not start out this way. early on, go back seven weeks, they had allegations of cover up, allegations of underreporting

cnn's ben wedeman has more from you now from bologna. >> reporter: even though all sporting events have social gatherings, what we're seeing is that still people are moving around, still people are trying to maintain the semblance of a normal life, but that normal life is also being impacted by the fact that business has basically almost come to a screeching halt. all bars and restaurants are supposed to be closed between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., although apparently, some restaurants are still delivering food, so they're functioning, but they simply aren't open to the public. now, we had the opportunity here in bologna to speak to several shopkeepers. some of them said they'd rather see, for instance, a 20-day shutdown of all businesses in the entire country, with the exception of things like supermarkets, just to get the situation under control and stabilize the economy, and perhaps bring tourists back, bring business back, because the situation economically and from a health standpoint is becoming critical. i'm ben wedeman, cnn reporting from bologna in northern italy. >>> well, china

ben wedeman is on the scene for us in bologna, it's a beautiful city, i've been to bologna. only traffic we've seen are some police cars and food delivery bicycles going around. even though italy is technically on a lockdown, it appears the authorities are going about this rather gradually, keeping in mind that unlike china, italy is a democracy, and the people need to be slowly eased into this new reality. we were speaking with some people today who said that in order to contain this virus, which the numbers have really increased dramatically in the last two weeks, that they believe that chinese style measures will have to be taken. there are some politicians who generally do support the measures taken by the government, who are suggesting that perhaps everything should be closed, bars and restaurants, which are open now from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., everything should be closed except grocery stores where people can at least get the food to eat, because what we have seen, we arrived here just 15 days ago, the number went from 322 recorded cases to now over 10,000. the number

ben wedeman, i appreciate your reporting from you and your team., possible good news. health officials there are claiming they are seeing a decline in the number of new cases. two weeks ago, 78,000 new cases. a week ago 80,000 cases. 3,000 deaths. today nearly 81,000 cases, death toll climbing to nearly 3,200. cnn's david culvert joins us now in shanghai. what are officials in china attributing to what they're saying is this leveling off of new cases? >> anderson, it's interesting listening to ben reporting there in italy and the fact that where this started they are now sending help out to the world, to the epicenter of all of this in china is under control to such an extent they feel like they can help other countries like italy. it is a significant turnaround especially when you look at the daily number of reported cases. we're talking about single digits now. just go back a few weeks, we were talking about in the hundreds, even in the thousands. what we need to stress though is that it did not start out this way. early on, go back seven weeks,