elizabeth palmer reports. >> reporter: with coronavirus hammering moscow, f hou outside hospitals to deliver patients. and the city government imposed one of the strictest lock downs anywhere. enforced by big brother technology that's made a smartphone key to getting out. writer and journalist was in the country side but needed to get back to moscow. >> in order to get back home i will need a special pass. >> reporter: to get the pass, he had to interpersonal details on a government website. >> where i'm going from and where i'm going to. >> reporter: eventually he downloaded a bar code phone that let him hit the road. anyone traveling more than 100 yards from home in moscow needs one. police run spot-checks on the streets. even subway turn styles won't open unless the rieder has already logged the trip. and on the roads, cameras and checkpoints track drivers to make sure t'm stopped.orte fish call for extreme measures. but big brother really is pretty much keeping tabs on you. why did russia go that route? >> because russia is a totalitarian political regime. what we actually see is

elizabeth palmer, cbs news, london. >> and now to a texas beauty queen who broke barriers.> reporter: 1971, there she was -- phyllis george, crowned the 50th miss america, something she called the springboard for her life. she joined the cbs family in 1975, the first woman to coanchor the "n.f.l. today." >> the women's superbowl was just held. >> reporter: colleagues said she gave depth to athlete interviews, here with joe namath -- >> what is wrong with the new york jets? >> reporter: -- that male reporters never could. ten years later, george took on morning television on the "cbs morning news." over the years she covered many of the biggest stories in sports and news. >> i hope i broke that glass ceiling for a lot of women. i did for myself. i hope that more women will benefit from what i did. >> reporter: and in still another role, she became first lady of kentucky following her marriage to former governor john y. brown. phyllis george died in lexington, kentucky from a non-covid related illness. she was 70 years old. meg oliver, cbs news. and the struggle is real. mom!

elizabeth palmer, cbs news, london. >> ming laven: now straight ahead on the "cbs weekend news," hearm parents who tell us home-schooling has them in a daze. plus, life lessons on coping with cabin fever, from the experts. and, at the closed northern border, the pandemic leads to an outbreak... of love sickness. sickness. >> ming laven: parents are frazzled and their frustration is growing as schools stay closed and distance learning goes on... and on and on. many are feeling the strain of working from home while also being teachers and care givers. as cbs's meg oliver reports, others have simply given up. >> pretty sure i'm flunking the third grade! >> reporter: jane krakowski's timely joke on "the talk" resonated with exasperated parents across the country. >> i have such appreciation for our teachers. >> reporter: but as remote learning stretches on, teachers are also being tested. allison is a 7th grade math teacher in new york, and is struggling to teach her six- and eight-year-old sons at the same time. >> i do it every day, so much on there. thinking about everything i have to

here's cbs news senior foreign correspondent elizabeth palmer. >> reporter: this weekend two billion muslims worldwide are celebrating eid, the most important religious holiday in the islamic year. but to many, thanks to covid, it will be a subdued affair. in paris, christians headed to dee first public church service since the lockdown. worshipers were cautious but ready and willing to take communion. bit by bit western europe is returning to a new normal as the virus retreats, but the coronavirus pandemic is still surging in some parts of the world, notably russia and south e real, but the real epicenter is in latin america, notably brazil. it's now second only to the u.s. in total deaths. and the virus has traveled into the remote communities of the amazon where healthcare and health itself is already fragile. in mexico, too, the death rates keep climbing. ominously for every person who dies, eight more are falling sick. by contrast, china, where the virus began reported zero new cases yesterday and only three today. but china's foreign minister pointed to a growing political cris

meanwhile in wuhan, china, the epicenter of the virus, cbs's elizabeth palmer reports test sungdz way again. >> health workers in wuhan have begun testing its 11 million inhabitants after a limited new outbreak last week. the goal is to find and isolate asymptomatic carriers before they can start a new wave. this massive testing program should also give the authorities in wuhan some idea of what proportion of their inhabitants have been exposed to the virus and therefore have some immunity, a figure that is a complete mystery in most parts of the world. what is not a mystery is the number of dead. it is still going up in brazil where medical staff and gravediggers know this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. >> that goes for russia e spitc disinfection and a strict lockdown, the infection is growing faster than anywhere else except the united states. >> by contrast much of europe is opening is up. spain's death rate was under under a hundred for the first time today. and europeans seem willing to take the calculated risk that life can return to normal or something very

elizabeth palmer is in london. >> reporter: prime minister boris johnson's approach to end britain'slockdown will be measured, and careful. >> it would be madness now to throw away that achievement by allowing a second spike. we must stay alert. we must continue to control the virus and save lives. >> reporter: that matches the caution of both governments and citizens in other european countries hit hard, like italy and spain. but here at least there is light at the end of the tunnel. not so in brazil, which is emerging as a serious epicentre. even though president jair bolsonaro's supporters still cheer him on, he's provoked outrage as a covid denier who still won't social distance. and this weekend, he went for a provocative spin on a jet ski. as the number of coronavirus deaths passed 10,000, local authorities put a covid message on rio's famous christ the redeemer statue-- "have a heart, wear a mask." in africa and southeast asia, the virus does appear to be spreading more slowly, maybe because the population tends on average to be younger, but no one is sure, and it's quite poss

cbs's elizabeth palmer visited moscow for a tour of the soyuz facility. >> and liftoff. >> reporter: you might call soyuz the old way to space. we found astronaut steve bowen. >> it's reliable. it's incredible. it's worked for a long time. >> reporter: the soyuz is really the workhorse of space exploration. the basic design goes back to the 1960s, and it's been in use ever since. this spacecraft has racked up more than 1,600 successful flights. granted it's not built for comfort. and for each cramped seat like this, nasa pays the russians about $83 million. the u.s. and russian space program started out as a cold war race. russia won round one when it put the first man, yuri gargarin, into orbit. then the u.s. took the lead with the moon landing. >> the eagle has landed. >> reporter: but after 1989 the fierce competition became a collaboration. and ever since cosmonauts and astronauts have worked as team on the international space station. sergei prokopiev spent 197 days in orbit. back home, he showed me around a soyuz capsule like the one he rode in with an american colleague. that'

elizabeth palmer, cbs news, london. >> in israel today, history in the making as prime minister benjaminanel at the start of his trial in corruption charges. he is the first israeli prime minister ever to stand trial while in office. >>> one of the world's most gifted musicians provided a special performance today. ♪ ♪ the soothing sounds from cellist yoyo ma streaming from boston. ma said he was honoring the victims of covid-19 and paying tribute to the resilience of communities. >>> the "cbs overnight news" will be right back. be honest a little dust it never bothered me. until i found out what it actually was. dust mite matter! eeeeeww! dead skin cells! gross! so now, i grab my swiffer sweeper and heavy-duty dusters. duster extends to three feet to get all that gross stuff gotcha! and for that nasty dust on my floors, my sweeper's on it. the textured cloths grab and hold dirt and hair no matter where dust bunnies hide. no more heebie jeebies. phew. glad i stopped cleaning and started swiffering. the first and only full prescription strength non-steroidal anti-inflammatory gel availabl

we go now to london and cbs news senior foreign correspondent elizabeth palmer. >> reporter: margaretthis pandemic is not winding down. the world health organization said that wednesday marked the largest single increase in the number of new cases, 106,000 of them, most in poor countries with the epicenter in latin-america. once again, brazil tops the list. it is second only to the u.s. in total deaths. and now the virus has traveled into the remote communities of the amazon, where health care and people's health is already fragile. in mexico, too, the death rate just keeps climbing. but ominously for every victim that dies, eight more fall sick. helicopters ihospitals in some s can't cope. by contrast, in china, where it all started, there were zero new cases yesterday. earlier in the week, president xi said that china will donate $2million to help fight covid in africa. a smoke xe screen says u.s. officials. the administrationid the w.h.o. was so dependent on china, it wouldn't back an investigation to the virus. they were dealing with more anger on the streets of hong kong, where p

we go to london and cbs news senior foreign correspondent elizabeth palmer. >> reporter: margaret, allver the world the dilemma is the same: how and how fast to lift the lockdown, certainly in countries where the infection rate is declining, and also in some where it is still climbing, like russia. moscow was doused in disinfectant has president putin announced he is planning to ease restrictions, even though russia now has the second fastest infection rate in the world after the u.s. another epicenter is brazil, where health workers and grave diggers know this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. [applause] >> reporter: but in a small victory, brazil's covid belittling president has finally started wearing a mask, sort of. by contrast, in europe, the number of covid victims is going down and thinreg . it is a calculated risk, but life can return to normal, or normalish, without provoking a fresh coronavirus crisis. even the largest church in the world, st. peter's in deleefore itsot a final reopening tomorrow. the exception is the u.k. >> wait! >> reporter: a handful of

news coespoent elizabeth palmer has our report about what is going on in the rest of the world. >> reportermargaret gret,the overall number of deaths every day is dropping, thanks in part to controlled measures in new york, and, of course, in europe. but many countries are in the real thick of the crisis. like russia. yesterday was the anniversary of the end of world war ii. but there was little to celebrate. in spite of moscow's ultra strict lockdown, russia reported 10,000 new covid cases every day last week. in neighboring bella russia, in spite of a serious outbreak, the president remains in covid denial. he has called it a psychosis, and welcomed huge crowds to his country's victory day ceremony on saturday. and there were crowds in brazil, too, demonstrating in support of the world's other great covid denier, who still refuses to social distance. though rio's famous statute wears a mask. south rearia hasouth korea has s baseball season with masked cheerleaders performing in empty stadiums. strict measures early on have almost eliminated covid, but the president warned, it isn't over u

elizabeth palmer is in london. >> reporter: prime minister boris johnson's approach to end britain'swn will be measured, and careful. >> it would be madness now to throw away that achievement by allowing a second spike. we must stay alert. we must continue to control the virus and save lives. >> reporter: that matches the caution of both governments and citizens in other european countries hit hard, like italy and spain. but here at least there is light at the end of the tunnel. not so in brazil, which is emerging as a serious epicenter. even though president jair bolsonaro's supporters still cheer him on, he's provoked outrage as a covid denier who still won't social distance. and this weekend, he went for a provocative spin on a jet ski. as the number of coronavirus deaths passed 10,000, local authorities put a covid message on rio's famous christ the redeemer statue -- "have a heart, wear a mask." in africa and southeast asia, the virus does appear to be spreading more slowly, maybe because the population tends on average to be younger, but no one is sure, and it's quite possible

elizabeth palmer now on rigid new rules in russia's capital. >> reporter: with coronavirus hammeringp for hours outside hospitals to deliver patients. and the city government imposed one of the strictest lockdowns anywhere, enforcing by big-brother technolgy that's made a smartphone key to getting out. writer and journalist mikail fishman was in the countryside but needed to get back to moscow. >> in order to get home, i will need a special -- >> reporter: to get the pass, he had to enter personal details on a government website. >> when i'm going through, where i'm going to. >> reporter: eventually he downloaded a bar code on his phone that let him hit the road. anyone traveling more than 100 yards from home in moscow needs one. police run spot checks on the streets. even subway turnstiles won't open unless the rider has already logged the trip. on the roads, cameras and checkpoints track drivers to make sure they're sticking to the route they filed. >> and i'm stopped. >> reporter: fishman did make it home, and he understands extreme times call for extreme measures. but -- big brot

elizabeth palmer has more. >> reporter: in 1918, world war ii was finally ending.lions were on the move, soldiers, refugees, and immigrants, all helping to spread the so-called spanish flu. >> it infected one in three people on earth. >> reporter: laura spinney is the author of "pale rider." >> it killed an estimated 50 million to 100 million people which equates to 2.55% of the population. >> reporter: covid-19 attacks the lungs. so did the spanish flu. then as now, there was no cure and no vaccine, just common sense prescriptions like fresh air. these women employees of britain's war department were sent on regular walks to ward off the virus. in san francisco, even courtrooms moved outside. and anti-covid-19 masks in 2020 aren't much different from the ones people wore a century ago. but 1918 was different from 2020 in one crucial way. ordinary people weren't told very much. why were the authorities censoring information about the outbreak? >> the idea that you couldn't trust the public with too much information because they would panic and run riot and then you

elizabeth palmer reports on covid hotspots ashed the world -- around the world. >> reporter: china wasees trst to approach most eff tocorol a cid oe. into locot mas, this may weekenlooks pretty normal. even retail shops are open. south korea acted fast, too, and now says it has the outbreak under control. there is still social distancing, here at an exam for job applicants, but with just a handful of new cases every day, koreans are, at last, relaxing. at the other extreme, there is brazil. these are fresh graves in sao paulo. with a rampant outbreak, limited testing, and a president, who when confronted with the numbers said, so, what do you want me to do? in europe, rules are easing, but at different speeds. spaniards gratefully took to the streets after 48 days indoors, but only exercise. adults in the morning; kids in the afternoon. austria has opened up more widely. shops anp and running. poland is due to reopen its borders today, but care homes are strictly locked down, though this one in warsaw went the extra mile to arrange safe visits. europeans can now see the light at the en

here's cbs's elizabeth palmer. >> reporter: here's proof that china believes it has covid-19 under control. tourists are back, sightseeing on the great wall. in fact, thanks to radical lockdowns and extensive testing that started back in january, the pandemic is in decline across much of asia. the statistics show that after the united states, it's northern europe that has been hit hardest by covid. between them, britain, france, germany, spain and italy now account for almost a million cases. ♪ ♪ church services were held for the first time in more than six weeks today in germany, a brand new plastic screen shielding priests from parishioners. strict isolation rules are easing up, but in bits and starts, as the rate of infection declines. in austria, most businesses were back up and running, and spaniards gratefully took to the streets for the first time in 48 days, but just for exercise. people are wary. and so are governments, concerned that too much too fast could lead to a second wave of infection. and the relief of life opening up again as summer comes will soon be eclipsed by the kin

cbs news elizabeth palmer reports from london. liz?: margaret, at least six million people have now been infected with the coronavirus worldwide, and the number is still growing, especially in a handful of developing countries. india is struggling. the infection here is steadily spreading beyond the cities, in part because the country has one of the lowest testing rates on earth. a strict block down in the worst infected areas has been expanded for one more month. brazil, too, remains an epicenter as many people now die from covid every day in brazil as in america, which still has the most. but contrast, italy, which was hit so hard early on continues to reopen. tourist sites, like the leaning tower of piazza, have rolled out the new normal, a gadget that gets red when visitors get too close. and in other countries, there is another sign of recovery: schools reopening, from south korea to holland, where there is a new classroom normal, plexiglass pupil shields. and in australia, the classic uluru race went on. but this pandemic is far