cnn's fred pleitgen is in berlin. >> reporter: good morning, laura and christine.overnment is extremely concerned by what could be a newak seller rags of the novel coronavirus. the reproduction number has been above one for three days running and that could mean that the disease is spreading again rather than getting pushed back. however, they do say they are keeping that situation under very close observation. there haven't been any outbreaks over the past couple of days. the meat processing industry, one of the issues, the local government believes it's workers living with each other in close quarters that contributed to the spread. laura and christine. >> fred pleitgen, thanks so much for that. >>> the supreme court will hear oral arguments by phone today in the battle over president trump's tax returns. the justices will decide the issue before the november election. they want to know whether they have the authority. >>> twitter says it will put warning labels on misleading statements about covid-19 even if the information is tweeted by the president himself. t

fred pleitgen, cnn, germany. >> thanks, fred. for that report. >>> you're watching cnn.head, russia is grappling with a brutal few days fighting the coronavirus. president vladimir putin is under pressure from a floundering economy. tdoor grill, and because it's a ninja foodi, it can do even more, like transform into an air fryer. the ninja foodi grill, the grill that sears, sizzles, and air fry crisps. the biggest week in television is almost here. starting may 11, enjoy free access to the best shows and movies from favorites like hbo, showtime, starz and, for the first time ever, hulu and peacock! catch the show someone on twitter says is "omg cray," exclamation mark. don't look at me. or the one with the character with the eccentric name. (whispers to himself) oh, so that's who offred is. hi. even the one that's inspired all those memes. there they are! everyone's got a show to recommend. get ready to watch the best for free during watchathon week. >>> so we know that japan has just extended its state of emergency until the end of may. prime minister shinzo abe said h

cnn's fred pleitgen has more. >> reporter: it was a big promise president trump made in early march. tests for anyone who wants them. >> anybody that wants a test can get a test. >> reporter: a promise the president has not fulfilled to this day. but now tiny denmark is making exactly that possible. people are flocking to tent centers in copenhagen and other towns. she lives in a shared apartment and says she wants to make sure she's not jeopardizing her flat mates. >> if i have it, i want to tell my friends because we have been a little bit close, too close. >> reporter: the process is simple. make an appointment by an app and head to the nearest testing facility. the average waiting time to get an appointment is less than a day. there's even a drive-in facility where motorists get tested in their cars. >> testing a lot, lots of people in denmark, just to be wiser, to learn about how the virus is spreading. >> reporter: denmark is seen as a role model for the way it's combatting the coronavirus in europe. it shut down early and the death toll remains low. >> the country only recentl

fred pleitgen, cnn, germany. >>> an uplifting moment during a weekend of chaos.'ll explain how america is making history with its return to space. we'll be right back. want to brain better? unlike ordinary memory supplements neuriva has 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. we were paying an arm and a leg for postage. i remember setting up shipstation. one or two clicks and everything was up and running. i was printing out labels and saving money. shipstation saves us so much time. it makes it really easy and seamless. pick an order, print everything you need, slap the label onto the box, and it's ready to go. our costs for shipping were cut in half. just like that. shipstation. the #1 choice of online sellers. go to shipstation.com/tv and get 2 months free. shipstation. the #1 ckiller attitude. of onlnevor hydration.... neutrogena® hydro boost. the #1 hyaluronic acid moisturizer delivers 2x the hydration for supple, bouncy sk

cnn's fred pleitgen is there. >> reporter: hi there, laura and christine.ark is continuing to ease some of the restrictions that it put in place to combat the coronavirus crisis. just this week bars, restaurants, cafes opening again as well. very soon professional sports leagues here in this country are starting to play again. the names have had a very unique philosophy. they went into a lockdown very early on. they shut their borders very early on. they're able to get out of that fairly quickly. they're considered a role model here in europe. but around the world nations are looking at them as well. the danes don't believe in wearing masks in public. they haven't started testing very much for coronavirus until fairly recently. what they do believe in, however, is washing your hands very, very often. sanitizing. keeping distance as well. clearly that's something that's been working for the danes. their amount of coronavirus cases is continuing to go down as is their death toll as well. laura and christine? >> fascinating. fred pleitgen in denmark for us. >>

vaccine could be as soon as september and partnering with a german company on this project and fred pleitgen landed the interview with that ceo today and joining me now from berlin. fred, what did you learn about what they have so far? >> reporter: well, exactly, brooke. they're quite excited about the clinical trials beginning in the u.s. they began clinical trials last week here in germany with some 12 participants and they want to move forward to 200 germany and about 360 in the united states. two things they want to find out. on the one hand whether or not this vaccine has an effect. but also whether or not it is safe. that is a very key thing for them. they say if all of this is certified, that they could not only have emergency rations ready by fall, but they could potentially have millions of doses ready by the end of this year and hundreds of millions in 2021. now, of course, all of that is dependent on whether or not the clinical trials go well and get certification. but the ceo of the company who i talked to earlier, he said he's fairly confident and here is why. >> so you can ask

cnn's fred pleitgen looks at how schools worldwide are getting creative to ensure that they are doingeir part to prevent the virus from spreading. >> reporter: it looks almost like a normal school break at this school in copenhagen, except for the police tape dividing the school yard. just one of many measures meant to keep kids from bunching up and prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the head of secondary education says. if you follow the guidelines, if you keep distance if you make sure to wash your hands, keep sanitizing, coughing in your sleeve and not in your hand and so on and so forth, i think we'll be safe. >> reporter: denmark started reopening schools more than a month ago and so far, new coronavirus cases in the country haven't spiked, the government says. what's surprising, neither students nor teachers wear masks. instead, they keep distance and wash hands and sanitize very often. >> it's a bit challenging, but you get used to it after a time. >> reporter: it's a different picture in south korea. children there not only wear masks, some are seated behind plexiglas divi

and as fred pleitgen reports, the classroom is getting a makeover. >> reporter: it looks almost like a normal school break. except for the police sttape quiding the schoqui guiding tguid dividing the schoolyard. >> if you follow the guidelines, if you keep distance, if you make sure to wash your hand, keep antisanitizing, coughing i your sleeve, i think that we'll be safe. >> reporter: and deny mark started reopening schools more than a month ago and so far new cases haven't spiked.mark started reopening schools more than a month ago and so far new cases haven't spiked. what is surprising, students and teachers don't wear masks. instead they keep distance and sanitize often. >> it is a bit challenging, but you get used to it after a time. >> reporter: it is a different picture in south korea. children there not only wear masks, some are seated behind plexiglass dividers. still the country shut down dozens of schools after two kids tested positive. even the first major coronavirus epicenter, wuhan, brought kids back two yeweeks ago. masks are mandatory and other strict measures have b

fred pleitgen, cnn, copenhagen, denmark. >> now let's talk about colleges.iversities and colleges across the country are working with health departments to determine how students can get back to campus in the fall. under the most important voices in college sports says that athletes should come back. why he thinks it will be safer. t your digestive system isn't working at its best? taking metamucil every day can help. metamucil supports your daily digestive health using a special plant-based fiber called psyllium. psyllium works by forming a gel in your digestive system to trap and remove the waste that weighs you down. metamucil's gelling action also helps to lower cholesterol and slows sugar absorption to promote healthy blood sugar levels. so, start feeling lighter and more energetic... by taking metamucil every day. we're returning $2 billion dollars to our auto policyholders through may 31st. because now, more than ever, being a good neighbor means everything. like a good neighbor, state farm is there. we turn to the most certain thing there is. science

fred pleitgen, cnn, austria. >>> u.s. lawmakers just passed another multitrillion relief package. next year, though, why it's doomed to fail. >>> even as people in washington, d.c.'s wealthiest suburbs wait in line for food. >>> also this -- >> a male with pre-existing condition. that's me and every vietnam veteran i know, practically. >> a tragic situation facing many american war veterans as they battle an enemy, covid-19. r oven can, like flip away. the ninja foodi air fry oven, the oven that crisps and flips away. a lot of folks ask me why their dishwasher doesn't get everything clean. i tell them, it may be your detergent... that's why more dishwasher brands recommend cascade platinum... ...with the soaking, scrubbing and rinsing built right in. for sparkling-clean dishes, the first time. cascade platinum. you're on it. exercising often and eating healthy? yup, on it there too. you may think you're doing all you can to manage type 2 diabetes and heart disease... ...but could your medication do more to lower your heart risk? jardiance can reduce the risk of cardiovascular deat

cnn's fred pleitgen reports. >> reporter: math lessons from the pulpit.hen the school outside copenhagen didn't have enough space for all kids because of physical distancing rules, the local church became a classroom. students don't mind. >> it's different, but i like it. and we learn a lot. >> reporter: to help with their statistics lessons, they needed a place with lots of numbers, so they just moved to the church's graveyard. denmark's government is encouraging as many lessons as possible outside, the teacher says. >> we have to start in statistics, in math, so instead of doing it inside the school, now we can use the cemetery. they can collect data and we can work with it and they get much more curious. >> reporter: denmark is rapidly reopening its schools under very strict hygiene measures. arrival times are staggered so there aren't too many kids at school at once. you won't see students or teachers wearing masks, though. instead, here at the hendricks school in copenhagen, they use police tape to make sure people don't cross paths on the stairs and

fred pleitgen is tracking that for us from berlin. so, fred, what are you learning? >> reporter: hi, there, rosemary. yeah, this comes from the research sector, really, and german company bi-ontech and their american partner pfizer have now started clinical trials for a possible coronavirus vaccine in the united states. last week they already started similar trials in germany and now they've gotten the go-ahead to do that in the u.s. they want to expand the trials really fast. and they also say if everything goes according to plan, they could have millions of doses ready for use by the end of the year. here's what the company's ceo told me. a simple injection that some hope could help bring an end to a global pandemic. pfizer and its german partner biontech announcing today they've dosed the first participants in the u.s. with a vaccine candidate in a clinical trial. 12 study participants in germany received doses last month. biontech's ceo saying preclinical data showed good results. >> we see vaccine responses, we see some vaccine response even at low dose and we b

good point there, fred pleitgen at a very iconic location there in berlin. for joining us, fred. >>> so, a new genetic analysis of the coronavirus is revealing some startling, new details. so, a study by researchers in the uk shows that the virus has actually been circulating in people since late last year, and must have spread extremely quickly after the first infection. the virus is changing, but that doesn't mean it's also getting worse. we know research has looked at virus samples taken at different times and at different places for more than 7,600 patients around the world. joining me to discuss all this, dr. ron daniels, a critical care consultant at the university hospitals birmingham nhs foundation trust. that's a mouthful, but either way, you're a frontline doctor, you're an icu doctor. that's why we're talking to you. and i do want to get your sense about this new research that covid-19 has potentially been circulating in people much earlier than we thought. you've been treating people in icus. do you think you might have treated covid-19 patients

fred pleitgen has that reporting. >> reporter: math lessons from the pulpit.ol outside copenhagen didn't have enough space for all kids because of physical distancing rules, the local church became a classroom. students don't mind. >> it's different, but i like it. and we learn a lot. >> reporter: to help with their statistic lessons, they needed a place with lots of numbers, so they just moved to the church's graveyard. denmark's government is encouraging as many lessons as possible outside, the teacher says. >> we have to study statistics and math, so instead of doing it inside the school, now we can use the cemetary. they can collect data and we can work with it and they get much more curious. >> reporter: denmark is rapidly reopening its schools under very strict hygiene measures. arrival times are staggered so there aren't too many kids at school at once. you won't see students or teachers wearing masks, though. instead here at the hendricks home school in copenhagen, they use police tape to make sure children don't cross paths on the stairs. in the schoo

fred pleitgen for us. >> everyone has to get creative. >> yeah. >>> well, stay-at-home restrictions are being eased today across the united kingdom, but england, scotland, wales, and northern ireland are all taking slightly different approaches. and the british government has spent the last two days simultaneously clarifying and muddying what prime minister boris johnson had announced on sunday. nick paton walsh joins us live from london now. do you get the sense, nick, that this confusion has been cleared up? you know, this has been sort of a messy start. >> reporter: yeah, i think to some degree it is now clear what people are expected to do. the question is, are they willing necessarily to go back to work, if they can't work from home, as is now the government advice? at the rush hour behind me, we're told by staff they're about 60% of what you'd expect to be normal traffic here, but this is kings cross station in central london. let me just pause for a moment. it's silent, frankly, to some degree. so w

. >> right fred pleitgen. let's continue our conversation. thank you for being with us. you have great expertise at this. when you hear whether this particular one here or some of these other say we think we got it and we are racing ahead and could be by fall or next year to the point fred was making about the cautionary flags, are you convinced it could be done safely and quickly? >> we don't know how to make a vaccine against this virus yet. some groups are taking the virus and killing it. some are weakening the virus and some are taking the surface protein of the virus which is the same way we makes the hepatitis b. vaccine. we don't know what's going to work. we don't know whether these vaccines are safe yet. we still don't have the protection. we are not going to know those things until we do safety and efficacy trials. it is hard to stand back to watch this press release data when you finally do the studies and see where these things are. let's wait to see if these results are promising before we put it out for people. >> appreciate your insights there. you wish th

cnn's fred pleitgen joins me now. rs so europeans can go on holiday? >> reporter: they certainly do, but they say they have to do it in a responsible way. right now most borders in europe are closed. they say if two countries want to open their border with one another, they have to have the same type of coronavirus situation over there. right now between austria and italy it simply isn't possible because the situation in italy is so much worse. at the same time they say any country that wants to accept tourists has to have adequate capacities as far as icu beds, for instance, are concerned, if there should be an outbreak so they can deal with it. when it comes to traveling itself, they say that will remain very restricted. for instance vehicles shouldn't have too many passengers in them so people can keep their distance. masks should be available at any given time. hand sanitizer as well, just to make sure people are able to travel in a safe way. that's because, jake, the tourism industry is such a big business here in

let's turn to our frederick pleitgen live from berlin. what's the latest, fred? >> reporter: when you look at the airline sector, not just in germany but around the world, you never run out of superlatives. lufthansa is running operations at the same pace as it did in 195. that was the first year that the airline was around to start operations after world war ii. they are currently losing $1 million every single hour. they gave us access to their hub in frankfurt where a lot of their fleet is currently standing around not making money but losing money. here's what we saw. while most of lufthansa's passenger fleet stands idol at the company's hub in frankfurt, the cargo wing is still humming. this plane carrying medical gear, among other things, getting ready to depart for the u.s. the pilots saying they constantly have to adapt to new rules for international travel in times of the pandemic. >> the duty periods, we need more pilots in the cockpit, we have planned four pilots flying through china. >> reporter: lufthansa has had to convert passenger planes into carg

cnn's fred pleitgen is there in germany along the baltic coast. this is always the concern.see a spike in cases. what can you tell us? >> reporter: it certainly is, laura, a concern for the german authorities. they're saying the reproduction number for the coronavirus has been above 1 for the past few days. that means on average every infected person in this country is giving the virus to more than one other person. the virus could be expanding. the centers for disease control in germany is saying the total number of covid-19 people with infections is so low that they're not sure how accurate their numbers are. keep that in mind. they're keeping a close eye on it. it comes as germany loosens the restrictions. starting up here, restaurants are opening again. cafes are opening again and bars are opening again as well. that's certainly something they're keeping an eye out for. there are more than 50 new infections per 100 people at any municipality, the lockdown goes back in place, laura. >> fred, good to see you. thanks. >>> in france the pandemic has become a tale of two regi

fred pleitgen, cnn, frankfurt, germany. >> reporter: here in the uk, prime minister boris johnson isople to defeat the coronavirus. it pits humanity against the virus. it said the number one way to destroy covid-19 is to come up with a vaccine. of course, the uk is one of the front runners in the race globally to try to find a vaccine. researchers at oxford university saying they believe that if their trials continue to go well, they could have a vaccine ready as early as september. some experts though cautioning that is very optimistic, it would likely take at least a year. all of this happening as the uk prepares to overtake italy to have the most or highest number of deaths in europe. more than 28,000 people have been killed here by the coronavirus. also coming up on sunday, the government will basically present a plan to people where they start to outline what this country will look like as they start to lift the lockdown. clarissa ward, cnn, london. >> reporter: i'm nic robertson in athens. the country here coming out of a seven-week lockdown but it's going to be in stages. toda

. >> reporter: i'm fred pleitgen at the border between austria and germany where both countries easens that have been in place for about two months. both austria and germany have decided to not only let commuters pass the border, but also day trip tourists. all this comes as the european union trying to revive the struggling tourism sector on the continent. both austria and germany say they want to completely open the border by june 15th but all depends on the pandemic situation. >> reporter: i'm rafael covering nicaragua. is the south american country hiding the real number of deaths? the agent who died on may 11 say they were forced to have his burial at night. they say authorities only allowed a handful of relatives to attend the burial and followed by police cars so no one in their words would take pictures. nicaragua's health ministry did not respond to cnn's request for interview. vice president said on interview with the radio station that supports the government that pictures of what people are now calling express burials have been taken in other countries. officially, the go

cnn's fred pleitgen is in berlin. >> reporter: hi there, wolf. potentially some very good news as pfizer and its german partner biontech now say they've started clinical trials in the united states for a potential coronavirus vaccine. now, i was able to speak to the ceo of the german company biontech and he tells me he is very confident because they have gotten some very good results in the preclinical phase. of course he also acknowledges there is still a very long way to go. meanwhile, angela merkel now says germany is past the first phase of the coronavirus and can now start reopening this country's economy. what that means in the short term is that larger stores are going to open. also cafes and restaurants will be able to reopen again, of course under very strict hygiene measures. and germany's professional soccer league is also going to start playing, probably in the middle of may and probably without any spectators on hand. angela merkel says she's pleased with the way things are going in germany so far but she also warned the company shou

fred pleitgen, cnn, copenhagen, denmark. >>> montenegro has become the first european country to declare itself free of the coronavirus. the prime minister made the announcement monday after the country went 20 days without any new infections. montenegro has a population around 630,000. it's recorded only 324 cases of the virus with nine deaths. >>> and the czech republic will no longer enforce wearing facemasks in public. as of monday masks are only required on public transport or in enclosed areas. the country has been easing restrictions in the past month as the number of new restrictions stay low. well done. >>> there's a lot we still don't know about how the coronavirus spreads. are you more likely to get it from touching a germy surface or by breathing the same air as an infected person? brian todd shows us two recent studies on how the virus travels. >> reporter: a disturbing altered reality demonstration of how coronavirus spreads. medical experts teemed up with japan's public broadcaster nhk to gather ten participants. a buffet style eating in a cruise ship. the first participan

. >> reporter: i'm fred pleitgen in berlin where the european union says it faces a recession of historicroportion. the european commission is forecasting that economies of the eu are going to contract by a record 7.5% in 2020. of course the european union countries have already come together and agreed on measures to prop up the economies of the continent but also to combat unemployment. however, the european commission says it believes it will take at least a year for the economies to rebound. >> reporter: jordan says it has recorded no new coronavirus cases over the past eight days. but as it is gradual and cautiously reopening the economy, the risks are still high. the country of about 10 million people has less than 500 confirmed cases and nine deaths. they say that the reason for this initial success is because jordan moved fast, it hit hard with one of the strictest lockdowns in the world. they put a restrictive regime in place. they note price for this initial success is going to be the impact on the country's already struggling economy. >> reporter: i'm ivan watson in hong kong.

. >> reporter: i'm fred pleitgen in berlin. merkel says they're past the first phase and can further ease restrictions meant to push the virus back. here in germany that means larger stores can also open as well as restaurants, bars and also cafes, which are going to be opening fairly soon and the soccer league, the bundesliga will start playing soon but merkel is warning if people take it too loosely there could be a spike in infections and there is a snapback policy where if there is a new amount of infections the lockdown will be back in fact. >> reporter: the prime minister here says he's willing to reaccelerate opening the economies with has taken a serious beating as a result of coronavirus. in april, hotel stays by foreigners plummeted by more than 99%. impatience is growing to get this country moving again well ahead of the rest of italy, the government in the northern provin provinces have voted to allow shops to re-open saturday and brars, restaurants, museums and hairdressers to resume operations this coming monday.

. >>> i'm fred pleitgen in berlin, where the german government is concerned.new infections in a 24-hour period, the german centers for disease control says the reproduction number for the coronavirus has been above one for three days running. now, that could mean the virus is expanding once again rather than getting pushed back, all of this as germany is beginning to open up and easing some of the restrictions. however, the government has said if there's a new spike in infections, the country could go back on lockdown. >>> i'm in the bahamas its week 8 of the blockdown, and the tourism sector continue to say spiral. the prime minister here expects that unemployment will spike from 12% to 30%. the government is rolling out millions in unemployment benefit packages for thousands of furloughed employees. construction has resumed on some aisles. essential service are offerable, and businesses offering curbside pickup are in full swing. >>> foreign officials are tested how a male spoke on board a repatriation flight from south florida to bahamas. >>. >>> i'm matthe

. >>> i'm fred pleitgen in berlin.y is continuing to open up as the amount of active novel coronavirus cases in this country continues to decline. bars, restaurants and cafes will open throughout the entire country during the course of the week. however, all this comes as the german center for disease control is warning that the virus might be speeding up again. the reproduction number has been above one for two days in a row and angela merkel has warned if the cases spike, germany risks another lockdown. >>> i'm scott mclean in spain, where stores, churches and restaurant terraces will be able to open at limited capacity starting today. this applies to a little more than half the country, including the island of eby zibiza. the island heavily relies on tourism but spaniards aren't allowed to travel outside of their home regions. it's hard to distance at a nightclub. one outdoor venue had weeds growing up through the dance floor like an abandoned parking lot. the island's president is hoping domestic tourists will be a

fred pleitgen, cnn, copenhagen, denmark. >>> here in the u.k., they're hoping to train dogs to detect19 in people. they've trained them for cancer and they expect to have success with this, too. they could be at airports where dogs already sniff out drugs and other contraband. if these dogs could open up air travel again, it could have huge impacts on the economy. one of the things these dogs have control over when it comes to testing the virus is the rate at which they can test. over 250 people an hour could be screened by just one dog. cnn, windsor, england. >>> up next for us, despite warnings from his own fda, the president says he's taking hydroxychloroquine to prevent, he believes, him from getting covid-19. young man: thanks for having us this weekend mrs. garcy young woman: yeah, thanks mom mother: of course and thank you guys for these gorgeous flowers, so thoughtful. young woman whispering: hey, did you bring the... the condoms? young man whispering: what's up? young woman whispering: condoms young man whispering: cond.. condor? young woman whispering: condor. why would i sa

fred pleitgen, cnn, berlin. >> i want to know why fred only went to the museum and not the drive-in discouse he had to put his head out of the sunroof to dance there. >> i think he was there, his cameraman. i can't tell if i hate the drive-in disco or love the drive-in disco. i love hearing the music, but what happens when you see a super cute guy in the car next to you? then what? >> you can still wear the vinyl. i don't know. i don't know if we need to get into the physics of that in morning television. >> i'm interested in the fizzphs of that. >> during the break. >> you'll educate me how you dance with other people. anyway, thanks to fred for that. >>> there are so many developments on the pandemic and the economic crisis. here's what else to watch today. >>> we have a developing story at this hour, there is a hopeful sign this morning for a broadway star who has been fighting a life or death battle with coronavirus. we have an update next. t-mobile and sprint are joining forces to power your business. we're building a 5g network that will deliver unprecedented reach and reliability,

. >> reporter: i'm fred pleitgen in copenhagen where denmark is continuing to ease some of the restrictionsmeant to combat the coronavirus pandemic. as of this week, shopping malls, bars, restaurants and cafes are allowed to open and very soon professional sports leagues will start playing again as well. denmark is seen as a role model for combatting coronavirus, not just in europe, but really around the world. the country went into a lockdown very early on and so now is able to get out of that lockdown fairly soon as well. denmark also has seen a decline in coronavirus cases, fairly low death toll. >> reporter: i'm shasta darlington in sawe paulo. brazil topped 250,000 confirmed covid-19 cases on monday, surpassing the uk total and making it the third highest in the world. the death toll topped 16,000. in sao paulo, they said the health system is on the verge of collapse. less than half of the population is sheltering at home. the outlook is bleak in hospitals from the amazon to rio de janeiro. >> our thanks to our reporters from all around the world. there are still obviously many questio

. >> reporter: i'm fred pleitgen in berlin.ansa, like so many other airlines around the world, is fighting for survival. they gave us access to their hub in frankfurt, where much of their fleet stands grounded because of the coronavirus pandemic. lufthansa says it will need billions of dollars in state aid not just to make it through the crisis, but also to be competitive once the coronavirus pandemic ends. >> reporter: i'm matthew chance, a russian doctor infected with coronavirus is fighting for his life this morning after criticizing working conditions and falling out of a window at a hospital. get this, he's the third doctor in russia to mysteriously fall out of a window in recent weeks. earlier one in siberia died after meeting health officials, local media said she opposed the hospital becoming a coronavirus facility and last month a doctor in russia's main cosmonaut base died after falling out of a window. the authorities called a tragic accident. >> reporter: i'm sam kiley where they're waiting this week for evacuation

fred pleitgen cnn, copenhagen, denmark. >>> hello to our viewers in the united states and around thecontinuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. the president leaves for michigan this hour. it's a key 2020 battleground state and a coronavirus test case. fourth in deaths among the 50 states and very much in the leading edge of the economic fallout, too. a morning reminder of that devastation in what is now an economic tragedy. 2.4 million americans say they do not have a job. the nine-week total,

fred pleitgen, cnn. >> reporter: i'm melissa bell in paris. here in france, authorities have banned the use of hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of covid-19, this after a wide-ranging study published just before the weekend that suggested in large-scale clinical trials that not only did the drug not bring any improvement to covid-19 patients, but that it might actually be more dangerous to prescribe it than not to prescribe it with a particular reference to cardiac toxicity. here in france, hydroxychloroquine has been at heart of a great deal of debate ever since the doctor in the south of france began leading studies into it but also championing its use in the fight against covid-19. the authorities asked the government's counsel on these matters to have a look at it. it came back with a verdict, and the announcement has now been made -- it will no longer be used in the treatment of covid-19, this as the figures here in france continue to progress. we're going to hear more on thursday about government's plans to continue its move to lifting

. >> fred pleitgen has some details for us. progress they've made thus far. >> reporter: a lot of progress. this company is called biotech and an international partner of pfizer. as far as dosing of this first group of people they haven't completed it. only 12 people in the first cohort. what they want to do now is immediately move forward very quickly to give the vaccine to about 200 people and they say what they are going to do is increase the dosage, of course they want to see whether or not first of all if it works and second of all, extremely important, of course, whether or not it is actually safe to use. but as far as pfizer concerned and biontech they want to start trials in the u.s. as fast as possible. they hope by the latter half of next week they are going to have regulatory approval in the u.s. to start human trials there. their timeline is bold. they want to get emergency approval by the end of fall and by the end of this year possibly if everything goes to plan could have over a million doses ready for use and fo

fred pleitgen is in berlin. angela merkel laying out the country's next moves on reopening.ly, how conservatively are they doing it? >> well, angela merkel is always quite conservative in her reopening, but she did say today germany is past the first phase of the pandemic and that they are pushing the pandemic back. therefore, they can start reopening certain areas of the economy. she's been under some pressure to do that. larger stores than before now able to open their doors again, also bars, restaurants, and cafes will be able to open. for sports fans, the german soccer league is going to get under way again by the middle of may, although it's not clear whether or not there's going to be spectators in the stands. also some pretty important information on the medical front coming from germany as well. pfizer and its german partner have now for the first time started clinical trials in the u.s. for a vaccine candidate. they say they've gotten good data in preclinical trials. they also say, of course, a long way to go. >> for sure. thank you, fred. >>> let's go to our senior

. >>> i'm fred pleitgen in denmark.e of the things you don't see in schools is students or teachers wearing masks. but you do see a lot of hand sanitizing, and a lot of handwashing. this school, for instance, has these basins here, so children can wash their hands, at any point in time. also, there is a lot of taped off areas, to make sure that kids don't get too close to each other, and keep that physical distance. now, this school in particular is a really interesting one. because of the physical-distantsiphysical-di physical-distancing measures, they didn't have enough space for all the students to come back so they actually moved some of their lessons into the local church. math lessons from the church with the teacher standing in the pulpit. and they even do some of the lessons in the local church graveyard because there are a lot of numbers on those headstones and the danish government actually encourage that. they say students should do as many lessons as possible outside. >> cnn's fred pleitgen in copenhagen. we

. >> reporter: i'm fred pleitgen in copenhagen where the danish government is saying anyone who wantsona test can get a corona test. all people need to do is sign up and get an appointment on an app and come to a testing facility like that one and get tested for whether or not they have the virus. the reason for that is that the danish government wants to find out if there is any hidden pockets of covid-19 here in this country. denmark has been extremely successful in dealing with the outbreak and has a very, very low death toll. >> reporter: i'm delia gallagher in rome. italy has a new plan for people out in public and not obeying social distancing regulations. the italian civil protection authority with regional governments is organizing 60,000 volunteers. they're calling them civil assistants who will patrol streets, beaches and parks, reminding people to wear face masks and to maintain social distance. these volunteers will be over 18, they will wear vests, identifying themselves, and will not be able to issue fines or tickets. >> fascinating, charting the reopening around the wor

. >>> i'm fred pleitgen in berlin, angela merkel's government is set to decide on possible further measures to open the economy back up. some things being talked about, allowing larger stores to open up again, also bars and restaurants and getting this country's soccer league up and running once again. also, u.s. company pfizer and its german partner biontech started clinical trials in the united states for a possible coronavirus vaccine. i was able to speak to the ceo of a german company biontech and he said he's very confident because they have gotten good results in preclinical trials. >>> i'm jomana karachi. jordan says it recorded no new virus cases over the past eight days. as it is gradually and cautiously reopening the economy, the risks are still high. the country of about 10 million people has less than 500 confirmed cases and nine deaths. they say that the reason for this initial success is because jordan moved fast, it hit hard with one of the strictest lockdowns in the world. they also put in strict quarantine in place, they went for aggressive contact tracing, and random testi

fred pleitgen, cnn, berlin. >>> here in london, prime minister boris johnson is expected to outline toation on sunday what the lifting of some of the restrictions that have been put in place to stop the spread of coronavirus might look like. those restrictions starting to lift as of next monday, but people are being cautioned to keep their expectations low. the prime minister has said that he desperately wants to avoid the possibility of a second wave of infection. meanwhile, earlier today in the houses of parliament just behind me, the prime minister faced some really tough questioning as the uk overtook italy to have the highest death toll in the whole of europe. prime minister boris johnson essentially trying to evade questions on that subject, saying that it's not appropriate to compare different countries that have different population sizes, though he did appear to concede that the government has not done the best job of handling the spread of coronavirus in this country's care homes, calling that, quote, something i bitterly regret. clarissa ward, cnn, london. >>> here in hong k

fred pleitgen cnn, copenhagen, denmark. >>> hello to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm john king in washington. this is cnn continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. the president leaves for michigan this hour. it's a key 2020 battleground state and a coronavirus test case. fourth in deaths among the 50 states and very much in the leading edge of the economic fallout, too. a morning reminder of that devastation in what is now an economic tragedy. 2.4 million americans say they do not have a job. the nine-week total, more than 38 million shoved to the unemployment rolls by coronavirus. >>> a new study about the cost of waiting to tell americans to stay at home is now stirring a debate over whether the president, most governors and mayors should have acted sooner. where we are right now is another debate. the president plans things in military terms and says, quote, we have prevailed. the urgent thing is to reopen quickly to save american businesses and american jobs but the nation's top expert on infectious disease voices the caution. >> the scientific

fred pleitgen is out front. >> reporter: a simple injection that some hope could help bring an end topandemic. pfizer and its german partner biontech announcing today they dosed the first participants in the u.s. with a vaccine candidate in a clinical trial. 12 study participatants in germany received doses last month. biontech's ceo saying preclinical data showed good results. >> we've seen vaccine responses, strong vaccine response at even low dose. and we believe that this vaccine response is in different animal models and will also translate to vaccine response in human subjects. >> reporter: the program is called bnt 162. and it's actually a group of four trial vaccines using what's called an mrna, or messenger rna approach which causes the body to produce a protein that triggers an immune response. pfizer and biontech claim if the certification process goes smoothly they could have millions of doses ready by the end of this year. hundreds of millions in 2021. biontech's ceo saying he believes regulators will move fast. >> the benefit of a vaccine in a pandemic situation is much,

. >>> i'm fred pleitgen in denmark and this country is rapidly reopening its schools.e thing you don't see in danish schools is students and teachers wearing masks. you do see a lot of hand sanitizing and washing. they have basins so the students can wash their hands at any point in time. also there's a lot of taped off areas to make sure kids don't get too close to each other and keep that physical distance. now, this school in particular is a really interesting one. because of the physical distancing measures they didn't have enough space for all the students to come pack, so they actually moved some of their lessons into the local church. so math lessons from the church with the teacher standing in the pulpit, and they even do some of the lessons for statistics in the local church graveyard because there are a lot of numbers on the headstone and the danish government actually encourages that. they say teachers should do as many lessons as possible outside. >> we're going to be showing you those type of dispatches throughout this hour to show how other countries are

. >> cnn's frederick pleitgen joins me from berlin. good to see you, fred. what a success story. angela merkel saying germany has made it through the first phase of the pandemic. how is the next phase likely to look? >> reporter: the next phase is not going back to normal, but i think the government put a new corona normal is the way they would put it, which is that a lot of the economy is going to reopen. things like stores are going to be reopening. that's one of the things the germans have put in place, that larger stores are able to open their doors once again, also, this is pretty important, restaurants, bars, cafes are going to be opening again as well. however, of course, under the current circumstances in a different way. there are strict hygiene measures that they all need to adhere to. i was already seeing some reports earlier today in german media about restaurants putting in place separator glass walls between tables, for instance, people being required to wear masks. people when they go to restaurants have to give up their contact information in case someone in that

cnn's frederik pleitgen is with us now from berlin. good to see you, fred. what's the reasoning behind this extension of social distancing restrictions? >> reporter: hi, there, rosemary. i think most of it is because angela merkel wants to be very careful when she starts slowly reopening this country. one of the things we've heard again and again from the german chancellor. she said, look, we've come this far, we've achieved so much. obviously, germany's death toll still being very, very low from the novel coronavirus. let's not jeopardize the gains that have been made. at the same time, i think you could almost say, rosemary, that angela merkel and her government are almost a victim of their own success, because now many of these state governors are saying, look, we really want to open a lot faster, we want to open a lot more than has been possible in the past. they believe that the virus is currently under control. and now what they want to do is they want to save their economy. there's one state in particular in the east of germany that says, by june 6th,

cnn's frederik pleitgen live with the most beautiful stand-up location i've seen in a long time in copenhagen. fredoing on there. >> reporter: hi there, john. you're absolutely right. the danes are faced with exactly the same problem that so many around the world are facing. if you're going to reopen those schools, how do you find enough space for all the students with the physical distancing measures? it is very, very difficult. the danes indeed are getting very creative with that. they're moving some of the classes for instance into old amusement parks and some even into churches. have a look at this. math lessons from the pulpit. when the school outside copenhagen didn't have enough space for all kids because of physical distancing rules, the local church became a classroom. students don't mind. >> it is different, but i like it. and we learn a lot. >> reporter: >> reporter: to help with their statistics lessons, they needed a place with lots of numbers. so they moved to the church's graveyard. denmark's government is encouraging as many lessons as possible outside, the teacher says. >> we have