natasha butler reports. natasha: high-speed trains converted into mobile hospitals.lth care -- health workers load coronavirus patients into tgv carriages stopped by doctors doctorses -- stocked by and nurses. this is to ease pressure on the ulceration region's overwhelmed lsatian region's overwhelmed hospitals. this facility usually seen in conflict zones but for emmanuel macron, not out of place in peacetime. he says the fight against the coronavirus is a war. >> when you engage in war, you engage fully. you mobilize together. i see divisions and fractures in our country, doubts. people who want to divide the country when we should have only one obsession, to unite, to fight the virus. natasha: it took the french army four days to build the network that can receive dozens in intensive care. it iss is stored because the first time we -- historic because it is the first and we have built this sort of structure, specifically for covid-19. natasha: the city is close to the german boarder. this has motivated neighbors to help. several hospitals in germany, switzerland a

patients to those trains across france let's see if we can get in touch with our correspondent natasha butler who joins me from in the south of the country natasha really interesting scenes in stroudsburg as we see those ambulances and vans getting ready to transfer people across france to get medical attention what more do we know about this. well i'm actually in western france and that's where many of the patients on this t.g.v. train this high speed train will be transferred that we transferred to this region to several hospitals in different cities and what's interesting is the french government have decided to use a t.v. on hines speed train as a sort of mobile hospital in each carriage it is being set up as if it were a hospital you have doctors you have no says each carriage can take 4 patients there are intensive care units and those patients are being transferred from drs more and across the east of france and northeast of france which is really one of the centers of the epidemic the current virus epidemic in the country the hospitals there are simply overwhelmed they cannot cope the

natasha butler says even worse figures could be reported in the weeks ahead. 418 deaths in the past 24 hours, a worrying situation, but one that we have been warned about. the french prime minister said the first two weeks of april would be a very difficult time for france, that france could be reaching its peak at that time. stage,onavirus at this the cases have been concentrated in the northeast of france in the alsatian region, but the prime minister had warned a few weeks ago that the spread would reach across normandy, france, paris region and other parts of france. that is what we are seeing, a real spread of cases. these cases now putting the french death toll not far behind china. >> in the u.k., tilde hospitals are being set up to take the pressure off the national health services. reporter: the crisp white sheets, the medical equipment, a view you would expect in any hospital. but this is the country's newest , set up in days in two vast exhibition halls. will startgale taking in coronavirus patients this week. eventually there will be 4000 beds. more such hospitals are being

the white house he is in tehran for the middle east perspective but we start in europe there's natasha butler at charles de gaulle airport in paris will be with you shortly natasha starting with knaves barkha now if we had to study even i mean there's so much that's happened in europe in just the past few hours but the u.k. not exactly following suit basically take us through all of that. it is a rapidly shifting picture with updates pretty much every few minutes or so but let's start here in the u.k. where senior ministers are currently attending the cobra meeting there's an emergency gathering of senior officials and politicians to decide exactly what to do next the u.k. has basically conceded that we have now gone past the containment stage of the virus and now need to be focusing on delaying its onset the theory here in britain is that if the peak of the virus can be delayed to the summer months when there is usually less strain on the health service than that would be the best way of equipping the health service to be able to deal with a sudden increase in people requiring its services a

natasha butler joins me now from southwest france for. natasha just tell us more about these medical evacuations because in terms of the high speed trains it's an ingenious and resourceful idea. yes of course these are high speed t.g.v. trains they usually connect or affronts as major cities so from the outside this train is being used looks like a regular train for travel transport but it has been completely transformed inside each carriage of the train is effectively a mobile hospital with respirators special equipment on board our nurses and doctors and each carriage can carry up to 4 patients there are 20 patients in all that are being evacuated from the alsace region of france the north east of the borders of germany it is the area in france that's really been the worst hit by this corona virus epidemic with a 3rd of the deaths in france actually happening in that region so the hospitals there are completely overwhelmed they are struggling and they have asked the government for help so what the governments come up with is the idea of

natasha butler al-jazeera western france. as more countries around the world go into lockdown social distancing is being recommended as one way to contain the new coronavirus that's an unusual time for tens of millions of people but there are ways that can make small but crucial differences in their lives rather go up to explains. the where the. lonely. board where you let me go inspired. and creative life under quarantine for some it's not often in recent history that hundreds of millions around the world have shared a common experience so unique and unprecedented. some have been living under lockdown for days others for weeks and some for months trapped inside their homes doctors say that could lead to stress and anxiety the big surprise i can give here is just to kind of plan something in your life that you might focus on and start so i was there when i was out in trying to do some shopping i saw a lot of people rushing to libya i was store struck hardware stores sort of gardening and i think that's a very good idea to. ge

new cases of coronavirus as infections the top 11 phones and and france is closing its borders natasha butler joins me live now from in southwest france natasha the french really waking up to a new reality on tuesday yes that's the it's in fact i've midday here local time in. the french presence about omar or as news director measures. is in lockdown after a few days and weeks we've been looking from here and fogs late what's been happening there with the empty streets and people standing in choose a meter of pots but few here really understood so imagine some signal or bonds of being in the same position here we are the same situation indeed people having to stay in their home or government is that they must mistreat all men but you can only go out it was something essential so to them by going and or if you have a job that means what you called a work from home such as being a health worker of course people can go for walks and things like that but they are not allowed to have any contact in the street they must be alone at all times and in battle michael says that this is necessary to stop

until april 15th to try and stop the spread and he's warned people that the worst is yet to come natasha butler al jazeera frauds. south africa reports its 1st coronavirus related death police they have struggled to enforce the $21.00 day nationwide lockdown which came into force after midnight friday on a south africa's new restrictions people are only allowed out of their homes to buy groceries or for health emergencies but large crowds of continue to form and poor townships where social distancing is almost impossible to to be cramped living conditions there are serious familiar reports now from johannesburg we are still seeing people going out of their homes despite the government telling them to stay at home despite the government giving them a few days a year at the top down to do what was necessary in times of the shopping and and preparing people to knock down the scene long queues in some areas in johannesburg where people are trying to get groceries we also understand that they are. stores that sell alcohol also still open despite the government saying that has to be bad and entirely

until april 15th to try and stop the spread and he's warn people that the worst is yet to come natasha butler al jazeera frauds. that francis has held a prayer service on his own because of the crime a virus locked down in italy at the roman catholic church walked alone in st peter's square and back in city which would normally be packed with worshippers the part of orange every one to say the pandemic is a test of solidarity and a reminder of basic values and he praised essential workers such as medics cleaners and supermarket workers. turkey's grounded all international flights to help stem the spread of the virus and president raja type word want to encourage turks to abide by what's called new voluntary quarantine measures or face stricter rules invention rate in turkey is growing quickly with more than 2000 new cases poured in the last 24 hours a place in south africa have been struggling to enforce a 21 day nationwide lockdown which came into effect on friday midnight they were only allowed out of their homes to buy groceries or for health emergencies alcohol sales have also been banned

people the worst is yet to come natasha butler al-jazeera frauds. that francis has held a prayer service of his own because of the krona virus lockdown in italy that of the roman catholic church walked alone in st peter's square in vatican city normally of course that place is packed with worshippers the pontiff urged everyone to see the pandemic as a test of solidarity and a reminder of basic values and he praised essential workers such as medics cleaners and those in supermarkets. in syria only a handful of confirmed cases have been announced but there is concern that will change quickly millions of displaced people live in the northwest province of adlib or years of war had destroyed hospitals and the health system and costello has more . hundreds of thousands of tents and had lived lined up by the turkey syria border most are overcrowded and like basic facilities and many living here are worried that makes them more vulnerable to an outbreak of coronavirus other one aid workers here are briefing people on how to cope if there is an outbreak and

natasha butler al-jazeera western france. initially curfew has now come into force in jordan people are being told to stay home unless it is absolutely necessary to leave all shops across the kingdom have been ordered to close the information minister says those who violate the curfew will be jailed geneseo joining the list of countries that have ordered a national lockdown to the restriction is to stop people leaving their homes and travelling between cities cafes and restaurants and all the major cities will also be shuttered a 72 year old woman became the 1st victim of the virus when she died on thursday. colombia is set to begin a national lockdown starting overnight on tuesday it follows argentina whose government has also put the country under new restrictions. from. the usually teeming streets of. nearly empty as the country entered a food lockdown friday in an attempt to stem the outbreak of coronavirus president . to most stringent isolation measures yet in latin america. from midnight a preventive of mandatory socia

the worst is yet to come natasha butler al jazeera france. now even though the number of confirmed virus cases in syria remains low many are concerned that could change very quickly millions of displaced people live in the northwestern province of idlib where the health system has been eroded by years of war 5 cases have been reported across the country but people in the last rebel held area are concerned the virus could soon reach them sin and cos the other has more. hundreds of thousands of tents and had lived lined up by the turkey syria border most are overcrowded and like basic facilities. and many living here are worried that makes them more vulnerable to an outbreak of coronavirus other one aid workers here are briefing people on how to cope if there is an outbreak i don't know anything about it i just heard i'm learning about it now some say in adequate sanitation puts them at greater risk through iowa low matthew protection come on for the money like water how can we wash our hands that after a little my. they are getting help in ste

countries are now taking action to protect themselves as the very latest while correspondent in paris natasha butler but it's not just museums that are closing down over this period natasha the president has been very clear about what he's going to do and what he expects the nation to do. oh yeah the french president a man on my car has canceled or his traveling gauge once this week in order to remain in paris and really survey what is happening as the krona virus spreads in france you are hearing for example that there are reports from a french newspaper saying that 2 people may have died today in northern france so those are unconfirmed written records but it does give you a sense of how each day there are new cases coming up and it seems perhaps more fatalities now the move where i'm standing the museum is of course one of the world's most famous museums there are some people here who have come to see it obviously hoping to get inside but for a 2nd day at the museum is closed and that is because a soft of very concerned about the risks so that they could be exposed to the coronavirus if there are

climb in france the government says people must accept that their actions can help save lives natasha butler al-jazeera western france so don has ordered the closure of all its borders one person has died in 2 cases of covert 90 and have now been confirmed the government has struggled to control its borders as have all morgan reports from a refugee camp and many fear the virus could spread faster where they are. for nearly 10 months 16 year old sylar and her sister have been inseparable now registered in sudan as eritrean refugees the 2 fled their country with help from smugglers solera says the deal was for the smugglers to bring them to sudan but what happened next didn't go as planned. the smugglers from our country demanded more money when we told them we didn't have money they treated us to smugglers on the sudanese side of the border so lera now lives here in the eastern states of along with other refugees according to the united nations more than 120 refugees are in sudan most of them are in castello and unless registered refugees and asylum seekers aren't allowed to leave the camps a

following the orders of the scientists thank you very much that's more now knocked out in france now natasha butler joins us from skype over skype or should say from lemon western france so tell us what people being a bedient now. well i think you can really tell the difference today to the situation a few days ago few days ago people were still out of out walking enjoying some sunshine or even voting of course in the 1st round of the local elections which are held on sunday you know a few days later here we are in lockdown announced on monday nights by the french president tomorrow which means everybody has been told by the french government stay in your homes you can only go outside if it's the something necessary grocery shopping if you work in an essential need to straighten your car work from home such as a health worker all for a little bit of exercise but otherwise you're not allowed to cross anyone in the street to talk to them you have to stay away from everybody you can't visit friends and family so much more restricted living on top of that we've heard from france the transport minister

of course across europe need barker thank you let's go live now to natasha butler who is in paris for us and the passion found so far i guess hasn't felt the bite of the corona virus quite as much as some of its neighbors so what is the situation there now. well france is actually the 5th most affected country in the world the worst affected in europe after italy in terms of numbers there are over over 1700 cases have been diagnosed here and that of course is going up all the time more than 30 deaths and that is why the french government have really been on a war footing if you like over the last few weeks the french president emanuel micron's crit is shared you all he says that he will only really focus on the coronavirus in office the any other essential pressing matters but that is what he wants to really draw people's of my minds tune on thursday night he is going to address the nation in order to talk to french people about some of the measures they might do to better protect themselves and protect others and also of course bring iran up to date with what the french health author

until april 15th to try and stop the spread and he's warned people that the worst is yet to come natasha butler al jazeera frauds. security forces in western iran such in fire on 70 prisoners who escaped during a riot and happen in kurdistan province i would assess a prisoner stole cars at knifepoint to drive away some of the s k p s have since surrendered to police it's the 3rd prison break in iran in just a week same as avi's and tehran he says the virus pandemic is causing panic in iran's prison system this follows on from 24 hours earlier when there was a riot in another prison in azerbaijan province in the city of top breeds and that was started just yesterday that was just yesterday and earlier this month we've seen 2 other incidents where these 23 prisoners escaped during a breakout in in lauriston products now this is related to the coronavirus in a way and let me explain exactly how that works we saw earlier this month when to take the pressure off of the prison system to avoid the prison population succumbing to an outbreak of the current a virus what are generally speaking very popul

each other a partial lockdown is in place in france which has at least 4 and a half 1000 cases natasha butler is at a polling station in the capital paris. well here at this paris polling station as in polling stations across the country people coming to photo have been told by the french government to take very particular precautions they have to stand a meter apart they have to use hand sanitizer when they go in and out to clean their hands where mosque where possible bring their own pen to sign the register now of course the french government has put these regulations in place because all of the coronavirus epidemic in the country but really this policy is taking place in extraordinary context you have a country in virtual lockdown with nearly everything shut except for essential services but the french government has insisted that these elections must go ahead now while french people are voting for about half a 1000000 local councillors and those local councils will then elect their men as well for the people who did choose to come to vote they say that they felt that the risks were minim

natasha butler al-jazeera western france. well one of australia's most iconic beaches has been closed after people ignored a ban on mass gatherings officials made the decision after big crowds were seen at sydney's bondi beach on friday despite a government ban on gatherings of more than 500 people images sparked widespread anger across the country the authorities say the closure will extend to other beaches if social distancing advice is being ignored. afghanistan at least 22 people have been diagnosed with corona virus but with limited checks along the border with iran the illness is spreading rapidly health officials worry the number could quickly grow. as more. these refugees are back home in afghanistan their life in neighboring iran came to a standstill when the new coronavirus spread across the country with no jobs and a growing pandemic they decided to leave the moment because i'm put on my friends and i we all came back to afghanistan we left even though that we were still old months worth of unpaid salary the situat

until april 15th to try and stop the spread and he's warned people that the worst is yet to come natasha butler al jazeera frauds. well the eiffel tower in paris has let up with a message for the country's health care workers the display paid tribute to those on the front line in the fight against the great with a message of thanks which is he was also things to remind people to stay at home. now the u.k. prime minister boris johnson has become the 1st world leader to and i tested positive for the virus is among the string of top officials now in self isolation after contracting the illness johnson has been criticized for his store response to the crisis home i reports from central london just hours after boris johnson 1st displayed symptoms and was tested he received a positive result britain's prime minister becomes one of the world's highest profile carriers of the code 19 coronavirus so i am working from home i'm so price waiting and that's entirely the right thing to do but be in no doubt that i can continue thanks to the with every modern technology to communicate with all my top team to

climb in france the government says people must accept that their actions can help save lives natasha butlerl jazeera western france 80 percent of the world's schoolchildren are out of class because of the coronavirus and that's according to the united nations in the united states nearly every state has closed all or some of the schools and some will not reopen until the autumn kristen slimmy has more now from new york where teachers are attempting to do their job online. once you've looked into class you can figure out all of the work that you need to do depending on the subject so for teaching has never been quite like this for aaron shelmon or his 5th graders so a lot of people have been thinking like what do i do every day can we do this attendance at this new york public school and morning meeting are now online my goal right now is to resume some sense of normality for students in my. specially and parents i've i've had a lot of parents reaching out to me looking for some sort of schedule looking for some sort of routine a big it's all about you that's no easy task in the city suddenly

people the government's very serious about this and there is a real urgency that has to be faced natasha butler thank you very much for joining us from glen in france but spain as reported $192.00 more deaths bringing the total to $491.00 it's the worst affected country in europe after italy police at the border have turned vehicles trying to enter the country as part of strict new measures to control the virus it comes as thousands of new cases were reported across the european union which has closed its external borders we're joined now by journalist motherhood at a in madrid. horowitz could have you with us on the program in how much has that changed life everyone in spain especially in the capital. well. not actually about their coming to this situation in spain is quite similar to france i mean like 4 or 5 days ago we were outside in the bars with the sunshine and we were not very concerned we didn't for the forecast what was coming but our life changed in a few days and people are really concerned we're all come find out whoa what i can tell you what that what i can talk about is magic is

assured the process will be no more dangerous than a trip to the supermarket that's a quote on his natasha butler reports candidates vying to be the mayor of paris are now adjusting the way they campaign. the coronavirus was clearly on focus minds in paris as an us preside campaigned in the city to become mayor the former french health minister is the candidate for french president emmanuel macro centrist party republic on the moon of what so some people say there are fewer people on the streets i think are easier to being responsible for the use our replaced her party's 1st choice benjamin grieve over in february after he stepped down following a sex video scandal a late comer to the race opinion polls suggest trailing behind the front runners. one of the favorites is the incumbent socialist and you don't go is fighting for reelection promising to continue her battle against pollution in the city by making it greener. we are opening a new way to live in the city differently in a paris that respects nature spectral and that year they lived for 6 years edo goes run a city famous for its style but

convince them to stay for 2 weeks but he's now expected to ask them to stay indoors even longer natasha butler al-jazeera western france well let's talk about the european response of pabrai and he's joining us via skype from surrey and we now know paul the prime minister of italy and spain the 2 hardest hit countries in europe have rejected a joint in your proposal to tackle the economic crisis caused by the virus why are they concerned well it's interesting that attaches reporter speaks about european unity. the reality is that there is a fundamental difference between european union leaders about how best to hamley economic fallout of this coronavirus crisis they've been meeting by video conference during the course of this afternoon and it was a joint draft statement which was prepared in advance of that meeting in which italy made it quite clear that it wasn't happy they are idea that it's in the end and france and spain have is that they want to throw all of the tools that are available financially at this crisis to make sure that those countries hardest hit by the coronavirus can actual

in teheran natasha butler in the south of france we're starting though with florence louie in kuala lumpur to take us through well some pretty extreme measures but also the fact that this is all stemming from florence seemingly one of event. you're right come on and this is new you know the malaysian government has been under pressure to put in some sort of measure to restrict the movement of people to contain a limit the spread of corona virus ever since the reports of this new cluster emerged and it's all linked to a conference of moose lim missionaries held at a mosque just outside of kuala lumpur between the 28th of february and the 1st of march now 16000 people at 10 that this event 14500 malaysian citizens and the rest were foreigners now news of this cluster 1st emerged after a man had returned home to his home country of brunei and tested positive for covert 19 this was last week since then foreigners in other countries singapore indonesia brunei cambodia have also tested positive for covert 19 now in cambodia the number of cases doubled to 24 and out of the 12 new cases reported o

people a known to have contracted it well here is the tame the cell model herero is a madrid natasha butler is in southwest france shall tell us how hospitals in paris could be overwhelmed within days white house correspondent could be helped it is monitoring the u.s. house of representatives which is debating a 2 trillion dollars virus relief bill and diplomatic editor james bays that the u.n. where member states have dolls and for virtual mating let's start though and landed with joy to how boris johnson has the virus what do we know. well you heard the prime minister himself there insists that he is still in charge that he is still running the government and leading the fight against the corona virus his health secretary matt hancock we know is also in self isolation having been somehow to having been infected with the coronavirus as well also working at home both men have mild symptoms we understand from 10 downing street behind me that boris johnson has basically switched offices with his chancellor the chance of the expected research whose office is in number 11 that puts johnson's ne

gives you a sense of how the coronavirus really is touching also a segment of the population here natasha butler part of our team coverage of coronavirus this news hour which i should thank you for that now let's go back there i mentioned this before that massive stimulus package which has been announced to help deal with the are a total of $28300000000.00 allocated to address the economic impact of the virus only less than half of that would actually be available straight away it'll be partly used to support the hill system and civil defense services the rest goes on protecting jobs and propping up businesses. we'll get the thoughts now of nicola bodie who is an economist at the universe stays on skype from rome for us thank you for your time so what's your take on those sorts of measures that have been announced i know that's a very broad look at it but doesn't sound like the italian government is going in the right direction. i think so i think this is a package that it was so much needed that and even you need to mention it's about one percent that's part of what we don't get the. size it ne

until april 15th to try and stop this spring and he's warned people that the worst is yet to come natasha butler al jazeera frauds. and the news ahead. on the. evening news. we visit a hospital at the epicenter of the hour break and america's biggest city. and time for a change with this year's how it's going digital because of the pandemic. and in sport details of the european country where fans in football often commit. how i was there was some rather disturbed weather affecting the middle east of them i will say it brightening up around the levant as we go through the next day or so but we say this erick lab moved 1st syria iraq into iraq really heavy right on that actually some of the spots into chile across western parts or around could see as much as 50 maybe 60 millimeters of rain sunday going on into a monday to see that heavier rain just pushing towards pakistan always a chance of flooding coming through here wetter weather to creeping its way towards afghanistan let me go with clear skies coming back in behind damascus 21 jerusalem 21 celsius father dry which is across the arabian peni

while france will also restrict long distance travel but has gone ahead with local elections natasha butler is across the french elections for us out of paris paul brennan will join us from london following developments there and elsewhere across europe 1st let's go to tehran and my colleague our correspondent zain. the death toll this concern that looks like it's taking another spike. that's exactly right it's tragically been another record setting day here in iran in terms of the death toll we've seen a ticking up consistently over the course of the several weeks since the virus was identified since the outbreak was announced here in iran and the number of cases overall also continuing to take up and the government still struggling to get a handle on the spread of this virus we've also heard today that border closures with iraq had taken place for the last week iraq it said it was to sanitize those border posts now several of those posts have been opened but the crucial measure on border between iraq and iran that remains closed that closure has been extended both for cargo as well as pas

total number of infections to more than $11000.00 so developments across the board we've got natasha butler in france to catch up with developments there but we're starting with florence louis in kuala lumpur to take us through 1st of all florence the level of restrictions that are going into place exactly what is happening. well this is a what the government is calling a movement restriction order and it comes into effect on wednesday now what this essentially means is government services businesses that provide essential services will be allowed to open but everything else will have to be shut and the few categories that fall into essential services transport health care financial services food so shops supermarket supermarkets and markets will be allowed to remain open but that didn't stop people from. stockpiling food and it sensual items in supermarkets perhaps for fear that this restriction of movement order could go on for longer than 2 weeks now but the most stringent measure has to do with malaysians borders even for people who want to travel interstate they're going to need permis

different day they say and they have to adjust the measures according to the risk for that update natasha butler thank you. let's keep on message because. to iran's supreme leader has died from corona virus as infection numbers surged again on monday now the government confirmed another 12 deaths and 523 new cases as it struggles to contain the outbreak dozens of top government officials have now been tested positive same bus ravi reports that there are few reasons why iran's political elite have been so affected. the latest this gentleman who passed away mohamed mir mohamed he was in his seventies so at risk of certainly succumbing to the virus at risk of of passing away and unfortunately that is what's happened he was a member of the expediency council and a group of advisors to the supreme leader made up of technocrats military officers government officials and since the beginning we've seen that the government has been largely affected at least 20 members of government at least 20 senior leaders biased and it's here in iran have come in contact with this disease have come under it have contr

or you saw president in that report by charlie angela let's bring in the butler from paris with more natasha presidents had to say in the past hour and the measures that france will be taking. yes the french president addressing the nation for the 1st time really during this coronavirus crisis which he called the worst health crisis that france has faced for a century now he announced a range of measures that he says french authorities hope will help stop the spread of the virus at least could take a little slow it down if you like because they know he said that there's nothing we can do about it being among us we're at the beginning he says it's only going to get worse over the next few weeks but at least we can try and slow it down and that eases the pressure on the health services so some of the measures are shutting schools colleges universities down until date he didn't give a date and which they might reopen he has asked all businesses and companies to ask their staff to stay at home and work remotely where possible a transport will still function but he's asking people really not to g

withdrawing troops from iraq well let's speak to our correspondent attached a butler who joins us from southwest france natasha what do we know about just where these trains are going in especially given that some of these patients are in serious conditions how will they be cared for on board. let's take you to natasha's story she's been reporting about the broad impact of what's been happening with coronavirus and also how the french have been trying to . taking the necessary precautions the french president arrived at a field hospital in the all solution city all lose it was built to ease pressure at least in france's health system this struggling to cope with the country's highest number of coronavirus cases a facility usually seen in conflict zones but for a man who will mark rohr of place in peacetime he says the fight against the coronavirus is a war going on. when you engage in war you engage fully you mobilize together i see divisions and fractures in our country doubts people who want to divide the country when we should have only one obsession to unite to fight the virus. it took the french army 4 da