i'm ramin mellegard, thank you very much for watching. ♪ >> spain is clclose to the start of the declinee pandemic. the prime minister tells lawmakers this is the face extending the state of emergency. in a moment, we will go to madrid. the u.s. reports attack -- its highest daily death toll yet. new york state is still the worst affected part of the country. a bleak warning from oxfam. the charity says covid-19 could push as many as half a billion people into poverty.

i'm ramin mellegard. >>> the pandemic has forced a japan airline subsidiary that was going to start operatingext month to postpone its debut. the new low cost carrier zip air, the budgdget aairline saay travel restrictions in japan and thailand it can't expect passenger demand on the route. zipair says after the virus is under control, it will start the service as early as possible. japan's auto industry says it's ready to do its part in the coronavirus fight. the heads of four industry groups say they will help produce ventilators and offer financial support to struggling parts makers. >> translator: by saying what we are thinking it may encourage peoplple to raiaise their hands work togetherer on the things tt we suggest. if that happens, we could build a faster, stronger movement. we think that is really important in this time of crisis. >> the big auto groups say they will start making face masks for their own workers to ease the shortage. they will help medical equipment makers turn out ventilators. the industry is considering offering 3,000 rooms at company dormitories and recreation fa

coming up next is "newsline" biz with ramin mellegard, so please, stay right there. >>> officials atjapanese travel agency h.i.s. says it's giving its employees a month leave. they plan t to pay staff t thro public employment subsidies. the firm will retain several dozenn workers. two other travel agencies have essentially closed all outlets in regions affected by the emergency. >>> this is "newsline" biz, i'm ramin mellegard. japan saw a plunge in the number of overseas tourists in february due to the coronavirus. the decline led to the first drop in the country's net earnings for tourism in a year compared with the same month in 2019. finance ministry officials says japan's travel account surplus means people spent more in japan on accommodation and shopping than japanese travelers did abroad. meanwhile, japan's current account surplus in february grew to more than 3 trillion yen or $29 billion. that was due to a larger trade surplus because of a decline in imports from china where the pandemic damped production. >>> e-commerce giant r rakuten wants to help free up spaces in hospit

i'm ramin mellegard.se government has made moves to declare a state of emergency over the coronavirus pandemic. the impact of restrictions on the greater tokyo area would push down the country's gdp this year. they say the damage could be between half a percentage point to a full percentage point. once the prime minister makes the declaration, prefectural governors are expected to call for greater efforts to fight the virus. these could include asking residents to stay at home, except for essential outings. they could mean calling for a wide range of events to be suspended. but violators would face no punishment. an estimate by bnp paribas japan looks at how three weeks of restrictions in tokyo and seven nearby prefectures would affect the economy. it projects that limits on social activities could push down gdp by 4.3 trillion yen. that's about $40 billion or 0.8%. both capital investment and personal consumption would suffer. nli research institute foresees a scenario not quite as dire. it imagines rest