shimura later hosted a number of shows bearing his name. people on the street expressed surprise and sadness at the news of shimura's passing. >> translator: it's very shocking. i've been watching him on tv since i was a kid. >> translator: as i am the same generation as he, i feel death coming closer. >> translator: when i hear someone i know very well passed away, i think we shouldn't underestimate the powdanger of coronavirus. >>> countries around the world are rushing to find a way to combat the coronavirus. japan is backing into looking into whether avigan can be an effective treatment. japan plans to work with foreign authorities to expand clinical trials and increase the production of the drug. chinese researchers have said avigan was successful in treating the virus in past clinical trials. it was developed by a japanese government. they will likely seek official approval for avigan if it is found to be effective in clinical trials that are currently underway. >>> asian countries are stepping up measures to prevent imported infectio

shimura later hosted a number of shows bearing his name. people on the street expressed surprise and sadness a at the ns of shimura's passing. >> translator: it's very shocking. i've been watching him on tv since i was a kid. >> translator: as i'm the same generation as s he, i feel deat coming cloloser. >> translator:r: when i hear th someone i know very well has passed away, it makes me think we shouldn't underestimate the danger of the coronavirus. >> shimura is also well-known in taiwan among people in their late 30s and older who grew up watching his tv shows. he's said to have influenced comedians in taiwan. >> translator: i was surprised. he's unfortunately the first well-known person to have died from the coronavirus. he could entertain many people if there were no virus outbreak. >> translator: i hope he'll get a lot of laughs in heaven as the king of comedy. >> taiwan's president expressed her condolences. in a tweet written in japanese, she thanked shimura for bringing laughter and vitality to the people of taiwan. she said the c

there's hope that shimura's death will change that attitude. >> translator: i didn't take the situation very seriously, even though new cases are reported every day. it didn't affect anyone i know. but i feel scared now that a famous person like him has died. >> this popular japanese youtuber told followers, keeping others safe is one way to pay tribute to their idol. >> translator: i want them to imagine what it would be like if they were infected and spread this v virus to loved ones. if someone dies because of them, they will reregret it. they should spend each day considering that. >> reporter: as the coronavirus spreads people across japan will continue to mourn the comedy legend. now also a symbol of the growing pandemic. nhk world, tokyo. >>> new york state governor andrew cuomo has appealed for help from health care workers across the state to fight the outbreak of coronavirus in his state. >> if you don't have a health care crisis in your community, please come help us in new york now. >> the remarks come amid a surge of infections in the u.s. the u.s. centers for disease contr

and i think the death of ken shimura changes the dynamics of the way society looks at the coronaviruspeople are on tanter hooks as to whether the government will announce a state of emergency and whether tokyo too will face a lockdown in the days ahead. the number of cases in tokyo, in particular, has been increasing, hitting record levels for about a week now. 68 new cases on sunday alone. and that may not seem like much in the grand scheme of schemes, but there has been a steady increase, particularly after last tuesday whrks t, when the government decided to postpone the olympics. i think the tone from the government has changed dramatically since this. in the run up to this they were criticized for being slow to respond with travel restrictions, slow to test, but i think that mood has changed dramatically other the last two to three days. michael. >> thanks. >>> covid-19 also hitting the opera world. the famous spanish tenor hospitalized in mexico with complications related to the virus. his spokesperson says he's doing well, responding to treatment. he is 79. he announced a week

. >>> and japanese comedian kim shimura died at 70 years old.ty to fall victim to the pandemic. he showed symptoms two weeks ago and tested positive a week ago. in his memoir he said his career was inspired by american comedian jerry lewis. >>> well, it is monday morning here in the united states. normally the start of another school week, but not so for most. around 125,000 schools here, that's over 55 million students, are affected by closures. it is the same in most of the world, but not in places like singapore, australia, and sweden. they are among the few countries bucking the trend and keeping schools open. so why are they doing things so differently? let's speak to emma france. she is a doctor of epidemiology. she joins me from sweden. thank you so much for talking with us. >> you're welcome. >> so more than 55 million students in the united states are home schooling right now along with most kids across the globe. about 90% if not 95%, but in sweden, australia, singapore kids are going to school. why is that? what is the logic behind th

in japan, the popular comedian ken shimura has died after contracting covid-19 at the age of 70. known for his slapstick style, he was a regular fixture on japanese variety shows. his death comes as the japanese government has resisted imposing a lockdown or social distancing measures, citing concerns for the economy. japan recorded over 170 new cases on sunday, 68 of those in tokyo. testing has s remained extxtremy limited. in the phihilippines, lalaw enforcement t officers have reportedly b been subjectingng people whoho violate thehe natil lockdown to o humiliating g and violenent punishmentnt, includig locking ththem in crowdededog cages. in the middle east, the first coronavirus death in syria was reported sunday, one week after it announced its first confirmed case. saudi officials say they shot down balliststic missiles on the southern border with yemen days after warring parties in yemen agreed to a nationwide cease-fire amid the coronavirus pandemic. an outbreak in yemen would have catastrophic effects in the war-torn country, which is already home to the world's worst h