JUDY WOODRUFF: Good evening.

I'm Judy Woodruff.

On the "NewsHour" tonight: After another week of layoffs and closures, millions more Americans file first-time unemployment claims, further cementing COVID-19's economic catastrophe.

Then: when to reopen -- the wrenching choice that leaders across the U.S. face over loosening lockdowns, as protests erupt demanding an end to social distancing.

Plus: the creative economy and coronavirus - - how the pandemic has devastated artists, and how some performers are pivoting in a time of crisis.

KATHERINE WINTERSTEIN, Violinist/Instructor: You may have had a rainy day fund, but none of us has had, like, a monsoon fund or a tsunami fund for a moment like this.

JUDY WOODRUFF: All that and more on tonight's "PBS NewsHour."

(BREAK) JUDY WOODRUFF: Congress is sending another big batch of aid to those hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It comes as millions more Americans have joined the jobless rolls and as the death toll in the U.S. has climbed past 47,000.

John Yang begins our coverage.

JOHN YANG: More help is on the way to American small businesses.

Today, the House gave final congressional approval to a $484 billion package aimed at smaller employers and hospitals, sending it to President Trump for his signature.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said it comes at a heart-wrenching time.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): Millions out of work.

This is really a very, very, very sad day.

We come to the floor with nearly 50,000 deaths, a huge number of people impacted, and the uncertainty of it all.

JOHN YANG: Hours before the House vote, the Labor Department reported that another 4.4 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week.

That brings the total for the last five weeks to more than 26 million.

At a House Small Business Committee hearing, with members wearing protective masks and gloves, Democrats said many small employers still desperately need loans from the federal Payroll Protection Program, which the new legislation replenishes.

Tom Malinowski of New Jersey: REP. TOM MALINOWSKI (D-NJ): I have been in close touch with small business owners in my district, and it is difficult to accurately capture the level of fear, frustration and uncertainty that they are feeling right now.

JOHN YANG: Some Republicans argued, the only real help for businesses is reopening the economy.

Dan Bishop of North Carolina: REP. DAN BISHOP (R-NC): My biggest observation is that the federal government cannot provide sufficient relief to substitute for a free and open economy.

JOHN YANG: Montana and Oklahoma have now joined the growing list of states setting dates for easing restrictions.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said she would likely extend the stay-at-home order beyond April 30 in her state, where nearly 1.2 million people have filed for unemployment since mid-March.

But she told MSNBC today she may reconsider if new infections continue to trend downward, GOV.

GRETCHEN WHITMER (D-MI): It will permit some activity, if our numbers continue to go down and our testing continues to go up.

But it's too early to say precisely what each wave looks like and when it happens.

JOHN YANG: Whitmer also criticized U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for suggesting some states may have to consider bankruptcy, this as The New York Times reports that modeling from Northeastern University shows major cities like Chicago and Boston likely had extensive outbreaks of the virus earlier than previously known.

Health officials in New York City said today as many as a million people may have been exposed to the virus.

Meanwhile, last night, President Trump downplayed the possibility the virus would return in the year and insisted there wouldn't be another national lockdown.

DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: We will not go through what we went through for the last two months.

JOHN YANG: But his top health officials said Americans should be prepared for a resurgence of the virus, and suggested restrictions may again be necessary.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NIAID Director: We will have coronavirus in the fall.

I am convinced of that.

Whether or not it's going to be big or small is going to depend on our response.

JOHN YANG: Today, lawyers for Dr. Rick Bright, who was ousted this week as head of the Department of Health and Human Services' office seeking a coronavirus vaccine, said they would while a whistle-blower complaint.

Bright said he's being punished for questioning an anti-malaria drug President Trump touted as treatment.

HHS confirmed his job transfer, but didn't offer a reason.

Overseas, the European Union held a virtual summit today to discuss aid proposals for the continent that could top a trillion dollars.

All this comes as the virus disrupts yet another major religious observance.

Mosques in much of the world will be closed, as Muslims prepare for Ramadan.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm John Yang.

JUDY WOODRUFF: To walk us through the details of Congress' latest rescue package, I'm joined by our congressional correspondent, Lisa Desjardins.

So, Lisa, remind us, what exactly is in this latest bill?

LISA DESJARDINS: Judy, this is an extension of the CARES Act, but, on its own, this bill is one of the largest recovery bills passed in modern history just on its own.

So let's go over the nearly half-a-trillion dollars of spending in it to remind viewers again.

The biggest item is for small business, total of $380 billion.

That's between that Paycheck Protection Program to keep payrolls going.

And then, also, there's money in there for some disaster loans that also ran out of money for small businesses.

Also in this is some money specifically for smallest -- the smallest banks in this country.

In addition, there's $75 billion for hospitals and health care providers and $25 billion for testing.

Judy, this money, we expect, to move through Congress quickly.

In fact, it's an overwhelming vote as I speak to you right now.

And the president is expected to sign rather quickly, as soon as he can.

JUDY WOODRUFF: So it's clear, from what you're saying, Lisa, a lot of this money, some of this money goes to the so-called Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses.

Does it address what we have learned in the last few days, these revelations about a chunk of that money up until now has gone to big businesses, businesses on solid ground?

LISA DESJARDINS: No, Judy, this money really just expands programs that were already in place.

Congress has not legislated on this idea, as we have seen in the past few days, that some companies that are publicly traded, multimillion-dollar companies, especially some restaurants, including Shake Shack, were able to get millions of dollars in loans through this program that's meant for small businesses.

Today, there is reporting from The Wall Street Journal that the Department of Treasury is asking those businesses to give that money back and trying to find a way to make sure that large businesses like this don't get any more of this money.

Also, Judy, you have to say something else that's not in this bill, a few things that Democrats were trying to fight for in this that they were not able to get, at the top of that list, there is not help for states and cities, additional help, in this.

There's also not money for additional food aid or for food stamps known as SNAP, and more specific rural aid.

That crosses aisles, including rural broadband, is something we might hear about in the next sort of debate about what Congress does after this.

JUDY WOODRUFF: So, Lisa, as you were saying, this was a vote of the full House.

And yet we're in the middle of a pandemic.

We're in the middle of social distancing.

How did they have this vote?

LISA DESJARDINS: The full House has not been here for over a month, but they did take this as a full vote.

In fact, just 40 or so members were not in attendance today.

And it was extraordinary, Judy.

Just about three weeks ago, only four members of the House were wearing masks, today, hundreds of members, almost every member wearing a mask in the chamber.

The way they did it, Judy, was in ABC order, asking representatives to come just in by the alphabet.

Now, look, this is video of a committee hearing earlier today that John mentioned.

This is what we have seen all over the Capitol.

We have seen staffers having to quickly clean up as members leave their seats and return.

Look at those staffers from the Small Business Committee off to the side doing their job.

That's what's been happening in that committee room.

And in the Capitol, in the House chamber itself, Judy, I saw about a dozen staffers take eight minutes to quickly clean the whole chamber as members came and went.

Something extraordinary to think about, Judy, this meeting of the House today had roughly 400 people in it, and the press of well,.

This may have been the largest gathering of any kind in the country right now because of the orders we're under.

So it really was something that was extraordinary and needed a lot of precautions to it.

JUDY WOODRUFF: No question, something we thought we'd never see.

Separately and finally, Lisa, some news I want to ask you about from the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, what he is saying needs to happen next and what he's saying about where the states are.

LISA DESJARDINS: Yesterday, Senator McConnell was on the Hugh Hewitt radio program, and the two men were discussing states and city aid.

And Senator McConnell and Republicans have a concern that states may have had some fiscal problems before this crisis, that they don't - - he doesn't want to be bailing out, in his words, states that had problems, say, with their pensions before this started.

But he said this to Hugh Hewitt on the idea of whether states should be able to be -- go into bankruptcy.

He said: "I would certainly be in favor of allowing states to use the bankruptcy route.

My guess is, their first choice would be to -- for the federal government to borrow money from future generations.

That's not something I'm going to be in favor of."

The implication to some people, including some Republicans like Peter King of New York, is that Senator McConnell wouldn't use federal money to help states, and that he's encouraging them to go bankrupt instead.

Speaking to a senior Republican aide in the Senate, they said, no, Senator McConnell just wants the option of bankruptcy for these states.

He's not telling them what to do.

But he is concerned about the rising debt.

And, moreover, Judy, what McConnell's saying is, he wants to take a break before any more spending.

Not everyone agrees with that.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Lisa Desjardins reporting on everything today at the Capitol.

Thank you, Lisa.

LISA DESJARDINS: You're welcome.

JUDY WOODRUFF: In the day's other news: Wall Street rallied for a time, but could not hold its ground.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained just 39 points to close at 23515.

The Nasdaq fell a fraction, the S&P 500 slipped 1.5 points.

At least seven people have died in severe storms rolling across the South.

Reported tornadoes struck in Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma late Wednesday, and the front moved east to Mississippi and Alabama.

A barrage of apparent twisters hit Southern Oklahoma.

Other storms killed three people and destroyed nearly 50 homes around Onalaska, Texas, where the county executive surveyed damage today.

JUDGE SYDNEY MURPHY, Polk County, Texas: I think there are a lot of us that have never seen anything like this before.

The swathe from this tornado was huge.

It was very wide.

And, of course, part of it, as we all ran around with our face masks, is that this community is now facing two disaster declarations at the same time.

JUDY WOODRUFF: The storm system already knocked out power to more than 150,000 customers from Texas to Georgia.

Back in this country, the U.S. Supreme Court refused today to curb the Clean Water Act, as the Trump administration wanted.

The 6-to-3 decision said that the law includes pollution released into the ground, if it ultimately reaches waterways.

Separately, by 5-4, the court allowed deportations of immigrants who are permanent residents if they have committed a crime.

It could affect thousands of people.

A federal judge in Chicago has dismissed Jussie Smollett's lawsuit alleging malicious prosecution.

The actor sued the city after being charged with falsely reporting a racist and homophobic beating.

The judge ruled that Smollett cannot bring his claim until proceedings against him have ended.

And American eighth-graders' test scores in U.S. history and geography have declined.

The latest assessment, from 2018, shows a drop from four years earlier.

Only 15 percent of students were proficient in U.S. history, and only 25 percent in geography.

The scores could worsen further as the pandemic disrupts the current school year.

Still to come on the "NewsHour": hearing from Americans who have lost their jobs amid social distancing; when to reopen -- mayors face a wrenching decision; what will the job market look like once COVID-19 has faded away?

; the pandemic abroad -- how the European Union is coping with the crisis; and much more.

The economic toll keeps accumulating to levels unseen in modern times.

We are going to focus on that extensively and the debates over what should be done to ease the pain.

We begin with the stories of people across the country out of work.

Many suffered a big financial hit during the recession of 2008 and are now facing a major second blow.

Here's a sampling of what we heard from viewers.

MELISSA BALLOWE, New York: Hi, my name is Melissa Ballowe.

I was the head baker for a small local chain of coffee shops.

I am sincerely, desperately hoping that I can go back to the bakery once this all ends.

DWINELL FENTON, Florida: So, my name is Dwinell Fenton.

We're a solar manufacturing company here in Odessa, right outside of Tampa, Florida.

And March 25, I was laid off.

I believe I have caught two financial downturns in my lifetime, which is only 35 years.

RITA DAVIS, Texas: My name is Rita Davis.

I live in McKinney, Texas.

And we have a store in the vibrant square of downtown McKinney.

Our business opened in August.

So we don't even have the longevity that a lot of our neighbors have.

Our sales have gone down a good 95 to 99 percent.

MICHELE DUBOIS, New York: My name is Michele Dubois.

I'm 48.

My husband and I live in Upstate New York.

So, in 2008, I had just come off of maternity leave.

I returned back to work.

Six months later, I was laid off.

I wasn't furloughed.

My job was eliminated.

Fast-forward 11 years.

I was accepted with the same company again.

A pandemic happened, and my job has been furloughed, with several other people.

It's a little bit of a nightmare all over again.

DWINELL FENTON: The financial crisis of 2008 was -- it was tough.

My father and I bought a home together.

I believe we paid $104,000 for that home in 2000 -- in January 2008.

And, by 2009, the same year, it was worth a fraction of the $104,000.

(LAUGHTER) DWINELL FENTON: So, I have my fingers crossed that it's not going to get much worse than this.

RITA DAVIS: We did have -- opened a business in 2008-2009.

Kind of -- we signed a lease, like a five-year lease, like two days or a week before the bottom fell out, and there was no way we could get out of that.

So we had to move forward, and just hoping that the next time that we decide to do something like that, that that's not the situation that we sign onto.

But, lo and behold, here it is.

You know, we're seven months into it, and kind of the bottom has fallen out again.

MELISSA BALLOWE: When I lost my job in the 2008-2009 recession, I got absolutely no support whatsoever regarding my federal student loans.

I would say that it was a nightmare, but that's probably an understatement.

I got calls all hours of the day.

My family got calls.

My friends got calls asking me -- or asking how I was going to pay, when I was going to pay.

Over 10 years later, I finally felt like I had rebuilt myself.

I finally felt that I had started over again.

And so here we go again.

Like, what do I do now?

How do I rebuild myself after this?

I don't know yet.

I don't have an answer to that.

JUDY WOODRUFF: We thank you all for your voices.

This debate over when to reopen, pitting economic concerns against public health, has now taken to the streets.

Polling data shows the majority of Americans support restrictions to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

But there have been some small pockets of protests against these measures.

Our Yamiche Alcindor reports.

PROTESTERS: Open Texas now!

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: In the last two weeks, crowds of people protesting against stay-at-home orders have popped up across the country.

PROTESTERS: USA!

USA!

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Many say they are advocating for personal freedom amid the coronavirus pandemic.

PROTESTERS: You can't close America!

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Some openly carry semiautomatic rifles.

Others say they are there to support their local economies.

PROTESTER: Liberate Colorado!

PROTESTERS: Open our beaches!

Open our beaches!

WOMAN: I'm not on house arrest.

I refuse.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Small gatherings happened in at least 20 states, many at state capitols.

Michigan has seen some of the biggest protests.

In the city of Lansing, cars created a traffic jam.

Abigail Censky is a reporter with WKAR Public Media in East Lansing, and is covering those protests.

ABIGAIL CENSKY, WKAR Public Media: For a lot of protesters I talked to, they were grappling with the fact that, you know, their counties may have 100 cases or so, and they're not really the center of the epidemic here in Michigan.

So they're asking for regional- or industry-based exemptions for the places that are less affected in the state.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Censky says, at a recent protest, the majority of the nearly 4,000 people stayed in their cars.

But a couple hundred did get out.

ABIGAIL CENSKY: The people who got out of their cars near the capitol, that looked strikingly similar to a President Trump rally.

And they were waving lots of "Keep America Great" flags and wearing "Make America Great Again" hats.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: President Trump has repeatedly voiced support for the protests.

Last week, he tweeted, "Liberate" Michigan, Minnesota, and Virginia."

He says it is understandable that people want to see social distancing orders eased.

DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: Well, these are people expressing their views.

I see where they are.

And I see the way they're working.

They seem to be very responsible people to me.

But it's -- they have been treated a little bit rough.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Jane Coaston covers conservatism and the GOP at Vox.

She says these protest aren't as organic as they seem.

JANE COASTON, VOX: That's not to say that people attending them don't also have strongly felt viewpoints about these stay-at-home orders and strongly felt viewpoints about the response to the coronavirus pandemic themselves.

Both things can be true at once.

But these protests are very much tied to groups and individuals with ties to both the Trump administration and to existing right-leaning organizations.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Some groups organizing the protests have ties to President Trump's reelection campaign and Republican donors like Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

According to The New York Times, a law firm that advises the Trump Organization is also representing members of a protest group in North Carolina.

And there's some support from national groups, like FreedomWorks, which was involved in the beginnings of the Tea Party movement.

The group's president says it is not organizing the protests, but it is helping organizers by training, building Web sites and doing social media outreach.

It is also conducting polls and sharing that information with advisers on President Trump's economic task force.

Adam Brandon: ADAM BRANDON, CEO, FreedomWorks: This is what they came up with it.

And all we can do is assist it.

There is no grand plan that we're sitting around with a map, saying, we need to have an event here or there.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: In an Associated Press-NORC poll released Wednesday, only 12 percent of Americans said restrictions to prevent the spread of coronavirus go too far.

A majority of Republicans also broadly support the restrictions.

But there is a partisan divide.

Republicans are about four times as likely as Democrats to say the measures go too far, 22 percent compared to 5 percent.

Meanwhile, protesters continue to gather as the virus outbreak stretches on.

Another demonstration is planned in Wisconsin Friday.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Yamiche Alcindor.

JUDY WOODRUFF: In Georgia, the governor says the state will allow some businesses to reopen beginning tomorrow.

That's a week before his stay-at-home order expires.

It's a decision President Trump said yesterday he disagrees with.

So far, Georgia has seen more than 20,000 cases and more than 800 deaths from COVID-19.

We have two views on how local communities in the state are preparing to reopen, first from Scott James Matheson.

He is the mayor of Valdosta in Southern Georgia.

Mayor Matheson, thank you very much for talking with us.

First of all, did the governor consult with you?

Were you surprised when you learned there was going to be this partial reopening this week?

SCOTT JAMES MATHESON, Mayor of Valdosta, Georgia: So, constant contact along the way, but, no, I was caught by surprise that it went a week early.

We were under the statewide order for shelter at home through the 30th, so I thought the natural walk-back in date was going to be Friday, May 31.

It did take me by surprise.

(CROSSTALK) JUDY WOODRUFF: And -- excuse me.

And what did you think when you heard the governor say, we're going to start to reopen gyms, hair salons, barbershops, and then places where people go to eat, restaurants, starting next week, some of them?

SCOTT JAMES MATHESON: Yes, I think we're going to go to restaurants and theaters starting on Monday, but this Friday, tomorrow, we're on the eve of starting the state -- or kick-starting our town again.

And we will adapt.

If he says that's the way to go, then he's been pretty spot on most of the way.

So, we will adapt.

JUDY WOODRUFF: I'm sure you know, Mayor Matheson, that health experts are quite mixed and divided on this question.

Many of them say, until we know more about who's been exposed to COVID-19, that it's risky to do this.

How did you -- how are you thinking about making your own decisions on this?

SCOTT JAMES MATHESON: Well, when he releases us, once we get out from under that state order on the 30th, it will be my decision again.

But right now, again, as you can see around me, we're in a shelter at home still, so we're spending most of our time here.

When we come out from under it, we're going to move as a community together.

Lowndes County, as a whole, has done very well.

We have only had 122 cases, only four fatalities.

So, in a population of about 120,000, city and county, that's -- I think I have calculated it as 0.08 percent.

So, we will move on the fact that we have been doing pretty good from the very beginning.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Did it give you pause when you heard President Trump say he disagreed with Governor Kemp's decision?

SCOTT JAMES MATHESON: Yes, sure.

When are you doing the top dog, and then the top dog and your state are in disagreement, it puts it back in your lap.

And, again, I think we -- the county commission chairman and myself have moved very responsibly the entire way.

And we will continue to do so.

I think our town and our people have moved very responsibly, so we're going to go on that.

And, obviously, you know just to our west by an hour-and-a-half, we have the hot spot in the country in Dougherty County, Georgia.

So, we obviously have to keep an eye on the communities around us as well.

JUDY WOODRUFF: What kind of steps are you taking in Valdosta, as your, again, beauty salons, barbershops, bowling alleys open, and then restaurants and movies next week?

What kinds of things are going to be different?

SCOTT JAMES MATHESON: Well, we're going to continue to meet with all our health experts.

Our Department of Public health has done a very good job in the state.

Our major medical center, South Georgia Medical Center here, we meet with them twice daily, believe it or not.

And that keeps us up to speed on any developments.

In the town, we're just going to let the business owners realize that people are not going to rush back.

Shelter-at-home order is still into the 30th.

So they're going back a week ahead of that.

And I got to figure and I got to factor they're just going to get a chance to fight for their business and fight for their life.

Their business is not going to come back in any time soon.

So I wish them the best of luck.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Are the medical experts you're talking to, the people you trust in the health care community, are they in agreement that this is the right thing?

SCOTT JAMES MATHESON: I don't think so.

I think they still approach it with lots of words of caution, as a matter of fact.

We're going to move forward with a balance.

We lean toward their advice, first and foremost, but then we got to know the business community has to have a voice at the table as well.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Mayor Scott Matheson of Valdosta, Georgia, thank you very much for talking with us, and we wish you the very best.

SCOTT JAMES MATHESON: Thank you, Judy.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And now a different perspective on Georgia's planned reopening.

Mayor Hardie Davis of Augusta joins us.

Mayor Davis, thank you very much for talking with us.

And what was your reaction when you learned from Governor Kemp that things will start to reopen in the state tomorrow?

HARDIE DAVIS, Mayor of Augusta, Georgia: Ms. Woodruff, I was surprised, quite frankly, as many of my colleagues were across the state of Georgia.

Again, as the mayor of Georgia's second largest city, as someone who has enjoyed a strong relationship with Governor Kemp, I think that when we looked at the fact that, just a week prior, he extended the shelter-in-place order until the 30th of April, and, of course, the pandemic declaration of emergency until the 13th of May, it was just, quite frankly, shocking that we would move to that place as quickly as we were, in light of the fact that we still, in Georgia, cannot conduct sufficient enough testing across the state, let alone in Augusta.

We're not able to do contact tracing in sufficient numbers, and then, of course, the issues around treatment.

Given the fact that there's no current vaccine and/or therapies for this, I think it's very difficult to think that we're going to move to a place under the assumption that we have already reached the peak in Georgia, let alone in any of these communities that we find ourselves in.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, given that, are you going to comply with what the governor says is going to happen?

I noticed he said that there's not -- he said local action can't be taken that's more or less restrictive than what he's saying.

HARDIE DAVIS: Well, again, I think all of us across the state are willing to comply with the governor's executive order.

What I have shared with folks in Augusta is that we're going to take a very deliberative approach in terms of how we comply with that, particularly in terms of giving guidance to those business owners, whether it's our restaurants, whether it's our barbershops, hair salons, nail salons, and, of course, our gymnasiums that are going to be opening up where.

We're working very hard to make sure that we're communicating, one, what the governor's executive order clearly states and expects of people.

We have also told folks that they should be waiting on guidance from the governor's office, so that they can be very clear about what the requirements and expectations are.

The reality of it, as we move forward, is that this will become the norm.

I don't even want to use the term a new norm, but it's going to be the norm in terms of social distancing, the requirements around sanitization in places of business, whether it's restaurants or gymnasiums.

We're going to do things differently in terms of how we conduct business.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Right.

HARDIE DAVIS: And as it relates to the people, yes, there's always the question of personal responsibility, but none of us expected, planned for, or anticipated COVID-19 being the issue of the day.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Just quickly, what percentage of the businesses affected do you think are actually going to go ahead and reopen tomorrow?

HARDIE DAVIS: Well, we're getting e-mails.

We have gotten them since Monday.

And you have got mixed responses from people.

You have got some who say, Mayor, we're going to continue to follow your lead and not open yet.

We don't believe that we have met the peak.

And then you have got some who are saying they're going to do soft openings that are really focused around keeping their buildings clean, going in and doing a deep clean and sanitization.

But, beyond that, it's a fairly mixed response, particularly because people are afraid.

They're concerned about the fact that, one, you could be working with someone who's asymptomatic and carrying the virus, and the next thing you know, not only are you infected, but your colleagues who you work with are infected as well.

So, they're proceeding with a grave abundance of caution.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And, finally, quickly, I know you have a major medical center there in Augusta.

What sort of advice are you getting from the medical community?

HARDIE DAVIS: Well, they too share the concern around the fact that we haven't reached our peak yet.

They have also been identified by the governor as the lead agency for testing for the state of Georgia.

And so they're -- they're proceeding with caution as well.

And that's the guidance that they're giving us here in Augusta.

Along with my other hospitals, we have got a fairly strong health care community here.

So, I think we have those resources available to us.

But it's just the unknowns around testing, who has the virus, and who doesn't.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Mayor Hardie Davis of Augusta, Georgia, thank you very much.

And we wish you the very best with all you're doing.

HARDIE DAVIS: Thanks so much, Judy.

JUDY WOODRUFF: It's becoming apparent that it will take a great deal of time for a full economic recovery and for unemployment rates to drop back to where they were before.

A new survey by the Pew Research Center found 43 percent of U.S. adults say they or someone in their household has lost a job or taken a cut in pay due to COVID-19.

Paul Solman looks at the long and daunting road ahead.

It's part of his regular reporting on economic matters, Making Sense.

STEVEN TAMASY, Travel Agent: I was laid off on March 19.

MARVIN MADRIZ, Janitor: March 18, that was my last day.

ADRIAN TRUJILLO, Bartender: I'm just going to get laid off and stay at home all day for weeks on end.

PAUL SOLMAN: Tens of millions of Americans out of work, many lining up for benefits in their cars.

And the official numbers may be low, given lags in counting and getting paid.

Event planner Brandy Jackson filed last month.

BRANDY JACKSON, Event Planner: I am happy to say that, yesterday, my unemployment benefits did hit from the past three weeks.

PAUL SOLMAN: Jackson is relying on assistance for the very first time.

BRANDY JACKSON: More than anything, it's very difficult to be able to swallow your pride.

And so I have really had to look at other resources that are available that, to be honest with you, I have just never had to do that before.

PAUL SOLMAN: Resources such as?

BRANDY JACKSON: Just food resources is the main thing.

I never thought that I would ever go into that category.

I was the person that always had the answers, always figured things out, but now having to be the person that has to stand in that line.

PAUL SOLMAN: The key question for Jackson and so many others laid off from bars and restaurants, will those jobs come back?

Adrian Trujillo is a bartender.

ADRIAN TRUJILLO: We need human contact, but, at the particular moment, human contact could kill you.

PAUL SOLMAN: And so businesses remain closed.

ADRIAN TRUJILLO: A lot of restaurants and bars might not make it through this.

Less restaurants and bars, less jobs, and we have got 22 million people fighting over, you know, half the jobs that were there when they left.

PAUL SOLMAN: Travel agent Steven Tamasy thinks the business travel coma will be long-term.

STEVEN TAMASY: I don't know if there's going to be a business to come back to the way it used to be.

You have got Skype.

You have got Zoom.

And perhaps the only time they will actually go to do business travel is to travel out to sign physical contracts and seal whatever deals that they're going to be doing.

PAUL SOLMAN: What do you envision the job market being like when there aren't jobs in travel anymore?

STEVEN TAMASY: There are college graduates that are coming out right now that are in the same boat that I am.

But they're younger.

Their skills are more up to date than mine.

Retail is dying, so you can't really count on that.

The hospitality industry, which is usually where travel agents seem to land after they leave a job, is also hurting.

So, I don't know.

PAUL SOLMAN: And, look, fewer service sector jobs will only exacerbate the decades-long increase in inequality, says janitor Marvin Madriz.

Do you think it's going to get worse now after this virus?

MARVIN MADRIZ: Of course.

The richer got richer, and the poor got poorer, you know?

DARRICK HAMILTON, Ohio State University: I mean, we're going to have greater inequality.

PAUL SOLMAN: For all lower-wage workers, says economist Darrick Hamilton.

DARRICK HAMILTON: We're going to have greater overall inequality and greater racial disparity as well.

I think the previous last Great Recession taught us that.

And we also know the structure of the U.S. economy is one where blacks are generally the first fired and last hired.

FRANCINE BLAU, Cornell University: It seems very likely that lower income people, less educated people and minorities are going to get especially hard-hit.

PAUL SOLMAN: Those are the people labor economist Francine Blau worries most about.

FRANCINE BLAU: Well, they have less of a cushion.

So they're harder hit during the crisis.

They're disproportionately represented among the unemployed, as far as we can tell.

In addition, they're disproportionately represented among front-line workers, who are facing the greatest hazards of contracting the illness.

So, they will be coming out of this period in an especially weakened position.

PAUL SOLMAN: Even now, amid the pandemic, janitors like Marvin Madriz are undervalued.

MARVIN MADRIZ: It is really nice that we recognize all our doctors.

It's really nice that we recognize all the nurses, everybody that is working on the front line.

But we don't hear and say, what about the janitors?

Who cleans all the mess, you know, everywhere?

Who goes sanitize the places that - - where people are, you know, in the hospitals or clinics or buildings that people are still working on it?

PAUL SOLMAN: But the federal government is spending $3 trillion or more, much of it on workers earning less than $75,000 a year, a policy sea change that should lower inequality, says economist Hamilton.

DARRICK HAMILTON: We are now seeing that government can actually make a difference in people's lives.

Literally providing income support, literally expanding unemployment compensation to include gig workers sets a precedent where we no longer can say, we can't do these things.

PAUL SOLMAN: Laid-off bartender Adrian Trujillo agrees.

ADRIAN TRUJILLO: The seeds of change are there.

Whether it's a revolution or whether it's some sort of huge policy change, I don't think there's any way to go back to normal, whatever that really is.

PAUL SOLMAN: Brandy Jackson?

BRANDY JACKSON: Do I think there's going to be major change?

I certainly hope so.

But I think I give it a maybe a five out of 10.

(LAUGHTER) PAUL SOLMAN: But travel agent Tamasy makes the odds a lot lower.

STEVEN TAMASY: I am pessimistic about that.

I would really love to see it happen, but it seems that, in America, we just don't learn from our mistakes.

PAUL SOLMAN: Longtime Republican economist Douglas Holtz-Eakin is pessimistic too, because of the spending we have already done.

DOUGLAS HOLTZ-EAKIN, Former Congressional Budget Office Director: We have got an enormous bill to pay, and that enormous bill to pay comes on top of an existing federal debt that was enormous.

And there really just isn't any money for a vastly expanded universal basic income or Medicare for all, unless some other things go away.

And we have never shown as a nation great appetite at making other entitlements go away.

So, I'm not sure that's going to happen.

PAUL SOLMAN: He's not sure, and, of course, as the economy remains largely shut down, neither are we.

This is Paul Solman.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Today, European leaders met virtually to try and answer the same questions confronting the U.S., when to reopen?

And how difficult will the road ahead be?

Here's Nick Schifrin.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Today, European Union leaders agreed to create a massive recovery fund to try and help economies that have been devastated by COVID-19.

And individual countries are beginning to open up.

In Germany, some schools have started again.

In Denmark, hairdressers reopened.

And in Slovakia, you can go to flower shops and bookstores, although there aren't many customers.

But much of the European Union remains closed.

And the bloc confronts a fundamental challenge, as each country decides when to open up and how to keep its citizens safe.

And so, to talk about this, I'm joined by the European Union's ambassador to Washington, Stavros Lambrinidis.

Ambassador, thank you very much.

Welcome to the "NewsHour."

Washington, D.C., and individual states in the U.S. are confronting the same challenge.

How do you coordinate from Brussels when countries open up?

STAVROS LAMBRINIDIS, European Union Ambassador to the United States: Well, it's going to be a tough decision.

We face the same challenges you do here in some ways.

You open -- you relax the measures too soon, you risk a new wave of infections.

You take too long, you risk jobs and you risk the recovery.

So, what we did in Brussels, we put out guidance to all our 27 member states, indicating the steps that ought to be taken to make this opening as coordinated as possible.

And it may not surprise to hear that the fundamental things that we have in place is, first of all, to ensure that there is a significant slowing of the spread, secondly, that the hospital capacities are adequate, thirdly, that there's enough testing, enough contact tracing to ensure that, if this were to break out again, it could be very easily and very quickly contained.

NICK SCHIFRIN: This is a major challenge for the E.U.

and the rest of the world, but it's really a fourth challenge for the E.U.

in just the last dozen years or so.

We have had the financial crisis, of course, which led to the Eurozone crisis.

We have had the crisis of migration, of Brexit, and now COVID-19, of course.

Are the ties that keep the E.U.

together beginning to fray?

STAVROS LAMBRINIDIS: No.

I say, on the contrary, we have been through a number of crises now, to know that it is only when we are united as European Union member states that we can overcome them.

It hit different member states at different rates, and we all clamped down and tried to deal with it individually, and we realized very quickly this wouldn't work.

So then we all jumped in.

And we got a collective response by the E.U.

that has been, frankly, remarkable, compared to the other crises you mentioned, not even close.

We are providing measures to support our member states in whatever they're doing now to protect lives.

A classic example of this is that we have collectively, as European Union countries, procured the PPE equipment that is required.

We have also invested in vaccines and treatments at the European level.

And, of course, we have economic support to the E.U.

that has been unseen until up to now.

More than 3.4 trillion euros, which is even more than that in dollars, has already been committed to fight the immediate effects of the crisis, to support workers, to save lives.

And, as you said, we just decided to invest massively in a new Marshall Plan, you can call it, anything you want to, after the crisis.

NICK SCHIFRIN: So, that coordinated response you describe now and today, the E.U.

was criticized early on for being a little behind the curve, for not having that coordinated response, and specifically Italy, a place that was already skeptical of the E.U.

Approval in the E.U.

has dropped 20 percentage points.

So, how do you deal with the challenge of Europeans, especially in the south, questioning the very notion of the E.U., at the same time that you might have to deal with, for example, a bailout of Italy in the future?

STAVROS LAMBRINIDIS: Well, you have take the right measures in place, but you also have to speak to people's hearts, not just to their minds.

And we're doing this.

The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, came out openly and apologized to Italy and Spain, in particular for the E.U.

being at the beginning slow on a collective -- in its collective response.

But what you also need to do is what we have done since, which is to have that collective response.

You will see now in Italy that there are other European member states that have given millions of masks, protective equipment, and everything else that Italy needs.

Doctors are coming into Italy from other countries.

You see a collective solidarity, European solidarity, now in full swing.

And maybe you can -- you can accuse Europe for being sometimes slow off the bat, but you cannot at this stage accuse it of being anything other than a solidarity superpower that is supporting its member states, and also trying to support other countries around the world.

NICK SCHIFRIN: And how does the U.S. and E.U.

work together, when the U.S. is questioning multilateral institutions like the World Health Organization?

President Trump, of course, has called the E.U.

an economic foe.

How do you work together and create a global response in an era of America first?

STAVROS LAMBRINIDIS: I think that we have a responsibility towards not just our citizens, but also citizens around the world, as we are coming collectively now to the containment of this, to support them as well.

The European Union has put together a huge package of 20 billion euro to support other countries.

The U.S. is doing similar things.

We are funding massively the World Health Organization that is at the front lines of many poor countries around the world, who don't have the health capacity to deal with a crisis, supporting them.

So, solidarity is not charity.

The fact is that it is in our collective interest.

This virus has shown that it's a world virus.

So, we have to be very consistent, Americans and Europeans together, to show that solidarity doesn't stop at our borders, and that we're out there supporting the world, with -- including with our values, transparency, no strings attached, making sure that growth can come, that labor rights can be respected, that the environment will not be destroyed.

All these things are not little things.

They're the challenges of the future.

And we can be there together holding hands and making it happen.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Stavros Lambrinidis, E.U.

ambassador to the United States, thank you very much.

STAVROS LAMBRINIDIS: Thank you.

JUDY WOODRUFF: What happens when the audience isn't there?

We look to the arts for entertainment and comfort, but they are also an important economic engine.

Now many artists face a crisis.

Jeffrey Brown reports for canvas and for our ongoing American Creators series on rural arts.

JEFFREY BROWN: Across the nation, the financial and psychological hit is profound, as performances everywhere have stopped.

New York's Metropolitan Opera, the country's largest cultural institution, canceled the rest of its season and furloughed its orchestra, chorus and other union workers, citing losses of up to $60 million.

A prominent regional troupe, the Oregon Shakespeare Theater, has as suspended shows through Labor Day and laid off 80 percent of its 500 employees.

Most individual artists are freelance workers, building careers through a patchwork of performances, shows, teaching, waiting tables, whatever it takes.

Boston-based violinist Katherine Winterstein has had a successful life as an artist for decades, before seeing it crash in one 36-hour period last month.

KATHERINE WINTERSTEIN, Violinist/Instructor: We don't have a lot of fiscal protections.

But the fact that we have a diverse portfolio, you might say, you're insulated, because you may have had a rainy day fund, but none of us has had, like, a monsoon fund or a tsunami fund for a moment like this, when everything has ceased.

JEFFREY BROWN: Now there's just remote teaching.

And like gig workers across the economy, Winterstein is learning the complexities of the unemployment system.

The CARES Act has offered some relief, but, she says, it's a continuing struggle for many.

KATHERINE WINTERSTEIN: The system is not equipped really to understand our kind of income.

So, almost everyone I know has gotten different answers from the system.

JEFFREY BROWN: Across the country, in Portland, Oregon, the August Wilson Red Door Project uses theater to address pressing social issues, like the criminal justice system.

Last year, the "NewsHour" profiled a play featuring voices from law enforcement and the local community.

In March, the company was set to take one of its shows on tour.

Artistic director and co-founder Kevin Jones: KEVIN JONES, August Wilson Red Door Project: This was going to be our best year, quite frankly.

We were looking at producing 20 shows around the country.

We took quite a hit.

We lost about $300,000 of income.

We paid out about $80,000 in salaries to actors and crew.

JEFFREY BROWN: Now project team members meet on Zoom.

But the art itself is missing, at a moment when the pandemic is exposing disparities Jones and his company wish they could address.

KEVIN JONES: We spend a lot of time looking at what's going on, with 70 percent of the victims are black or people of color.

And what does that really mean?

Is it about race?

Is it about culture?

Is it about class?

I think all of these things, art is built for.

JEFFREY BROWN: For arts groups everywhere now, the outreach is all in the digital, not physical space.

To stay connected, many are making archival performances available online.

The Metropolitan Opera offers free daily encore presentations.

Some groups offer classes and other activities.

And livestream performances also offer other ways to raise a bit of money.

CONOR LEE, Guitarist/Instructor: The band I'm in, we just released a record.

And so we had like a small tour planned.

We were going to head out to different Midwest states.

I think it was supposed to be our first time going to Nebraska, actually.

JEFFREY BROWN: Instead, 26-year-old Conor Lee, based in Moorhead, Minnesota, performed virtually at a live-wire concert.

Lee, who earns income from teaching, also received an emergency $500 grant from a relief fund set up for artists.

It's not much, but helps when everything has dried up.

CONOR LEE: No, that's definitely going to cover rent and, you know, just trying to maintain.

JEFFREY BROWN: That fund was set up by Springboard for the Arts, a Minnesota group that supports smaller urban and rural arts groups and their communities.

It's difficult even in the best of times, says executive director Laura Zabel.

LAURA ZABEL, Springboard for the Arts: It's fragile all the time.

And I think we're sort of having this collective awakening in this moment of just how fragile that ecosystem is and just how fragile so many artists' livelihoods are.

JEFFREY BROWN: Last year, we joined Zabel and representatives of rural arts groups from around the country at a conference where they spoke ongoing successes and challenges.

Now the urgent challenge is survival.

LAURA ZABEL: It's an existential crisis for artists, for arts and culture organizations, for our whole sector.

We're hearing numbers both nationally and locally that between 60 and 70 percent of our creative work force is unemployed right now.

People's survival and ability to be housed, to feed their family, we're at that level of crisis.

WOMAN: We're here for you.

JEFFREY BROWN: Other relief efforts are under way as well.

There are grassroots, newly formed projects, such as the Artist Relief Tree.

It's given out more $200,000 to some 900 individual artists, the money raised through donations and an benefit concert that featured prominent artists including J'Nai Bridges and Rachel Barton Pine.

And bigger, more established efforts like Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, now turn to helping entertaining and professionals with COVID-19-related needs.

A coalition of major foundations and arts funders put together a $10 million relief package to provide $5,000 grants to artists and companies.

What are they all seeking to preserve?

The artists we talked with said it goes beyond their individual plights.

Violinist Katherine Winterstein in Boston: KATHERINE WINTERSTEIN: Our job is to gather people and to connect and to add meaning.

And I hope that, when we come back out of our houses, we are hungry for that again.

JEFFREY BROWN: Theater director Kevin Jones in Portland: KEVIN JONES: It defines the culture in so many ways.

It defines who we are, the things you can't necessarily put your finger on and quantify and pull out a lot of data for, but we notice when it's gone.

JEFFREY BROWN: For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Jeffrey Brown.

JUDY WOODRUFF: So important that they come back strong when all of this is behind us.

If we look around, we do see signs of solidarity are keeping pace with the spread of the virus.

It started with singing from open windows in Italy.

Now cheers for essential workers are heard around the world, from Madrid to Canada to New York.

The latest trend, howling, is echoing through neighborhoods across the country.

Montana PBS' Breanna McCabe lets us listen in on what has become a nightly ritual in Missoula.

SHAWN PAUL, Health Care Worker: Gives you chills.

BREANNA MCCABE: Health care worker Shawn Paul is in the middle of a two-week quarantine after returning from an out-of-state work trip.

It's not uncommon to hear howling in this dog-loving neighborhood, so the first night Shawn heard it, he was about to dismiss it.

But something about it the way it sounded drew him outside.

SHAWN PAUL: I poked my head out.

And there's - - one of our neighbors was out there leading the charge.

BREANNA MCCABE: By the next night, more neighbors heard about the 8:00 o'clock howl through social media or sidewalk messages, saying the gesture shows support for health care workers and first responders.

And neighbors, like the Lewis family, started to add to the chorus.

HAYES LEWIS, Montana: It feels cool, because you just feel a bunch of noise, and it's like all around you.

And the dogs have been howling, so that's funny, too.

BREANNA MCCABE: Carrie Lewis works in the intensive care unit at the local hospital.

She's one of three nurses on this block.

CARRIE LEWIS, ICU Nurse: I have heard that it's to support health care workers.

And I'd like to think that that encompasses everyone, I mean, nurses and physicians, of course, on the front lines, E.R.

on the front, front line, ICU doing some tough stuff, but housekeeping, security, laundry, scary now.

I hope people know that it's everyone that they're howling for.

MIA LEWIS, Montana: We have been doing it off our back porch, but, yes, last night was the first time we came to our front porch.

And we could see all our neighbors howling.

BREANNA MCCABE: Who knew being isolated would bring us all a little closer?

SHAWN PAUL: It's more and more every night.

(HOWLING) BREANNA MCCABE: For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Breanna McCabe in Missoula, Montana.

JUDY WOODRUFF: I'm getting a lot of urging to do this.

Not doing it.

(LAUGHTER) JUDY WOODRUFF: And that's the "NewsHour" for tonight.

I'm Judy Woodruff.

Join us online and again right here tomorrow evening.

For all of us at the "PBS NewsHour," thank you, please stay safe, and we'll see you soon.