[ cheers and applause ] this is "nightline." >> tonight, the coronavirus hits home, spreading in the united states. >> the risk for all of us of becoming infected will be increasing. >> six dead in washington state with cases in at least a dozen more. >> if she gets sick, she's going to be gone. >> inside the desperate race to contain the contagion. plus looking inward with yung pueblo. >> i lost like so much mental heaviness. >> sharing his message of minimalism and meditation. >> wanting always interrupts being. >> how his spiritual journey is inspiring others to find inner healing. but first, the "nightline" 5.

good evening. thanks for joining us. nearly 90,000 people are now infected with the novel coronavirus around the world. at least half a dozen dead here in america. now the desperate race to contain the outbreak here at home with officials issuing troubling warnings. abc's kailee hartung is in kirkland, washington.

>> the risk for all of us of becoming infected will be increasing. >> also directed the department of health to declare a public health emergency. >> there is no doubt that there will be more cases where we find >>eporr: t nov coronavirus outb spreading across the world. now hitting the united states from coast to coast. over 100 cases in more than a dozen states. at least six people dead. the epicenter here in kirkland, washington, suburb of seattle. all of the deaths have been in washington state, with four of those victims at this nursing care facility. at least 14 residents have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, now called covid-19. colleen mallory's 89-year-old mother peggy, who suffers from dementia, lives there. >> if she gets sick, she's going to be gone. but if she has to sit in a room for days on end by herself, she's going to go downhill fast. >> reporter: with a couple pair of clean clothes and her

mother's favorite cookies she was able to visit her. do you feel better now that you've seen her? >> i do. much better. but you know, almost every door on the opposite side of my mom's aisle has a cautionary statement on it. >> reporter: she thinks it's probable her mother was exposed to the virus. >> they wouldn't tell me anything about her roommate, who has been removed from the facility. and my mom's been in the room with her for all this time. >> nursing homes, or skilled nursing facilities represent a very vulnerable population of elderly people with chronic medical conditions that place them at higher risk. there tends to be an almost revoindoll w a lot of patients on a regular basis being circulated maybe from the nursing home to hospal briefly or from the outside community or a hospital in. so that makes contact tracing

very challenging. >> reporter: 50 other residents and staff associated with the facility are now being evaluated. >> we've just seen another person loaded up into this ambulance to be taken to the hospital. >> reporter: authorities announcing nearly a quarter of the kirkland fire department is off the job after visiting -- the majority of the case -- in the facility last week. and tonight 22 nursing students and faculty from a nearby college have been asked to self-quarantine because they too are believed to have been exposed at the facility. >> what we're seeing in washington state is something that we need to be prepared will also occur in many other states in the country. there's a lag or timeline delay in the time from when a patient is exposed to a variety till when they might start displaying symptoms. >> reporter: new research suggests the virus has been quietly spreading here for weeks, often by people without symptoms. >> the incubation period of this novel coronavirus is unknown. there have been documented cases

that span from one to about 14 days, but there have also been confirmed cases as far out as 18 nuerhaveeen rising, twhite ussk. >> if you talk about the entire country, the whole 360 million people in this country, the risk is a low risk. >> reporter: the message was met with skepticism and apprehension. shoppers stocking up on necessities like wipes and water. leaving behind empty shelves. >> the first confirmed case of coronavirus now in new york. >> reporter: in the nation's biggest city, the first confirmed case. a woman who'd recently returned from iran. >> people have been heeding the warnings, going getting tested go, and getting checked on. and that's helped us to stay ahead of it. >> reporter: iran has been especially hard hit-w over 1,500 covid 19 cases and at least 66 dead. on the front line is medical intern poria ganzhi at hussein

hospital in tehran. the majority of the cases are in china, where the virus was first reported on december 31st. in the past two months covid-19 has spread to 60 different countries, infecting nearly 90,000 people. in palace the louvre shuttering for a second day. museum workers concerned about exposure. some of italy's most famous tourist sites, from milan to rome, deserted. american college students sent home from their studies in italy, reuniting with their families. but for some finding a flight home hasn't been easy. >> we were asked to leave as soon as possible before everything got worse. >> i currently have about a 50-hour travel time to get back to the states, and it's been very hectic. >> i have a 13-hour layover. >> reporter: also going home today, 140 passengers from the "diamond princess" cruise ship

after weeks in quarantine in california. over 700 cases originated on that ship. the "diamond princess" was on a tour of asia when the outbreak forced it to dock on the coast of japan. >> i think the "diamond princess" cruise ship showed us how transmissible this coronavirus is. i also think the response psychologically and emotionally of how people fare when they are quarantined was important. >> reporter: some of the other passengers quarantined in nebraska are cleared to leave too. jerry sorati goldman in a demonstration of new virus manners. elbow bumping the nebraska governor and the medical staff that helped care for her. >> i'm going to get emotional. i love this guy. you guys rock. >> it's been quite a travail for you and the other travelers who have been here. >> my husband and i are so blessed. he was the one who ended up in the bio containment unit.

>> reporter: jerry's wife described his experience living with coronavirus in an op-ed in the "washington post." he writes of nurses tending to him in heavy-duty hazmat suits sealed with duct tape. two cameras watched me at all times. a set of computer monitors were equipped with microphones so that the medical staff and i could communicate with cdc officials with central command down the hall. the room had last been used for the ebola outbreak in 2014. despite the intense measures to guard his health goldman says he doesn't feel all that sick, writing "if i were at home with similar symptoms i probably would have gone to work as usual." >> over 80% of confirmed cases of coronavirus were mild. but again, that's not to say that some people will not have a more severe course. and that's not to say unfortunately that some people won't die from this. >> reporter: fellow cruise ship passengers melanie and john herring have also been divided by quarantine. >> and i have 36.7. >> reporter: we first started skie skyping with the retired couple when they were still on the

diamond princess cruise ship. >> this is our first time outside in the sun. and it's beautiful. >> today's day 6. and we're almost over the hump. >> reporter: but then john tested positive and was moved to a hospital in japan. melanie was evacuated to travis air force base and has been quarntded for the last two weeks there. >> i'm negative. and i am so thrilled. so honey, we're going home. i love you. >> i'm thrilled the happy day is here. i'm free to go. they gave me my release. and i'm going to be coming back to the usa. so thrilled and so happy and i can't wait to put my arms around you. >> this is where i stayed most of the time. >> reporter: today melanie cleared out her quarters. >> see you. going home. >> reporter: she left a note of thanks behind with an important

postscript. wash your hands. >> and i'm really glad to get this behind us. >> reporter: a few hours later at in utah the couple who never imagined a vacation like this, f they've made it home. a kiss hello to a new beginning. >> and up next, inhaling and exhaling. how to achieve inner peace with yung pueblo. no matter how much you clean, does your house still smell stuffy? that's because your home is filled with soft surfaces that trap odors and release them back into the room. so try febreze fabric refresher. febreze finds odors trapped in fabrics and cleans them away as it dries. use febreze every time you tidy up, to keep your whole house smelling fresh air clean. fabric refresher even works for clothes you want to wear another day. make febreze part of your clean routine for full home freshness. la la la la la

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in a world racked by stress and uncertainty one man's path toward inner peace, yung pueblo, the young writer, speaker, and meditator. his words inspiring so many to go on their own spiritual journeys. but first, he says, you have to look within. here's abc's dan harris. >> observe. accept. release. transform. do not be afraid of slow moments. wanting always interrupts being. ask yourself, is this pain from change or is it from my inability to let go? my name is diego perez, and i go by yung comfortable with the idea of stress and anxiety and just general mental tension that they see it as a regular part of their life. we don't realize that we could actually be a lot more peaceful, a lot happier, a lot freer. >> reporter: diego perez, aka yung pueblo, is using a medium

critics say induces envy and anxiety to encourage inner peace. >> so many more are acknowledging and realizing that i can't buy my way to happiness, i can't have another person consistently make me happy. it's something that i need to cultivate from within myself. >> reporter: and more than 700,000 people agree. following his instagram account, filled with perfectly symmetrical clean typeface that reflects the balance and simplicity of yung pueblo's life. >> i focused in on minimalism because i know we live in a really fast-paced world. i literally have a split second to be able to engage with them. >> so i'm going to have a short post on how your emotional history impacts your daily behavior. letting go of those old patterns lets you think and act in new ways. and once i have the post i have this simple little app called quote creator to share. >> so how many likes does it

have now? >> it has 457 in two minutes. >> wow. >> reporter: yung pueblo, who has published his poetry in his book "inward" is connecting with people from all walks of life. >> i'm a latinx man but i don't write about latinx issues. i focus on what's happening personally inside of your mind. and i think that's very universal because even though we may have very different histories at the end of the day we're still struggling with the same things. >> hi. welcome. >> reporter: he's now taking his words beyond instagram and into the real world. here at sacred space meditation center in miami hundreds of people have come to hear him speak. >> and he puts his heart on his sleeve and really helps people to the best of his ability. >> it's like he knows everything that i've been thinking and feeling. >> i think of this book as like a bible. it's a great reminder to let you know you are where you need to be. >> i'm going to talk a little bit about self-love.

>> reporter: his message today, healing and transformation is possible. >> it's love. it's compassion. it's mental clarity. >> allow yourself to transform as many times as you need to be fully happy and free. >> reporter: but finding happiness within himself was a long journey. born in ecuador, he and his family moved to the u.s. for a better life. >> we moved to boston. i grew up there. and it was a struggle. we were very, very poor. and you know, my mother worked cleaning houses. my father worked in a supermarket. there were absolutely no luxuries. there was a lot of tension in my house that was directly coming from living in poverty in the united states. >> reporter: yung pueblo says he struggled emotionally but didn't have a way to deal with his pain. >> considering my ecuadorian background, the whole world of meditating, of being in touch with your emotions, of openly considering difficult situations as a family, this was all very

new. when i went off into college, these sort of issues inside of me that i had never dealt with, this anxiety and the sadness just became bigger and stronger and stronger. i started up using drugs. straining my relationships and definitely straining the relationship i had with myself. it all reached a breaking point when one night i felt like i was dying, i was having a heart attack, and from that moment i picked myself back up, i threw away the drugs, and i started really slowly walking into this whole world of personal transformation. >> reporter: a meditator myself, we dove into his journey on my podcast, "10% happier." >> so you're on your first retreat. you're a year clean, it seems like. >> yeah. >> and what's it like for you? >> it was terrible. it was by far the hardest thing i've ever done. i was thinking about leaving every day. that's when i started really trying and working. but after i did that course i lost like so much mental

heaviness. what i found is just so much more inner peace and the ability to just accept my emotions as they are. >> i am not fully healed. i am not fully wise. i am still on my way. what matters is that i'm moving forward, taking steps forward. even if they're small steps, they're valuable, they're valid, and they should be celebrated. >> reporter: his meditation practice keeping him grounded living in new york city, where he's constantly inundated with noise and chaos of city life. what would you say to people about how you can stay calm and focused in the midst of it all? >> i think it's so valuable to pick up a technique. even if meditation isn't particular qulir thing, you can do some sort of practice that can bring you back into what's happening inside of you. >> some of the techniques out there. >> reporter: at his event in miami it's clear his message is resonating. >> this is going to be one of the first times where people

will continue trying to change the world for the better in so many different ways. >> reporter: countless stories of transformation. [ applause ] >> i was going through a lot of heartbreak and just difficult situations in my life. it was one of the things i needed at the time. >> in the short a time i've been following him it's been very inspiring and very healing. >> it's really helped me through a lot of dark times. self-love and a divorce. and i've always felt like his words have helped keep me hopeful and uplift my spirit. everybody here is on a completely different path but it resonates with all of us. somehow miraculously. >> i really hope people take away the idea you can actually heal yourself. you can actually let go. you can live in a new way. you can have healthy relationships. that you can really cultivate self-love without being narcissistic. but doing what you need to do to

have a happy and healthy life. being able to give that back to others. then also expanding that and building a healthier world. >> reporter: for "nightline" i'm dan harris. >> thank you so much. >> awesome. >> you can also check out an interview with yung pueblo on the podcast "10% happier." up next, celebrating james lipton. breast cancer on my birthday. i thought, i'm not letting anything take me away from my family that loves me and needs me without a fight. when i came to cancer treatment centers of america, they said we're going to do everything we can. i just felt confident, they are behind me. i had six, seven doctors that worked together to take me through this journey. they're not just treating the cancer, they're treating me as a whole person. they have naturopathic support,

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this is an extraordinary man wiin public service.y career he revitalized american manufacturing as the head of our middle-class task force. he led our efforts to combat gun violence. he fought to make college more affordable, championed landmark legislation to protect our women from violence. joe's candid, honest, counsel made me a better president and a better commander in chief. and, all of this makes him the finest vice president we have ever seen. the best part is, he's nowhere close to finished. i'm joe biden and i approve this message.

and finally tonight, remembering james lipton. the former actor, who always knew how to get into other actors' heads. >> how did you hear about that? >> you have done your homework. >> you're pulling all this stuff out of me, man. >> james lipton, the long-time host of "inside the actor's studio." >> this is a classroom. and our subject has been craft. >> lipton often asking if heaven exists what would you like god to say when you arrive at the pearly gates? when the tables were turned, he answered. >> you see, jim, you were wrong. i exist. but you can come in anyway. >> lipton was 93. and we salute the consummate movie lover and first bravo celebrity. now a programming note on this super tuesday eve.

be sure to tune in to our wall-to-wall coverage tomorrow evening beginning at 8:007:00 central right here on abc. i'll be anchoring all evening for abc news live as well as a special edition of "nightline" with complete analysis of the races. that's "nightline." thanks for staying up with us. good night, america. >> "nightline." the stories that shape your world, shape your life. dramatic, stunning, empowering. jaw-dropping. watch. watch. the most if you're 55 and up, t-mobile has a plan designed just for you. and, for a limited time only, we're making it an even better deal. now you can get two lines for only $55. that includes unlimited talk, text and data. with no annual service contracts. it also includes talk, text and data when traveling in mexico and canada. so if you're 55 and up, you can now get two lines for only $55. because at t-mobile,

we have a plan designed just for you. vo: iand there are doers.lkers mike bloomberg has spent his life getting things done. started a company from scratch, creating 20,000 good paying jobs. that's getting it done. as mayor, he rebuilt a shaken city after 9/11, created over 450,000 jobs. expanded healthcare to 700,000 and raised teacher pay. elected for three terms because he got things done. mike beat the nra, strengthening gun laws. he beat big coal, closing over 300 dirty coal fired plants. mike is still getting things done. so ask yourself. for president, do you want a debater or a doer? someone with workable, common sense plans to fix healthcare and create jobs, who's done both. mike has the record and resources to beat trump. and it will take both. but mike will get it done.