>> and that is followed by jimmy kimmel live at 12:05. >> have a great night. >> see you tomorrow. . this is "nightline. tonight, breaking news. fighting the coronavirus with the biggest economic stimulus ever. >> help is on the way, big help, quick help. >> inside the $2 trillion deal. plus, pandemic strategy, the presidential timeline. >> i would say by easter, we'll have a recommendation. and maybe before easter. >> how soon can the u.s. really be up and running again? with the growing grip of the coronavirus in europe, learning lessons from italy. >> we are in the same boat, so, eye avoid this mistake. >> and leading the way, how south korea handled the virus. >> it's very much in detail,

too. >> and the epicenter in china. gearing up to get back on track. >> we still can't leave the neighborhood. at least now we're coming outside. >> "nightline" will be right back. you know when you're at ross ammm.ou find... ...at a price that has you, like...? okaayyy. that's yes for less. say yes to the latest spring trends at 20-60% off department store prices every day. at ross. yes for less.

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is another step closer to reality. the senate, late tonight, passed a record, $2 trillion stimulus bill to soften the fallout from the covid-19 crisis. bottom line, it will provide checks to some taxpayers of up to $1200. the house still has to vote on the bill friday. all of this is as we're on the collision course to become the new epicenter of the pandemic. this as experts pay close attention to what worked and what failed in other countries. this week, the giants in south korea live streaming cautious first steps toward normalcy. empty seats lining the stadium. face masks a new part of the uniform. as deaths around the world from covid-19 surpass 20,000, all eyes are on south korea, which appears to stand apart from the rest of the world. last month, the country had seen 909 new cases in a single day, but today south korea is

reporting only 100 new cases. this, as infections in western countries soar by the thousands. it's believed korea's two-fold approach of extensive testing and social distancing has slowed the spread of the novel coronavirus. >> over 300,000 tests. and through that, they were able to identify cases and then look for contacts and really snuff this out in an incredible way. >> president trump is reenforcing his hope that the u.s. can reopen for business by easter. warning that the restrictions may push the economic down turn to the point of in return. >> i'm not going to do anything rash or hastily. i don't do that. but the country wants to get back to work. our country was built to get back to work. we don't have a country where they say hey, let's close it down for two years. we can't do that. it's not our country. >> but that's a little over two weeks away. and with the number of cases dramatically rising in america, health care experts are skeptical. >> the last thing any country

needs is to open schools and businesses only to be forced to close them again because of a resurgence. >> what do you make of the president's optimistic suggestion that he may begin to scale back on restrictions by easter? >> so, it's wonderful to be optimistic that these interventions are going to work, but that doesn't line up with the epidemic models that currently exist, unfortunately. we see the epidemic continuing to grow, well into april. >> now as americans are left staring down an uncertain road, we look to other countries to see what they have done to contain the spread of the virus. in south korea, widespread testing has been the game changer. our south korea bureau chief visited the testing site in the fashionable gangnam district of seoul. >> we tested 150 testing a day. >> oh. >> and many students who come from abroad can get a free testing even though they have no

symptoms. >> here thousands of test kits were made available within two weeks of the country's first case in january. south korea has tested far more people for the coronavirus than any other country u , at a per capita rate of more than 40 times of the u.s. >> the ones who got a jump start on testing are the ones successful in bending the curve. >> but while south korea may be the leading example of what to do right, it's not a direct comparison to the u.s. south korea has 51 million people spread across 38,000 square miles. compare that to the sheer size of the u.s., 330 million people and 3.8 million s miles. another major part in south korea's effort to flatten the curve, turning people's phones into a weapon of mass communication. >> the government here sends out national emergency alert messages throughout the day.

it's basically information about who was tested positive in my neighborhood. it's very much in detail, too. >> while hospitals in the u.s. are scrambling for masks and other personal protective equipment, south korean hospitals are well stocked, thanks to swift government action early on. and just this week, president trump asking south korean president moon jae-in to send medical equipment to the u.s. moon telling reporters that trump sought, quote, urgent help. hong kong also appeared to be a success story in getting the virus under control, but then it let its guard down. and case more than doubled in the last week. most imported from overseas. american kathleen pierce works in hong kong. no one is sick, but she and her family have been isolated in their apartment for more than two months. >> we haven't been doing much. it gets boring at times. >> i mainly play a lot of video games. >> kathleen says the outbreak was more controlled in hong kong, because it's been through

major viral outbreaks before. >> my friends and my colleagues here all experienced sars, so they've lived through this before, and they know how long a situation like this can last. >> the pierces thought they could see the light at the end of the tunnel. but just as restrictions were loosening up, travelers from north america and europe who initially evacuated are returning and bringing the virus back with them. >> it's a rollercoaster. in the beginning, there's a lot of momentum. and then you sort of lose motivation as the weeks go on. >> china's having a similar issue. it's now imposing a 14-day quarantine on anyone coming into the country. now more than three months after the emergence of covid-19, officials there are trying to get the country back on track. inplaces, people are allowed to travel, but they are given a health code, scanned before getting on a bus or shopping at a store. yet another positive sign. official media showed workers back at the honda factory in

wuhan, the original epicenter, but looks can be deceiving. >> i am max, 28 years old, from colorado. >> max seaward and his wife and baby chose not to evacuate wuhan when the outbreak began. restrictions are finally relaxing a tiny bit. >> as you can see, we're outside. we still can't leave the neighborhood. there's a gate over there with razor wire. everyone has to wear masks and stuff. >> still no one is allowed to leave the city or enter it unless they have special permission like factory workers. >> we are wearing short sleeves now. when this began, it was snowing. it's almost been an entire season. >> but over in europe the virus' grip is growing tighter. italy now has the highest death toll for covid-19, and more than 74,000 people have tested positive. could you have ever imagined a crisis like this for your country and your profession? >> this is real, a real

catastrophic events. many people, many families has deaths, people ill, some in the hospital, some in the house. it is very stressful situation. >> the doctor works at a hospital in the hard-hit city. ground zero in the country of italy. it went into lockdown last month but the hospitals remain overrun. he offers these words of advice to the u.s. and its health care workers. >> keep covid in your home. >> in your home? >> yes, because if you manage covid at home, you avoid contaminating. it's very important to change your mind set from patient-centered care to community-centered care. >> what does that look like?

>> you have to find solutions forea for all population, not for one patient. and it requires a community approach. >> he advises more home care to treat mildly ill and free up the hospitals for most severe. >> doctor, i know we are just meeting on skype, but you look tired to me. are you okay? >> yeah, i'm okay. a little bit tired, but i am okay. this interview is a way to help other people to avoid our problem. my mistake can give you the possibility to avoid this mistake and to save lives in your country. >> spain is n seeing a faster infection rate than italy. these images posted on social media show a hospital overwhelmed. how bad will it get here? >> from what we're seeing in new york already, where we're reaching capacity in many hospitals apartment accumulation

of deaths, it's very much looking like the way italy has been growing. >> the u.s. outbreak is about a week behind europe's. officials here are hoping they can avoid heartbreaking images like this. >> this is why we keep saying to every american, you have a role to protect each and every person that you interact with. we have a role to protect one another. that's why we are social distancing and you are social distancing. but to every american out there, when you are protecting yourself, you are protecting others. you can see the number of deaths that are occurring. we all have a role in preventing them. >> and up next, when can the u.s. reopen for business? our experts ready to weigh in. keep being you. and ask your doctor about biktarvy. biktarvy is a complete, one-pill, once-a-day treatment used for h-i-v in certain adults. it's not a cure, but with one small pill, biktarvy fights h-i-v to help you get to and stay undetectable.

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americans are now wondering tonight when the new normal of lockdowns and self-isolation will become things of the past. earlier tonight i spoke with abc news contributors, dr. todd elleren in massachusetts, and tom bossert, former homeland security adviser to president trump. gentlemen, thank you for joining us tonight. doctor, let me start but, sir. we had at least 185 deaths in the u.s. today, what does that tell you? >> it tells us the epidemic is worsening and it's not necessarily equal across the country. the other states shouldn't feel like, you know, we have a lot of time. we need to prepare just in case we're the next hot zone. >> tom, things are difficult

right now in many places. as you know, the president is concerned about the economy, rightfully so. and wants the country up and running by easter. from your perspective, is this a wise decision? >> yeah, i was very encouraged to see the president clarify that message today from the podium. we can't have one standard for removing the isolation measures from anyo one community and we can't have one date to remove them. we're going to have to make those decisions based on where we see hotter and cooler spots, and we're going to have to make those decisions based on where we have the resources to execute the responsible step-down plan. >> and doctor, to that plan, a lot of medical experts disagree with the president. what do you think of his deadline, and is there a way to do it safely? >> i want to echo what tom just said. we want to be driven by data and not dates. if april 12th comes around and we're seeing mortality go down and, you know, that the epidemic looks like it's plateauing more

it may be possible to open up certain parts of the country, but i don't think it can be an all-or-none type of decision. at the same time, we have to increase testing that's vital so we can identify these patients early, isolate them, trace their contacts and, in that way, we'll decrease human-to human spread and try to break the chain of transmission. >> doctor, if you would give us context about what's going on in south korea. they've had real success in dealing with the virus there. due to their aggressive measures to fight it, they've been disinfecting shoe, forcing people to sanitize their hands and taking multiple temperature checks. should the united states be heading in that same direction? >> they were excellent in getting out front with testing. they got commercial labs to mass-produce testing and started testing early, able to isolate,

trace, quarantine close contacts. but there was a little bit of good fortune involved in that country as well. there was an epidemic that was forming in a certain population. it was in this christian sect that was a younger population, also had a lot of females. so younger females were the predominant population that was getting infected. and overall, as you know, younger patients tend to do better, and overall females tend to do better than males. so it was a combination of them being very aggressive and giving good care. mass communication but also good fortune. >> gentlemen, a final question to you both. you both have painted a grim picture about where we are now and what's to come. what's your best recommendations to what people can be, can do at home. >> we can't stress it enough even though it sounds overstated that sticking to this plan is important. the idea of staying to the course that we've set for

ourselves, without getting seven or ten days into it and losing our patience or losing our nerve is exceedingly important. i don't want us to spend all of this cost for our economy and on our lives only to then give up and not receive the public health benefit that we get for all of this sacrifice. and then we can use the time that we have between now and the time that god forbid it becomes worse in other communities to prepare. and that doesn't just mean hospital preparations. how do i take care of my family, my parents, my children, anything that i can do to make me ready for an outbreak in my town or city that might not yet be upon me, and lastly, i think we can all continue to provide support to one another and continue to be vinl lapts against some of the disinformation and divisive language we're hearing by ignoring it and remaining together and optimistic. >> doctor, we'll give you the last word. >> some of the basic infection control principles are really

vital here. good hammnd hygiene. social distancing, especially when things are on the rise. this is not just a disease of the elderly, covid-19 has sent a lot of younger people, aged 20 to 50 into the hospital. so we want to make sure that we're not just taking this for granted. >> dr. todd elleren and tom bossert, thank you both so much. >> thank you. >> thank you, byron. >> we'll be right back. ue psori. now, there's skyrizi. ♪ things are getting clearer, yeah i feel free ♪ ♪ to bare my skin ♪ yeah that's all me. ♪ nothing and me go hand in hand ♪ ♪ nothing on my skin ♪ that's my new plan. ♪ nothing is everything. keep your skin clearer with skyrizi. 3 out of 4 people achieved 90% clearer skin at 4 months. of those, nearly 9 out of 10 sustained it through 1 year. and skyrizi is 4 doses a year, after 2 starter doses.

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and finally tonight, a healing note of thanks. written on a window at the cleveland clinic in ohio, words of gratitude from a recently discharged covid-19 patient, thanking those who kept them alives. writing on this window has been the most impactful window of my life, wanting you to know i think you are all rock stars. >> the first time i saw the note, it brought tears to my

eyes. we're all going to get through it together. >> words do matter. during the darkest days of world war ii, it was winston churchill who said this is not time for ease and comfort. it is time to dare and endure. that's "nightline" for this evening. thanks for the company, america. goodnight. >> dicky: from hollywood it's "jimmy kimmel live." tonight -- tim robbins, from "bad trip," eric andre, this week in unnecessary censorship, and music from phantogram. and now, for the most part, jimmy kimmel! [cheers and applause] ♪

>> jimmy: hi, everyone, thank you. i'm jimmy, i'm the host. thanks for watching, thanks for coming, wow, i'm so glad you came. it's, i wouldn't have come. thank you for literally risking your lives to be here tonight, and i want to welcome those of you who just got off the cruise ship. boy, the stock market was way down today as the rise of the coronavirus continues around the country and the world. the governor of california declared a state of emergency here, and a lot of people are wondering what they can do. even the rapper, little nas x tweeted, no joking, does anybody know what i can do to help with the coronavirus? well, you know what? thanks for asking, lil' nas x. and yes, there is something you can do. it's called the el bump. i introduced this on monday. it is a way of saying hello without infecting each other.