and thanks for joining us . this is "nightline." tonight, the reenforcements. health care heroes, racing across the country, sacrificing safety and comfort. >> reality's starting to set in, like day six. >> and into the covid-19 epicenter. >> it is bad. overloaded. >> hundreds of doctors and nurses redeploying to fight the growing pandemic. their risks and rewards. lessons. from all-expenses-paid hotel quarantines to business as usual. what we can learn from other countries, what it will take to reopen the u.s. >> "nightline" starts right now with byron pitts. >> thank you for joining us.

it's almost midnight, and for many first responders fighting covid-19 they're hard at work. we told you about those on the front lines, battling day and night to save lives. but now those traveling hundreds of miles to help their colleagues in hot zones like new york city. >> it is 18:22. april 2nd. on the road. driving to nyc. >> icu nurses, jamie and ryan, on a whirlwind road trip from their home in oklahoma to new york city, after responding to an online posting for crisis travel nurses. >> they're the arches. >> yeah. >> passing st. louis. six hours into the drive. >> i feel like it's our responsibility to step up and do what we've been trained to do and what we've known and felt like was our calling to do. >> jamie and ryan, part after growing wave, nurses by the hundreds, who will work 12 hour

shifts for 21 straight days. their helping hands desperately needed in new york city. where there are more dead from covid-19 than the 9/11 terror attacks. >> i am asking health care professionals across the country, if you don't have a health care crisis in your community, please come help us in new york now. we need relief. >> governor cuomo temporarily suspending new york state license requirements, paving the way for licensed doctors and nurses from around the country to respond to that s.o.s. >> i'm from alabama. i'm currently in new york city helping with the covid-19 crisis. >> we're from atlanta to new york to help fight the crisis. >> staffing agencies financially incentivized this work, paying so-called crisis rates that are higher than regular rates, ranging from $4,000 to $10,000 per week. >> that financial incentive, i think, is obviously a big part

of what got us here initially, but over the course of this trip and getting here, we've seen, in ourselves, kind of a spiritual shift, if you will. >> this isn't going to end in new york. this is going to be in our back yard at home. and i would hope that some nurses would take a step away from their families for a second and come help us if we needed it. >> the couple learns they'll both be on the overnight shifts and working in intensive care units but separated. ryan is assigned to a hospital in manhattan, jamie to one in brooklyn. >> we're going to our respective hospitals, ready to get to work. lot of anticipation, an idea of what we're going into, but should really know here shortly. >> a few days into their work, reality starts to sink in. >> it is bad. they are absolutely overloaded. patients are incredibly sick. everyone's vented.

everybody's covid-19. it is exactly what you would expect. the nurses are overworked. they're having a hard time. and they've been doing this for nurse. >> we can't build a nurse, can't build a doctor out of thin air, so you have to get them here. >> luke adams drove from pennsylvania to staten island last month, committing to a 13-week deployment. >> reality's starting to set in, day six. >> he slept in this baby mattress in the back of his rental suv for more than a week. >> it's not supposed to be as cold tonight, which is good. >> after two days of onboarding at the hospital, luke hit the ground running. >> i'm helping them with 16 patients. it's a lot more than i'm used to. >> back in the old world, what was the load like? >> you were usually a two-to-one ratio, having 16 of those critically ill patients on ventilators. >> 16-1 sounds impossible.

>> i would have agreed with you until i started doing it. it's not just me. there are other nurses there. >> but through all kate chaos a despair, he finds solace in victories. >> over two weeks ago, they had already been there when i got there. yesterday as i was leaving the hospital, there they were still in the same rooms but now they're off the ventilator. the success stories are starting to a i cannot begin to describe how much that makes a difference. for two straight weeks it felt like we were losing. >> i've showered and ready for bed. >> he's now in the hotel after the city found him free housing. but even the pillow and mattress are no match for home. his baby daughter and 8-year-old son hundreds of miles away. >> i know you want your example to be a teachable moment for your children. what do you want them to take from what you're doing right

now? >> every emergency calls on a different service. and the skills that i've honed over the last 11 years were suddenly in need. if you have the ability, you have the responsibility, and that's what i want my kids to know. >> what do you think right now? where'd you go? >> home. seeing them especially my son. >> maybe he's watchin'. if he is, what might you say to him, pop? >> you know, this will pass, and i will be home. so there's no need to worry. i know this was difficult, but the three months that i'm gone would have paled in comparison to how i would have felt if i didn't help. >> beyond reenforcements from the outside like luke, many hospitals are transitioning staff out of speciality areas.

before covid-19, he spent his days working on elbows. now he and one of his residents, dr. lynn ann forster are teamed up in the emergency room, treating patients with covid-19. >> we have all these icu beds that never existed, and all these patients filling these beds who are ventilated, sick, and need care that our emergency room teams and regular icu teams cannot cover by themselves. they just can't do it. >> sounds like you went from being an orthopedic surgeon to medical marine. >> we basically, that's exactly, i was doing stuff i haven't done in 25 years. >> dr. levine is one of 2,000 doctors the new york presbyterian system has working.

>> i have cried more in the last couple weeks than i have in the last couple years honestly. i think the weight of the whole experience catches up with you. >> how long can people stand up and do what you and your colleagues have to do? >> we still have 2400 in patients in the new york presbyterian system. covid-19 positive. and we have a lot of work to do and a lot to get us past this point. >> we have had 2,000 doctors volunteer to be redeployed, and we haven't had to twist anybody's arm. the level of commitment has been extraordinary. >> everyone rising to the occasion. >> the outpouring of selflessness is really extraordinary. and it's a real spirit. it's the american spirit. it's the can-do attitude. >> it's been said adversity

doesn't tear down character. it builds it. every night, new york shows its character, the city stop, applauses. covid-19 may have left many across new york and america helpless, but not hopeless. >> i didn't expect that. >> for jamie and ryan, new york city forever, it is in their hearts. >> wow. that was amazing. coming up next here, under mandatory quarantine, inside a hotel, serving only covid-19 patients. ♪ this is my body of proof. proof i can fight moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. proof i can fight psoriatic arthritis... ...with humira. proof of less joint pain... ...and clearer skin in psa. humira targets and blocks a source of inflammation

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it was really bothering me. so i tried prevagen and it started to work for me. i wish i had taken prevagen five or ten years ago. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. days,f life aight in wuhan,e epicent of the covid-19 outbreak marking the end of their 76-day long lockdown. the u.s. of course the new epicenter of the pandemic, reporting the most number of cases in the world. but some countries have been able to somewhat control their death tolls. why is that and what can we

learn from them? here's abc's james longman. >> reporter: for marty mccarthy, it was a different kind of welcome home to his native australia. >> i was taken to this facility here. it's basically a hotel turned into a makeshift hospital overnight that i'm not allowed to leave. >> reporter: just back from the u.s. he's here for a mandatory two-week quarantine required from all overseas travelers entering the country regardless of symptoms. it's all paid for by the government. >> here's a little kitchen. sauteed beef. >> reporter: this is just one approach, as countries around the world scramble to contain covid-19. in europe, where italy and spain have seen some of the highest death rates in the world, neighboring germany has some of the lowest. in this country of 83 million, there have been 111,779 confirmed cases so far. but with only 2,196 deaths,

germany's mortality rate is much lower. >> we created a demand very early on in germany. we ruled out this test already t in january. >> reporter: dr. christian helped develop the first covid-19 detection test and widely-available testing in germany for both asymptomatic and symptomatic patients, among other factors has seemed to have made a difference in containing the spread of the disease. but in sweden it seems still business as usual. the country is not on lockdown, even as the death toll continues to rise. >> the tradition in sweden, when it comes to health care and public health has very much to work with voluntary workers, a dialog with the population to give good advice and tell people what we're trying to achieve. >> reporter: sweden's chief epidemiologist says time will tell which nation has been most

s successful. >> if our way is higher or smaller risk remains to be seen, but so far it seems to be working reasonably well. >> reporter: back in sydney, marty remains under the watchful eyes of doctors and nurses around the clock. he's recovering and expected to go home this weekend. >> it's not fun being locked in a hotel but necessary. i just have to do it. and that's not a burden at all. it's a responsibility. >> other thanks to james. we've seen a remarkable display of pandemic strategies around the world. i spoke to richard besser, a former medical editor and former acting head of the cdc and now part of the robert wood johnson foundation. >> good to be here. approaches from different countries, some more extreme than others. where does the u.s. stack up

globally in its efforts to flatten the curve? >> i think one of the things you can see is efforts to learn from what's been done in different countries. not every country's been hit at the same time. for instance, the new guidance around wearing masks in public is some learning that was done looking at what was being done in many asian countries, so in china, singapore, hong kong and the practice there of wearing masks. if we can learn what others have done and not repeat some of the errors that take place wthat wil help everybody. >> to that point, every country is following its own procedures. is there a way for all to be on the same page in how they're tackling covid-19? >> i don't think so. one thing i found through emergency response is that you learn. it's an ongoing learning process. at the beginning, what you don't know far outstrips what you do know. so by different countries trying different approaches we'll learn and see what things work and what things don't work. but it takes investment in the

science and research and transparency in terms of what's worked and what hasn't, both around the globe and here in the u.s. as different cities and states try different approaches. >> doc a followup to that. we've seen for example mandatory two-week quarantine for travelers returning to australia, funded by the government. how effective is this type of quarantining and could the u.s. ever attempt something like this? >> one thing i would take away from that, something at the foundation we're very focussed on, whatever it is you decide people need to do, you need to make sure everyone can do it. the idea that the government is funding those hotels, so that anyone can stay there, regardless of income is an approach that is equitable, it's fair. there's some things we're asking people to do in this country that if you're low income, somebody who's an hourly worker and having to decide between putting food on the table and paying rent and do being ting ts to protect your family, it's not

a choice. you don't have a choice. >> then we have a country like sweden with a more measured approach which some scientists are now criticizing. how do you respond to those who say we in the u.s. have gone too far, the u.s. solution is too extreme? >> it's a balance and learning. at some point, we're going to have to figure out how to remove some of the restrictions that have been put in place. i think that's not going to happen until there's widespread testing availability, until we know how widespread this is in communities, until all communities are being tested and being treated appropriately. the fact that they're doing something different in sweden, they will learn, and they will see whether their approach worked, whether the approach to social distancing that was voluntary was effective for the period that it was in place. now they're going more restrictive because they're seeing more disease. >> and my last question. i think everyone wants to know what's it going to take for the u.s. to open back up again. >> i think a lot of that's going to come down to the widespread

availability of testing so we can see how many people have had this infection and how many people are still vulnerable. the ability to have rapid testing available when people are sick, and then a massive public health force who can investigate each case and people who had contact with those cases so we can switch strategies from everybody being involved in social distancing to protecting those at risk and isolating those who may be sick. >> dr. richard besser, thank you so much. >> really good to see you again, byron. and next, abc news losing one of our own. open. remember having that feeling for the first time? the first day you opened. the first day you had a customer, the first day you taught a class, had a client, a patient, a session. open... remember the night before you opened?

who could ever sleep? open... but there's a different question we are being asked now. are you going to remain open? even when your doors are closed? open. that's how we show who we are. and there's another way to be open, to pull together - or push, depending on the door. and we are making it work and we will continue to make it work together. because open we stand. did you know prilosec otc can stobefore it begins?urn heartburn happens when stomach acid refluxes into the esophagus. prilosec otc uses a unique delayed-release formula that helps it pass through the tough stomach acid. it then works to turn down acid source.ion,t the with just one pill a day, you get 24-hour heartburn protection. prilosec otc.

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and finally tonight, covid-19 has touched and torn so many families across our country. now it has darkened our doors here at abc news. tony greer, a studio camera operator for six years at gma has died from complications of covid-19. a lover of music, his family,

mom fannie, sister janet, brother kevin. robin. tony, lighting up the room and all those who walked through the studio doors, he was 62. it was dr. seuss who said don't just cry because it's over, smile because it happened. because tony greer and so many good souls across our country happened, amidst the tears, there will be reasons to smile for eternity. that's "nightline" this evening, thanks for the company, america, "jimmy kimmel live" starts right now. goodnight. ♪ ba, da, ba, ba, da, ba, ba, da, ba, da, ba, da ♪ "jimmy kimmel live"! this is ridiculous. from his house! house! h >> jimmy: hi, i'm bored.

i'm jimmy. i'm the host of the show. thank you for taking a few minutes away from your banana bread to watch me talk to myself. in my kitchen. i want to wish a warm first night of passover to those who celebrate. who could have guessed there'd be an 11th plague this year? and hello to those of you who joined me earlier in primetime for the return of "who wants to be a millionaire." it was a big night for television. as we said goodbye to one of the great television shows of all-time, "modern family." tonight, we will celebrate with the cast via the magic of videochat. tonight, we will finally answer the question, what does ed o'neill wear around the house? this might be the new modern family. according to people magazine, and they've never steered us wrong before, bruce willis and demi moore, who as you probably know used to be married, are in quarantine together. there they are with their kids. and what's with the giant spoon? did they shrink? and what's with the pajamas?