is it painful? >> reporter: it's very uncomfortable, gail. they really stick this swab up both sides of your nostrils and then both sides of the back of your throat. those were italian health authorities who came to our apartment here in italy. if you're feeling symptoms, you call a number. we also called our local doctor here in rome. for a while they didn't want to give me the test because they said you have very mild symptoms. italians have been incredible. they've been checking twice a day. i have label of a fever now. now they're going to stop checking fwi checking twice a day. they're going to start calling three times a day to check temperature. we can't leave the house. so, health authorities suit up in those space suits, protective suits -- quite alarming to have them come into your house. but they've got to stay safe as well. they came and administered those tests, we waited 24 hours, and i got the results this weekend.

>> we heard of some people literally having to get a form to be able to go out and buy groceries. how else has quarantine affected your life there? >> reporter: quarantine has stopped life in many ways here in italy. if you've been exposed to positive cases, you're not allowed to leave the house. certainly if you are positive yourself, you're absolutely not able to leave the house. and italians have been asked to stay at home. i have that form you are talking ability here, if you don't have those symptoms, if you haven't been exposed to a positive case, you can have this self-declaration form where you can go out for medical needs, for something like going to the grocery store or the pharmacy -- motorcycle everything is closed here but our neighbor who is safe and a friend down the street, they very cautiously go to supermarket. everyone's keeping their distance. there are very few people on the street but they carry this form with them in case they're stopped by police.

>> when you have this virus, you then call people that you've had contact with to say look i tested positive. what's that call like and how do people react? >> reporter: tony, it's awful. this is not what i want to be discussing on tv. it is not what i want to be known for. but i'm trying to be public and open because i think it's vital we stop the spread of this thing. it is vital people inform people they've had contact with. the psychological part for me has been worse than the physical part. i've tried to call or email or contact everyone i had contact with. i was feeling great. i felt totally fine. luckily, our amazing doctor has been in touch with me every day and has been checking. and he hopes i wasn't spreading at the point i was feeling terrific. really it's too early. i've taken really seriously to call everyone i've been in contact with. >> but seth now that you have it, do you just wait it out?

it's not like you're taking medication, right? you just wait for it to pass. >> there's no treatment, gail. there's waiting at home. they say you have it. stop the spread inside your house. my husband tested negative so far. we're keeping a distance. i'm trying to sterilize as much as i can in the house. but the idea is it stops at my doorstep. >> despite the pandemic, four states were planning to hold primaries today. arizona, illinois, and florida will be going away. but ohio governor mike dewine was working through the night to postpone his vote. in case you missed it, joe biden and bernie sanders squared off for a debate sunday night. there was no audience. the candidates tapped elbows and stood six feet apart. here's o'keefe. >> reporter: in their first one on one debate, joe biden and

bernie sanders said they would respond to the coronavirus better than president trump. >> he is undermining the doctors and scientists trying to help the american people. it is unacceptable to be blabbing with unfactual information. >> they disagreed whether a government ran health care plan should be part of the solution. >> you have a single payer system. it doesn't work there. >> one of the reasons we are unprepared and have been unprepare second degree we don't have a system. we've got thousands of private insurance plans. that is not a system that is prepared to provide health care to all people. >> that has nothing to do when you're in a national crisis. the national crisis says we're responding. it's all free. you don't have to pay for a thing. that has nothing to do with whether or not you have an insurance policy. >> both in their late 70s, the candidates were asked what they're doing to stay healthy. >> i'm very careful about the

people i'm interacting with. i'm using a lot of soap and hand sanitizers. >> i do not shake hands any longer. i do not engage -- we did the same thing. our staff is all working from home. we are not doing rallies any longer. >> reporter: and on the topic of a vice presidential pick, sanders said he would likely pick a woman, while biden made a firm commitment. >> i would pick a woman to be my vice president. >> reporter: ed o'keefe, cbs news, washington. >> the cbs overnight news will be right back.

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 when your v-neck looks more like a u-neck... that's when you know, it's half-washed. downy helps prevent stretching by conditioning fibers, so clothes look newer, longer. downy and it's done.

how fast does dove dry spray actually dry? dry spray dries in an instant. leaving these men with nothing to do in this ad. thankfully, we've got something to fill the time, instantly putting these guys back into their comfort zone. dove dry spray dries instantly and keeps you protected for 48 hours. my skin gets so tired. this new olay serum feels so dewy, and hydrated... gives my skin an extra boost of life. it's full of energy. it finally matches me. i'm denise bidot, and my skin is powerful. and i can face anything with my olay. this weekend marked nine years since the devastating earthquake and tsunami in japan. the disaster triggered a historic meltdown at the fukushima power plant. more than 460,000 people fled the region and most have never

returned. reinny was given rare access to the area surrounding the fukushima plant. >> reporter: no, this isn't fukushima in 2011. this is now. people are allowed to pass through quickly but still not allowed to live here. the beeping is my dosimeter going off. it's telling me we're getting exposed to 10 times the radiation. we are in the no-go zone outside the power plant. people haven't been able to live here for the past nine years and buildings still look like this. in 2011 more than 18,000 people were killed after a tremendous 9.0 earthquake unleashing a towering tsunami. maintenance and clean up continue to this day with the ruined reactors encased in new containment shields to wall off

radiation. tokyo electric power which still runs the plant granted cbs news rare access to show progress being made. we geared up from socks to vests and our own personal radiation counters. we had our baseline radiation levels checked to compare with when we leave, then headed out to the site of the world's worst nuclear catastrophe since chernobyl. >> we're about 100 times radiation. this is safe as long as we don't stay here very long. this past week, a new movie about fukushima was released in time for this anniversary. retailing the disaster that needed little to dramatize further. robots are only just starting to survey damage done. lethal radiation is still generated by melted fuel inside, but a technological clean up is decades away. another problem is political. water needed to cool the reactors is building up, and

space is running out. it's an 1,000 tanks hold 1.2 million tons of tainted water. that can fill nearly 500 olympic-sized swimming pools. the most pressing question now is what to do with all of this treated water. the most realistic option is to release it into the ocean and it's safe. >> ken ji is the public relations manager. we're thoroughly inspecting fish and can confirm there's no fishery contamination, he says. and if we follow regulations when disposing of it, there won't be any problems. >> it would be perfectly fine to do a controled monetary release. >> reporter: he oversaw the three mile island nuclear accident and says japan's emotions still run high. >> people are basically healing

themselves from the emotion of the accident. there is distrust. people feel harmful rumors that people might not eat the fish, and there would be those concerns. >> with japan hosting the summer olympics this year, the torch relay is scheduled to begin in the country just minutes away from the nuclear plant. >> what do you tell people who are nervous about returning to japan? we're proceeding step by step toward decommissioning. i want to be clear of the progress made toward the goal. but that goal will remain illusive for a generation to come with the burden of this historic clean up and the trauma of the past few countries will ever know. rainy inocencio, fukushima, japan.

fears of a shortage of food and other supplies is driving people to supermarkets and big box stores no. surprise there. but often shoppers are finding empty shelves, long lines, and limits on what they can buy. the food industry insists there is nothing to worry about. mark straussman is inside an atlanta grocery store where at least some of the stores are shocked. >> reporter: if you want wine, peanuts, wasabi, green peas,

they got it. but if you want bread, no luck. same thing with hand sanitizer and toilet paper. the dairy section, this is all they have. here's the deal, some of the little guy grocers have more on the shelves than the big guys. shelves picked to the bone at a walmart in washington state, overthe counter medicines vanishing from the stores in washington. >> panic mode. people aren't sure what to do and i think -- i don't know. >> reporter: it's a scene being repeated at brand name stores all over the country. sunday even the president weighed in. >> the stores are stocking up at a level that's beyond christmas time. there's no need for anybody in the country to horde essential food supplies. >> there's no chance they will not be able to fill. >> reporter: doug baker says the industry's trying to adjust to all the shortages.

>> there could be periodic shortages and there might be times are consumers might not be able to get it for a couple of days but supplies are flowing, machines are running, and the product will make it back to the shelve. >> baker says now is not the time to panic but to think about others before you buy more than you need. >> buy the things you need to have, but remember your neighbors and families and friends and coworkers are also trying to do the same thing. and if you purchase too much of that item, that hand sanitizer, that house hold cleaning solution, you take that awa from somebody else and put them at risk for this virus. >> reporter: so mark is expecting a supply truck later today but they have no idea what's on it. what they don't have on the shelves today, they may still not have the on shelves tonight. >> and that's the "overnight news" for this tuesday. for some of you, the news

continues. t broadst center in los angeles. it's tuesday, march 17th, 2020. this is the "cbs morning news". tightening restrictions to stop the spread of the coronavirus, cities across the country taking drastic measures. now the government is recommending limiting groups to no more than ten people. what's next? are we prepared as coronavirus cases grow, so will the need for hospital beds. also a potential vaccine is already being tested on humans. and campaign concerns. tuesday contests are being affected by the outbreak where polls will be temporarily polls will be temporarily closed. captioning funded by cbs m