And take a look at this tonight, the cruise ship tracker showing just how many passenger ships are sailing around the world right now as we're on the air and as the Grand Princess remains off the coast of California tonight, with those 21 confirmed cases now on board, state officials and the cruise line are trying to avoid a similar nightmare involving that first ship while it was under quarantine off the coast of Japan.

So many health authorities around the world calling it essentially a Petri dish for the Corona virus.

So what did we learn?

Here's Maggie, really?

Tonight?

It was supposed to be the perfect vacation, a two week long cruise exploring the beauty of Southeast Asia for adventure seekers like John and Melanie Herring.

We decided to take a six month venture for our first retirement trip, and Carl and Jerry Goldman I purchased this as a Christmas gift from my wife, and for 10 glorious days, the Diamond Princess delivered for the herrings and the Goldmans.

The cruise was idyllic.

This was our first trip to Southeast Asia.

So we're excited about seeing Japan.

We went to Vietnam, Hong Kong, Taiwan.

So that was a thrill, that is, until an uninvited passenger made its way on board.

Cowin 19 a k a.

The Corona Virus.

When you think about the physical environment of cruise ship, you're talking about a confined space packed with thousands of people.

If they carry any type of infectious organism or pathogen on their hands elevators, handrails, door knobs, you have really potentially the perfect storm, quite literally for an infection to go haywire.

It's Day five when the Diamond Princess and it's 3700 guests and crew doc in Hong Kong.

That's where an older man in his eighties with a coffin fever leaves the ship.

No one knew it at the time, but days later he would be diagnosed with Cove in 19.

You have a good time in Hong Kong.

Didn't think anything about the virus of any kind.

Diamond Princess continues its journey, the ship only finding out about the virus on its way back to port in Yokohama, speeding up to get back just one day early.

Japanese government officials impose rules.

No one can leave the entire ship is under a 14 day quarantine.

Guests are confined to their rooms, with some describing it as a floating prison.

I appreciate you sharing your time and story with us.

E Start face timing with John and Melanie Herring about a week into the quarantine looks like.

Okay, okay, much you have got used to that at all.

Really.

I was kind of show you around, measured it out just because I had nothing else to do.

It was eight feet by 15 feet, and that includes the bathroom and everything.

The herrings have no window in their room every few days.

They were allowed to go outside on the main deck for an hour, but they're told to stay several feet away from other passengers.

This is the first time I've been outside son, and it's beautiful.

Japanese government has been questioned over its quarantine strategy, namely the decision to keep people on the ship where the infection could spread.

The Japanese doctor who visited the ship for just one day posted a video online, calling the quarantine completely chaotic.

I was so scared of getting copied 19 because there was no way to tell where the Harrises, one Japanese government health official admitted in a TV interview the quarantine wasn't perfect and suspected some of the crew was infected and may have passed along the virus while working.

There was no single professional infection control person inside the ship.

Overall, more than 700 people from the Diamond Princess tested positive for Cove in 19.

Six have died.

It's not just do we keep them, honor, let them off.

A risk benefit analysis needed to be calculated, and it turned out that the wrong decision was made.

It was during that quarantine that John Herring gets sick seven, spiking a fever and testing positive for Cove in 19.

His fever is now 103 again, just trying to keep him cool and comfortable.

He's burning up.

Just have your prayers for him.

He's evacuated to a hospital in Japan, leaving his wife, Melanie, back on the ship by February 15 after 26 days on board, the U S State Department decides to fly the remaining American passengers, including Melanie and Carl and Jerry Goldman, back to the U.

S.

For treatment and additional quarantine.

The Goldmans think their vacation nightmare might soon be over.

But sadly, it's not way.

Carl develops a fever on the plane ride back and hours later, test positive for the virus.

California couple is sent halfway across the country to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

They decided to put me in an ambulance with a full motorcade.

I felt like it was either the president or the Queen of England.

That's because not all hospitals are created equal.

This place is uniquely qualified for a crisis.

It has a bio containment unit.

They were TV cameras set up in there was hooked up to number monitors.

Everyone who came in to see Mate War has.

This week our cameras visited the specialized facility, which was last used during the 2014 Ebola outbreak.

Then the next thing we do is we put on our isolation gown, our tour guide, Angie Vasa, the nurse manager.

This is something that is approved for providing care to patients that are confirmed to have coded 19.

We have a team of all volunteer staff.

They want to provide the highest level of care in the safest possible way for pathogens that most other people run away from, not lean into.

I've been feeling better and better every day tonight.

Carl Goldman is still in that hospital in Nebraska.

No word yet.

On went, he will be able to leave.

For John and Melanie Herring, the news is better.

She's finally leaving quarantine in California.

We're going on, John, finally leaving that hospital in Japan, can't wait to put my arms around you.

And earlier this week at an airport in Utah, that's exactly what he did.

Way just held on Tight Way.

Couldn't let each other go for a while.

Coming home has never felt so good.

All right, our thanks to Maggie really Tonight who's been reporting on this for weeks.

And John and Melanie Herring.

We should point out our home safely in Utah tonight.

They're feeling better there in Self Corn team and inside that national quarantine unit.

They have just gotten a new patient tonight.

Nebraska's first covert 19 patient Corona virus, Anti Vaasa, who you just saw giving us a tour of the unit that she oversees is treating that patient tonight.

And Angie is with us and thank you so much, not only for what you're doing, but for joining us tonight and What can you tell us about this new patient?

How's the patient doing?

Thank you for having me.

You know, I can tell you that we did admit in another individual patient to our facility.

And I think our team is taking every step to make sure we get a thorough evaluation and provide the highest level of care for that individual.

We know Governor Rick, it's in announcing this case today said people should prepare is if they might be at home for an extended period of time.

You're on the front lines.

You're treating the virus.

You're seeing how powerful this virus is, how easily it can spread.

What would you say to people at home tonight who are simply trying to prepare in case it comes into their community?

Is there anything they can do to protect themselves?

Yeah.

You know, what I would related people is that they should be preparing for themselves and their families.

And I think that the number one lesson that I want people to take home is that they are if they are ill, even if its smile that they should be in contact with their local health department that they should take the proper precautions, cover their cough, wash their hands and if you are ill, stay home so that you don't spread illness to other people who may be more vulnerable than you are, which is so important you're not only helping yourself, you're helping everybody that you would come in contact with, and you talk about washing your hands.

Which sounds so simple, Angie.

But that is the primary way that this is transmitted if you wash your hands.

And I know a lot of people have been watching this night after night are doing that.

People have talked about how chap their hands are now, but it really makes a difference, right?

It doesn't make a difference.

I mean, when you have a respiratory pathogen that's airborne droplets spread, we want to make sure that any hands that are touching any potentially contaminated surfaces and then touching your face your mucous membranes are clean.

And so the more that we can decrease the bio burden on ourselves, the less likely we are to contaminate other surfaces or people.

We were thinking about you, too, as well.

Tonight, Angie and all of the first responders on the front lines of this health care across this country.

I know you've got a four year old son at home.

You're treating Corona virus patients.

You're going home.

I'm sure there's a lot going through your mind about how safe it is and any kind of harm that you might possibly be putting your family in.

How do you balance that between what you have to do with your job and caring for your family?

You know, I think that that's exactly the reason why I continue to do this job, because I want to make sure that we have health care workers that are trained to be able to provide the highest level of care in the safest way possible so that we can protect our friends, our family, our loved ones in ultimately our community to mitigate the spread of this specifically this covert 19 pathogen.

All right, Angie Vasa will go home and hug your son tonight and thank you for your service in this important time.

Thank you, Angie.

I want to get to Dr Jen because you and I have talked about this night after night The health care workers who were on the front lines in the hospitals and in these bio containment units.

It's a huge risk.

It is David, and, you know, it was really important to us to hear from a registered nurse.

So often in these crises, you hear from just doctors, but we have to remember inside hospitals.

It's not just doctors, nurses, it's technicians.

It's transporters.

They are literally doing the analogy of running into a fire when everyone else is running out, so they deserve a lot of credit about them.

Tonight, I want to get to our first viewer questions tonight.

A lot of questions about cruise ships and planes.

So first of all, should you take a cruise right now?

That is probably the most common question.

David and I think it really depends on your risk.

Tolerance, risk versus going risk versus staying home.

Benefit to going benefit to staying home.

You know, cruise ships are very highly concentrated.

Same thing with airplanes.

We've heard about those tray tables carrying lots of bacteria, not necessarily that make us sick, but again, I think you have to decide who you are.

If you have any risk factors where you're going, how important it is to go and David.

It's not an easy decision, but I can tell you I have a lot of travel coming up, most of it for work.

And right now I haven't cancelled.

You haven't canceled?

Yes.

So you're sitting on the plane, though.

And you have a passenger next to you and they cough or they sneeze.

Can be transmitted through the air.

It absolutely can.

But we still have to remember.

Common things occur commonly, and right now, it's much more of a risk to you that that person has a common cold or the flu than Corona virus right now.

All right, Jen.

Thank you.

A lot more questions to come.

We've just hit the tip of the iceberg there.

Hi, everyone.

George Stephanopoulos here.

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