new developments right now with a cruise ship in limbo off the california coast. we're learning how many people are sick and where that boat is heading next. the 3,000 people on board that ship are riding an emotional wave waiting for the news that could determine what happens to them. tonight, on edge over the coronavirus. two bay area counties see additional cases. plus, the gig economy becomes the germ sharing economy. coronavirus now taking a toll on certain workers. one trump adviser basically telling people, avoid california. 46 persons were of those on the ship tested positive for the coronavirus. 24 tested negative. one test was inconclusive. we have developed a plan which will be implemented this weekend to bring the ship into a

noncommercial port. all passengers and crew will be tested. >> that is the very latest from the grand brain princess cruise ship currently anchored off the coast of san mateo county. vice president pence outlining what's next and letting them know who is most at risk. >> the ones clearly the most vulnerable to getting the complications of serious disease and even death are people with underlying conditions, particularly among the elderly. >> good evening. welcome. i'm larry beil. >> i'm kristen sze. thanks for joining us. the vice president said the cruise ship would go to a noncommercial port. not clear which port it will be. you can see it off the coast there. abc 7 news reporter kate larsen spoke with passengers today. she's live in san francisco with what they had to say. kate? >> reporter: just been a big waiting game for all of the

passengers on board. they, of course, did the tests yesterday. everyone, the 3500 passengers and crew members were waiting for more than 24 thunder showers to find out what would happen with the tests. of course, learning that there were 21 tests that tested positive for coronavirus was not the news that everyone hoped for. originally, all of the passengers learned about this by watching the news and many were frustrated that they didn't hear it first from princess and folks on board the cruise ship. the captain then made this announcement. >> you may have heard this on the news by the media already. we apologize that we were not given it -- by the u.s. federal government. it would have been our preference to be the first to make this news available to you. >> reporter: yesterday national guard helicopters flew from mountain view to the grand princess which is circling in the pacific about 50 miles off the northern california coast right now. the helicopters dropped off coronavirus test kits for the 46 people on board who

first is co fm february tho the. mostf theopl therd o febary 21st in san francisco for the second hawaiian leg of the cruise. the tests were processed at a lab in richmond. 19 of the 21 positive tests belong to crew members. since the news broke, i've spoken to several passengers on the ship. teresa duncan, who i've been communicating with and john and lori miller who live in san jose. everyone is currently quarantined in their rooms. >> that's the worst possible news we could have gotten that there was a serious enough of infection detected that we can't go to port, disembark and go home. >> it's a double edged sword because you don't know if everybody has been infected. if we stay on the ship, you know, are we already infected and does it make much difference. off the ship, we're already infected. do we infect more people by being off the ship. so it's really kind of --

>> reporter: so the passengers have been sending me photos of today's lunch which was delivered by servers in face masks. because every meal is room service-style, it's taking up to four hours to get food. the ship is distributing activity kits to keep people busy while they wait in their rooms. there's lots of movies available. everyone i've spoken to is in relatively good spirits. of course, concerned about whether or not they're going to be quarantined on the ship for the next two weeks. whether it's going to come back to a noncommercial port. not here to pier 27. but they don't know when that might take place or how long it will be before they get home. so lots of unanswered questions. the good news is that i've spoken to four different families who are on that ship and everyone is feeling physically okay. nobody feels like they have a fever or a cough. we've got more coming up at 6:00. live in san francisco, i'm kate larsen, abc 7 news. kate, thank you.

more than 50 confirmed coronavirus cases in the bay area. santa clara county reported four more pushing its total to 24. contra costa county has three more -- the other was in contact with a patient. the county this afternoon had this warning. people at higher risk should avoid mass gathering, such as concerts, sporting events or parades. >> this advice does not apply to people going to work in an office building or going to the grocery store or the mall. >> the three people today in contra cost a county are being isolated at their homes. health officials are trying to figure out how the person in the county's first case got infected. >> there's been mixed reaction to a call by santa clara county to cancel large group events to prevent the virus from spreading. there's even confusion over the definition of exactly what a large gathering is. abc 7 news reporter david louie

live in san jose with examples of how organizations are responding to this call. david? >> reporter: well, reaction has been all over the map. for example, stanford's baseball team takes on kansas state at 6:00 this evening. ticket sales are capped at 1,000 or one-third of the capacity of the facility. that's to give people more room to spread out. the earthquakes are playing tomorrow. yet, in san jose tomorrow, a career fair for young people has been canceled. >> the recommendation is intended to prevent the spread of coronavirus as the number of cases of covid-19 has risen. confusion has developed because people aren't sure how many people constitute a large gathering. even then, because they're not part of the over 50 at risk group, they feel safe. lucy patterson went to the thursday night sharks game. >> i went to the game last night. like i'm not really -- i'm trying to live my life. >> you don't worry about being in large crowds? >> not really. >> it's not just sports. the county says the recommendation a mice to community groups and brings.

legal analyst steven clark says that raises liability questions. >> you are now suggesting that this is a way it can be transmitted and certainly, you're putting these companies and entities on notice and that could create liability and i could foresee lawsuits coming if someone contracts coronavirus after attending an event. >> even museums can be considered crowded places. the children's discovery museum attracts 500 visitors on weekdays, 2,000 on weekends. schools and parents when at the decide what to do. >> they know what's going on in the community. they know the museum can be a busy place. likely, they'll make the decision on their own about whether they're comfortable visiting or not. >> that what's economic consequences. it costs $25,000 per day to run the museum. half from admission and memberships. so attendance is crucial. we asked santa clara county for clarification of its recommendation. however, we were told no one was available for an interview.

now, a short time ago, the film festival under way in san jose says it will announce a schedule change tomorrow in response to the city's recommendation to curtail large scale events. live in san jose, david lieu, i abc 7 news. the consensus from public health officials, call in sick if you're not feeling well. work fro home when you can and avoid close contact. for many the options aren't available, especially vulnerable gig workers. abc 7 news reporter, kris reyes has that story. kris? >> reporter: good afternoon. in fact, a virginia senator came out with a statement today saying gig workers should not be penalized for following public health guidelines. i reached out to gig workers right here in the bay area who say that's exactly what's happening. >> so i work for uber, lyft, grub hub, door dash, first mate. amazon -- >> your typical gig worker. average 12-hour work days,

constantly dealing with the public. no health benefits. no sick leave. he says he can't afford to follow the advice of public health officials. >> we don't have the luxury to stay home even when we're sick. not just like from coronavirus. from any kind of infected disease. >> for dan, and -- not being able to afford to take sick leave is one problem for gig workers in a coronavirus reality. their jobs also put them at risk. >> we are in a closed environment with strangers for an extended period of time. actually throughout our work. >> in a letter to the companies, tech platforms that employ gig workers, senator mark warner of virginia said i strongly urge that you attempt to address the potential hardships for your workers if they are sick or have to self-quarantine during this time. the tech companies have not responded with any details on how they plan to support their workers, just that they're monitoring the situation, sharing guidelines and exploring

options. >> he's only received reminders to clean his car. >> i'm going over surfaces at least three times a day. >> gig workers have been protesting in recent months demanding better working conditions. attempting to form a union. with an outbreak like coronavirus, they both say their risks extend to the public. >> many of us simply can't afford to stop working and to take care of ourselves, which means that we potentially might put our passengers in risk as well. >> now we did reach out to every single company that received the senator's letter. insta cart and uber got back to us but have nothing to support about financial compensation for their workers. i'm kris reyes for abc 7 news. kris, thank you. a top adviser to president trump says people should go to work and stay at work but avoid

travel to northern california. larry kudlow is the director of the national economic council on cnbc had morning, he said, quote, let's not overreact. in many ways america should stay at work. he also said, and governor newsom declaring california an emergency state, especially northern california, i understand that, avoid it, exercise common sense. kudlow said seattle is another place to avoid. >> still ahead, law enforcement out in full force on the same block that a contra costa county man died of coronavirus. uc berkeley, his new perspective on this crisis. plus, whether he's worried about getting sick. i'm meteorologist sandhya patel. our long stretch of dry weather coming to an end. i'll have the timeline coming up. i'm michael finney. tonight

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in the city. basically, they're issuing recommendations for people to curb the spread of the virus by canceling or postponing nonessential events, like sporting events. >> here's the plan. in order to decrease the impact of coronavirus on our community, we must reduce the times and places where people come together. and we need to protect the people who are most vulnerable to getting sick. or even dying if they get coronavirus. >> so the public health director says those who are most vulnerable are people over 60 or have certain health conditions. they're urged to avoid large gatherings altogether. >> we learned today when the state saw the first coronavirus death, police are dispatched in the neighborhood right away. reporter steve large has the story from rockland. >> head bac inside. >> sheriff deputies and police wearing protective gloves

converged on this residential street in rockland. >> a helicopter circled overhead ordering people to get inside. people who live here unclear why. officers eventually let them out of their homes. >> we don't know anything. we're kind of in the dark. but we know something is going on. >> the plaster county health department issued a brief statement shortly after the police presence reading law enforcement partners are currently responding to enforce a health officer's order. we cannot share any additional information to protect patient confidentiality. the orders were given under sections of california health and safety codes. that allows plaster health to enforce regulations requiring strict isolation for quarantine if the action is necessary for the protection of the public health. the first california coronavirus patient to die from the illness lived on this block. the timing of the health officer order comes after the public health announced the death of

the 71-year-old man. >> i'm not sure what the next step is. i'm not sure what they're going to do. >> as a rockland family mourned their loved one's death, law enforcement showing this presence on their block in an effort to contain a contagious disease. >> that was steve large reporting. so the developments on coronavirus raise many questions about its transmissibility and what you should or shouldn't do. leslie brinkley turned to an expert at uc berkeley. >> you told us you would ride mass transit, gn airplane. anything changed since then? >> i was on b.a.r.t. this morning. >> dr. ryne gold is the head of epidemiology at uc berkeley, school of public health, he offered advice on travel saying he plans to fly. >> we in the united states tend to think about this as, if i go somewhere else, i might -- it increases my chances of getting infected during travel or once i get there, people in other

countries could look at us the same way. they might be averse to coming to san francisco or seattle because we have the coronavirus. right? so it's a two-way street. my risk going to london may not be greater than my risk staying here. >> while so little is known about the transmissibility of covid-19, he pointed to a new report by the world health organization. >> there are some reports that perhaps in china the overwhelming majority of the transmission events occurred in the household. rather than out in -- on buses or the streets or the shops or whatever. >> should we be concerned about using cash or coins as transferring the coronavirus. is a credit card safer? >> so, you know, we don't know much about the survival of coronavirus of this particular coronavirus on the surfaces. >> buckle up, because in the week ahead, as more testing is done, dr. ryne gold says expect the number of cases to go up.

in the meantime, the best way to protect yourself is still washing your hand. in berkeley, leslie brinkley. we're going to switch gears and talk about weather. >> sandhya patel is here. >> do you know where your umbrellas are? it's been over a month since we saw rain. larry and kristen, we'll see changes. here's a cold front pushing into the pacific northwest. we're going to start to notice that this system swings into the bay area as we head into the late night early morning hours. right now on live doppler 7, we have the clouds. we're watching some drizzle developing. from our golden gate bridge camera, seeing a lot of cloud cover stacked up. temperatures came down more today. mid-50s from san francisco to oakland. it is 59 in san jose in redwood city. a chilly 50 in pa sichka. from our camera, notice the cloud overhead. it is breezy outside. low 50s from santa rosa to petaluma.

currently 57 in fairfield and concord. from the mt. tam cam, seeing a few raindrops. this is really just drizzle pushing in ahead of storm. rain spreads in the morning. we're looking at colder weather for the weekend. don't forget, spring forward sunday morning. the time changes. here's a look at your travel forecast. saturday morning rain. we're looking at a few afternoon showers. breezy and cool. mid to upper 50s as we head into the next few days. you're going to continue to notice the changes. heading out of town going to honolulu, isolated showers but warm, 80 degrees. new york city, 47. chicago, you're looking at bright skies. 51. in los angeles, mostly cloudy with rain developing later in the day. 62 degrees. it's a level 1 system on our storm impact scale for tomorrow. light rain, .05 to .2 inches of rain for you. snow level down to 4,000 feet. don't be surprised if you see a few snowflakes over the higher terrain. 7:00 tonight, a little bit of drizzle near the coast. watching that system pushing in,

4:30 in the north bay and parts of san francisco by 7:00 a.m. most of our region is seeing some wet weather. really scattered and light in nature around 9:00 a.m. if you have plans later on in the morning, definitely have that umbrella handy in the afternoon spotty shoufrs around lunchtime. sun breaks as well. as we head into sunday, more showers developing. really not widespread until sunday night. by 11:00 p.m., we see the next wave with the next storm. in terms of rainfall for saturday, looking at anywhere from .05 to .2 inches. winter weather advisory. might be tough travel above 4500 feet. expecting up to 10 inches over the peaks and wet weather for tomorrow. 30s, 40s, colder tomorrow afternoon. it's going to be in the 50s. seven-day forecast features the level one system tomorrow. time changing sunday with a rain chance and then a level one system for monday and tuesday. watching that next system as

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you'll save up to $400 a year on your wireless bill. plus get $300 off when you buy a new galaxy s20 ultra. now that's... simple. easy. awesome. click, call or visit a store today. let's try to close on a high note. we need good news. let's turn to finney's friday free stuff. >> museums are never as crowded as they should be. >> especially not now. >> now we've got ticket for you. you can pretty much go whenever you want. the first one, pacific grove museum of natural history. this place is phenomenal. tickets only cost $8.95. you get them for free. open every day from 10:00 to 5:00. only closed on major holidays. beyond their collection, they have programs designed to inspire the next generation of scientists. they have an annual wildflower show, the monarch butterfly sanctuary, exploration. they're famous for that one. >> okay.

that looks great. >> lot of cool stuff. >> the cartoon art museum. it's got a current exhibition. they called us enemy. >> the japanese american interment camp. >> the book. he had a one-man show about that. >> yeah. >> now he's got a graphic novel. >> i have that. >> do you really? >> he was here. he signed it for me and everything. it's terrific. >> perfect. they have a huge display. they'll be talking about it there. >> wow. >> fabulous. >> how do we get it? >> all you do st. go to our website, abc7news.com, look for the finney's friday free stuff. >> very high brow today. >> that's michael. >> thank you. when we come back, a taste of san francisco'

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san francisco ready to celebrate st. patrick's day. mayor london breed was there. let's show you who really stole the show. ♪ snoet ♪ ♪ ♪ the celebration continues next week. hopefully everything calms down and everybody will be able to go and enjoy. right? >> yep. world news tonight with david muir is coming up next. i'm kristen sze. for all of us here at abc 7. thanks for the time. i'm larry beil.

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tonight, breaking news as we come on the air. the vice president just revealing moments ago test results from the cruise ship off california. at least 21 infected. 19 are crew members. thousands of americans on that cruise ship. they have been waiting for test results for hours. helicopters hovering, dropping in test kits. tonight, the next question -- what is the plan now to treat them and keep others safe? and in san francisco tonight, the images of tents outside one hospital. also breaking as we come on, dozens at a boston hotel have been taken to a hospital for immediate screenings after attending a conference where at least three people tested positive. in new york city area, the number of cases doubling again. many linked to the lawyer who took the train into grand central. his family testing positive.