tv ABC7 News 500PM ABC March 13, 2020 5:00pm-5:30pm PDT
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this entire thing is about tradeoffs. we do the most and we do the best that we can. we know we're not going to prevent every infection. >> a blunt assessment from santa clara county officials as they enact tough new rules to slow the spread of coronavirus. local schools taking action as well. classes canceled. chaos at costco. lines wraparound the building as people stock up on supplies. anxiety levels on the rise as the president's european travel ban takes effect tonight. wedding venue cancellations. as of 8:00 p.m. yesterday evening, 79
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county of santa clara. that's 36 more cases than i reported on monday. i have signed a mandatory order prohibiting public or private gatherings of more than 100 people. >> santa clara county takes dramatic action. >> public schools in santa clara county will close to student attendance beginning march 16th through april 3rd, 2020. each of these institutions are giving guidance, doing it frankly with the heavy heart because there are tradeoffs with every decision that we make. >> i recognize we are in very difficult times. these decisions are hard to make. we are balancing the public health need to slow the spread of infection with a significant impact, we know these actions will have on the lives of our residents. we believe these actions are necessary to protect the
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well-being of our community during one of the most historic public health challenges of our time. >> once again, we begin with important knew developments on coronavirus. good evening. i'm dan ashley. >> i'm kristen sze. these new developments reflect what is happening is changing the daily fabric of our lives. san francisco announced a moratorium on gatherings of 100 people or more. there are some exceptions including offices and transit. >> restaurants will have to change to allow for social distancing. the city says eateries that can eat between 100 and 500 people will have to reduce their occupancy in half. >> in less than 24 hours, school was canceled starting next week for more than a million students across the state, and tonight the state teachers union is recommending the state close all schools. several school districts in the bay area have closed. fremont unified also announced its closure starting march 16. san ramon unified in santa clara
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county are also closing. students in oakland, san mateo and alameda will also be staying home. moments ago abc 7 news was inside the east bay pharmaceutical company that the trump administration has called on. >> hundreds of thousands of tests from roche will roll out this weekend. >> this technology was developed in pleasanton. roche says it will deliver tests in about 3 1/2 hours. >> the new test will speed the process by tenfold. roche has been given emergency authorization by the fda to roll out its technology nationwide as soon as possible. >> we have, along with emergency use authorization, been manufacturing the test, and we have tests available to go this weekend, early next week out to a group of about 30 testing laboratories across the u.s. >> roche or brown, i should say,
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tells us roche has 400,000 tests ready to go nationwide as early as this weekend. >> there will be 400,000 more tests manufactured every week after that. smaller testing machines can process 385 tests in an eight-hour period, and bigger ones can process 960 in that time. >> brown says his company has been working non-stop on the technology since february 1st, compelled to respond to the staggering toll the virus was taking in parts of china. meanwhile people are flooding costco stores to stock up on basic necessities. lines are out the door and parking lots are filled. abc 7 news reporter david louie is live in san jose with more. >> reporter: dan, i suspect we know what a lot of people are doing this weekend. if this is any indication, they're coming to costco stores to stock up. some people call it hoarding. other people say it's a manifestation of fear, fear of being locked up because of a viral quarantine and running out of food potentially.
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we've actually seen stores limit access to the store because they've reached capacity control. it's friday, mind you. as you can see from sky 7, the parking lot at this costco looked more like a weekend. at another store, shoppers told abc 7 news they were told to expect a 1 1/2 to two-hour wait to get inside. capacity control was instituted. you couldn't go in until another shopper left. >> people are buying mass quantities. there's a rational, reasonable amount to buy and you want to be prepared. there are other people who are hoarding it. what do you do in an emergeny? i guess that's kind of a human response. >> reporter: shoppers at this san jose warehouse store agreed this was panic buying. it frankly scared this shopper as she waited for a cashier. >> seeing all this, i'm getting scared. i wasn't scared until i got there. now i'm thinking that i haven't thought of other things. i have kids at home.
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it's hard. >> reporter: she won't be shopping for at least two weeks. she's a school bus driver but schools are closing. she spent $300 here the other day. she's back. >> i have three kids at home, not going to school for almost three weeks. >> reporter: it's no surprise the shelves were depleted of paper towels and toilet paper. that's on top of an earlier run on these goods. now the focus seems to be on food with shelf life or can go into the freezer as people prepare to hunker down if they become sick or face a two-week quarantine. these two are college housemates. >> i saw a lot of non-perishables being bought. >> no more beans and rice. it's all gone. >> how much can you eat for two weeks? >> apparently like 20 pounds of rice. >> reporter: as much as people are buying, there does not seem to be any shortage of most items with the rare exception of paper
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towels, toilet paper and hand sanitizer. deliveries keep arriving. we've seen trucks continuing to restock the stores. live in san jose, david louie, abc 7 news. berkeley bowl has had its share of crowds today. the lines were as long as they usually are on the day before thanksgiving, to give you some perspective. officials in santa clara county announce aggressive measures to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. >> this includes the closure off public schools as well. >> chris nguyen joins us live in san jose to tell us more. >> reporter: with the closure of public schools, live in santa clara county is going to change dramatically for many families as they try to adjust to their new reality. the santa clara county office of education is closing all county schools to students for the next three weeks, a decision made in collaboration with all superintendents countywide. >> students and community
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members should adhere to the social distancing guidelines and avoid congregating in public places. >> reporter: the goal is to provide schools with the time they need to put plans in place to comply with public health guidance. >> i'm asking people in our community to be responsive because we all know this is the right thing to do. >> reporter: in the alum rock school district where 85% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, superintendent hilaria bower says parents can pick up meals for their kids come monday even though classes are canceled. >> i urge our community to work with the community-based organizations that are mobilizing to create some respite for child care in formal ways. >> reporter: the county public health department issued a mandatory order banning public and private gatherings of more than 100 people. >> we believe these actions are necessary to protect the well-being of our community during one of the most historic public health challenges of our
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time. >> reporter: gatherings of 35 to 100 people are to be halted immediately unless certain conditions are met to reduce the likelihood of transmission at those events. a gathering is defined by the county as any event or convening that brings together people in a single room or single space at the same time. so this includes arenas, theatres, restaurants, bars or any other confined indoor or outdoor space. however, airports, offices, transit, classrooms, medical facilities and retail environments are exempt from the order. p>> they have to make these decisions based on limited information about covid-19 and with limited time because the time to act is now. >> reporter: the new guidelines on gatherings are in effect for the next three weeks. reporting live in santa clara county, chris nguyen, abc 7 news. >> we just learned hayward unified will close starting monday until april 13th. in less than an hour, all
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schools and child development centers within the oakland unified school district will shut down for three weeks. abc 7 news reporter lauren martinez joins us live from outside the district office. lauren? >> reporter: students will be out of school for the next three weeks. this will impact about 3,000 educators and over 36,000 students. the superintendent kyla johnson trammel says they will take this time to plan, prepare and learn how to operate schools during a pandemic. 71% of oakland unified students rely on free meals or discounted meals. the district will be setting up 12 sites where they will provide grab-and-go meals on mondays and thursdays. they will provide multiple days'' worth of food in attempt to minimize the amount of social contact students will have. we spoke to an ousd parent that has a fourth and seventh grader. she says she needs to get more
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food and figure out how to do her work with them in the home. >> how do we ensure they get their instructional time? how do i manage work? how do i manage the household? everything just shifted. so it's just requiring a lot more thinking this weekend to figure out how to make it work and keep everyone healthy and safe. >> reporter: during the closure each school will go through a deep cleaning. they hope to resume instruction on april 6th. that's a monday. live from oakland, lauren martinez abc 7 news. >> lauren, thanks so much. eight morale meade da firefighters are quarantined after confirmation that one of their colleagues tested positive for coronavirus. alameda says all its fire stations are fully staffed with no reduction in capability to respond to calls. six san jose firefighters have now tested positive for covid-19. that's two more than the four that tested positive yesterday that we talked about here. 80 firefighters are now under quarantine. here's a live look at mineta san
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jose international airport where a fourth tsa agent has tested positive for the coronavirus. co-workers who came in contact with him over the past two weeks are so are being quarantined at home. we know two of the agents were working with passengers. president trump announced today that flights from 26 restricted european countries will be directed to sfo and 12 other u.s. airports for enhanced passenger screening. the travel ban goes into effect admitted night tonight. as dustin dorsey reports, travelers are really scrambling. >> reporter: while most of the san francisco international airport ticket agents weren't seeing too much traffic 12 hours before the travel bans went into effect, lufthansa airlines was a different story. >> how long have you been waiting in line for someone to help you? >> for a couple hours. >> reporter: darya was at a work conference when world broke that travel to europe would be halted.
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she immediately worked to change her flight. >> lufthansa says we should rebook our flights on the internet. on the internet, they say we should call the hotline. hotline says we should go back to internet. they say look, we can't reschedule our flight from phone -- >> reporter: she and dozens of other passengers wait in line for hours to make changes to their flights. >> been a nightmare. >> reporter: this bay area resident is trying to cancel a flight to india and had to travel from mountain view to sfo to do so because all call centers were shut down. >> as human beings, we can deal with anything if we know what we're dealing with. the last 24 hours, my flight has been changed twice and now just canceled. >> reporter: lufthansa is asking for patience during this changing time. at san francisco international airport, dustin dorsey, abc 7 news. >> one more travel note.
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the tsa announced that passengers will now be allowed to bring on board hand sanitizer up to 12 ounces in size, almost four times the amount previously allowed. coronavirus is turning weddings into worries. that story next. the new proposal in the south bay for the strongest sick leave anywhere in the country. we're keeping up with all the developments on coronavirus with a live blog. so if you're working from home or want to know the latest any like getting the best everwifi experiencen. with wall-to-wall coverage-there's a win. plus, added protection for your connected devices. that's a win-win. put it together with xfinity mobile- the most reliable wireless network. talk about a winning combo. get xfinity internet and xfinity mobile
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to unlearn the full power of the federal government today, i'm officially declaring a national emergency. two very big words. >> that's president trump today declaring a national emergency because of the coronavirus pandemic. that means $50 billion would be freed up for states to fight the outbreak. it will also empower the federal government to wave certain laws to bring the virus under
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control. in the sfas of the coronavirus, three city council members are proposing what they call the strongest paid sick leave ordinance in the nation. the plan would ensure that everyone who works at least two hours in san jose can accrue up to 80 hours of paid sick leave. >> we understand that there will be an impact to our small and micro businesses, but we are looking at ways to provide subsidies, grants and technical assistance, as we billed out this ordinance. >> the measure is being backed by a coalition of community groups as well as other local and state politicians. the proposal will be voted on by the council's rules committee on wednesday. if it passes there, it goes to the full city council on march 24th. the consequences of the coronavirus are varied. the outbreak is making some couples put their future on hold as businesses shut down and cities ban large gatherings, it's having an impact on weddings. one livermore couple found out
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thursday their venue for the saturday wedding had to cancel. abc 7's anser hassan has the story. >> tomorrow is a big day. >> it is. >> you don't know where you're celebrating. >> michael and angie are getting married on saturday. thursday night their venue canceled. >> my father-in-law was supposed to walk me down the aisle. we had this beautiful outdoor wedding planned in a gazebo with people and flowers. yeah. >> the ravenswood historical site canceled because of coronavirus. the couple found a winery as a backup. then they canceled. >> he said we're good to go. we were going to tour about noon today. they called and canceled. >> reporter: they posted their problem and were overwhelmed by a community that wanted to >>
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>> i would say yes if we fit. unfortunately it's a little small. >> reporter: the couple first got married last year in new zealand. michael's elderly parents weren't able to travel. saturday's wedding was supposed to be for them. >> he's their only son. he's their baby. his mom and dad want to see him get married. >> reporter: this afternoon they finally signed with the restaurant at the livermore airport. >> no good story did the events ever go as planned. good stories always start with chaos. we got chaos. >> reporter: in livermore, anser hassan, abc 7 news. >> we wish them the very best. east bay community journalist melissa picksar tweeted about lois, behind lois alterations and design in pleasanton. her business is down 50% with
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diinover piqray, a treatment piqrtakewith fulvestrgets after progression on hormone therapy and helps people live longer without disease progression. do not take piqray if you've had severe allergic reactions to it or any of its ingredients. piqray can cause serious side effects, including severe allergic and skin reactions, high blood sugar levels, and diarrhea, that are common and can be severe, and pneumonitis. tell your doctor right away if you have symptoms of severe allergic reactions or high blood sugar while taking piqray. your doctor will monitor your blood sugar before and during treatment, and more often if you have type 2 diabetes. before starting, tell your doctor if you have a history of diabetes, skin reactions, are or plan to become pregnant, or breastfeeding. common side effects include rash, nausea, tiredness, weakness, decreased appetite, mouth sores, vomiting, weight loss, hair loss, and changes in some blood tests. ask your doctor about piqray.
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the alameda county sheriff's office is reporting the first coronavirus scam. this tweets as the victim got a called saying a loved one was hospitalized and arrested after a crash. the couple says they tested positive for coronavirus and needed bail money. deputies are warning everyone to watch out. bay area amusement parks are responding. great america in legislator says it will postpone opening its season until saturday, april 4th. the park ceo says the park has had no confirmed cases of the virus at any of the company's properties. six flags discovery kingdom in vallejo has decided to suspend operations until the end of the month. the company says it has had no confirmed cases. the ferries are seeing fewer commuters. they say schedules will stay
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normal. they say fewer riders means easier access to social distancing. they say ferry riders get the bonus and beautiful views like this one in san francisco. livermore casino will send you home if you show up with a fever. customers are getting their temperatures checked with an infrared thermometer before they're actually allowed in. >> they're then asked to sanitize their hands and given a stamp to show they've met the casino's entry rules. >> if they're running a temperature or have a fever, they're not admitted. if we do, in fact, find that somebody does have coronavirus after the fact, we will shut down, disinfect the place completely and make it safe again for our employees. in addition, the casino is disinfecting surfaces and has several hand sanitizer dispensers available for customers. >> good idea. when abc 7 news at 5:00 continues, we'll check out your
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good evening everyone. get ready for a cold winter storm. here is live doppler 7. it's taking shape off the pacific northwest and heading in our direction. we definitely saw a deeper marine layer still hanging around impacting those temperatures, anywhere from ten to 20 degrees cooler in many areas. right now it's in the 50s, the 60s. the onshore wind playing a role, gusting to 40 miles an hour at fairfie fairfield. here is a view from the roof camera. the clouds are stacked up and the wind is blowing. tomorrow morning make sure you have those umbrellas and definitely a coat or jacket. starts off in the 30s to 40s, a few low 50s for the after none. it's going to be noticeably chilly across the region with 40s and 50s for the high temperatures. a level one on the storm impact scale. weekend waves of shower, chance of thunder and hail, snow level lowering to 3,000 feet.
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let's time it out. while you're sleeping, the rain moves in. you see the scattered showers going to 8:00 a.m. brief pockets of moderate rain around noontime crossing the east bay, the peninsula. this continues saturday night going into sunday. sunday is when we'll see lower snow levels. mt. hamilton sunday morning waking up to a dusting of snow, bloo beat. in terms of rainfall totals we're looking at from half an inch to over an inch for the weekend. live view from tahoe where the skies are turning gray. lake county under a winter storm warning. heavy snow expected in the sierra, two to six feet, 40 to 60-mile-an-hour gusts. travel is not recommended. accuweather seven-day forecast, one for the weekend, cold, wet. showers tuesday and we'll see the storm linger for several days. get ready dan and kristen.
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tonight, president trump declaring a national emergency. as the coronavirus crisis grips the nation. the death toll rising tonight. the number of cases rising. more than 1,700 cases. and authorities say the real number is likely vastly higher because of a lack of testing. at least eight states cancelling school. more than 15 million students at home. and 24 hourd after dr. anthony fauci acknowledged that when it comes to testing in this country, quote, it's a failing, the president asked tonight, does he take responsibility? what he now says. and with this national emergency declared, what does that now mean? where there will soon be drive-through testing -- cvs, target, walmart. what we've learned tonight. also tonight after the president was photographed days ago with the brazilian official right there,ha
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