>> today we are ordering that everyone in san francisco who can remain at home until april 7th. >> and we know that covid-19 is spreading rapidly. >> health care officers from six bay area counties today announcing a bay area shelter-in-place order. >> good afternoon and thank you for joining us. i'm ama daetz. >> and i'm dan ashley. you will notice something a little different from us. you'll notice we're practicing social distancing at abc7. we're all at least 6 feet apart and in the case of ama and me 20 feet apart. >> we'll tell you the latest. the shelter-in-place order impacts six bay area counties. you can see them here on this map. napa and sew lana are not impacted. the order says you must not venture outside and it stays in place until april 7. there are 486 confirmed cases in california with six deaths.

>> that shelter-in-place order goes into effect just after midnight as we said. abc7 news reporter chris nguyen begins our team coverage in san jose to explain exactly what that order will mean. chris. >> reporter: hi, dan. the shelter-in-place will last for about three weeks and the message is quite simple, and that is for folks to stay home. this afternoon a bold step to slow down the spread of covid-19 across the bay area. >> we decided collectively that we needed to take swift action as soon as possible to prevent the further spread and to protect our critical health care infrastructure. >> reporter: the public health officers of alameida, contra costa, marin, san francisco, san mateo and santa clara counties along with the city of berkeley joinedly issuing a legal order for all residents to shelter at home the next three weeks. >> these orders were crafted with great thought and with great care. they are also crfted very, very quickly.

>> reporter: essential businesses will be allowed to operate with travel permit today order. businesses that provide food, shelter and social services can remain open including grocery stores, convenience stores, pharmacies, gas stations, banks, plumbing and laundry. restaurants can offer take out. fire, police, medical and essential government functions will continue. >> sheltering in place is a core strategy. by staying home you reduce your risk of becoming exposed, which means that we reduce the risk of transmission. >> reporter: in the bay area's largest city, san jose mayor sam liccardo said city staff are already working with nonprofit and private sector partners to make food deliveries available to senior citizens and those who are vulnerable. more details will be released in the coming days. >> our focus is ensuring food security for our most vulnerable residents among the 1.9 million residents of this county. our principles are very simple.

we're going to move fast. we're going to act comprehensively county wide, and we're going to act as one team. >> reporter: and another important note to pass along this afternoon. law enforcement agencies are asking the public to not call dispatch centers to find out if they are defined as an essential worker. we put that information online at our website, abc7news.com. we're live in san jose. i'm chris nguyen, abc7 news. >> all right, chris, thank you. in san francisco mayor london breed held her own news conference announcing the changes in the city. abc7 news reporter cornell barnard was there and joins us live with those details. cornell. >> reporter: well, ama, you know, our way of life here in the bay area is about to change in just a few hours when yor brhe mayor of francisco, urging folks to be calm. some locals seem to be ready for whatever. is next. >> so, whatever we need to do to

stay alive, then that's what we need to do. >> reporter: san francisco resident peggy ivy reacted to news that she and millions of others in the bay area must shelter at home for the next three weeks to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. >> my major concern is am i going to live through this. >> this is not the time to panic. >> reporter: san francisco mayor london breed said the order which goes into effect at midnight means bars and gyms must close. restaurants will be reduced to take out only, but essential businesses will stay open. >> the grocery stores will remain open. the gas stations will remain open. the banks will remain open. the pharmacies will remain open. there's no need to rush out to do things at these particular locations because they will be available to you. >> reporter: police chief william scott says his department doesn't plan to issue fines or make arrests. he's looking for voluntary compliance during the order. >> yes, by law enforcement is an

option, but that is not our desire. that is not what we intend to do. we intend to adhere to the spirit of what this is all about, in keeping people safe and keeping this virus from spreading. >> reporter: the health department says shelter-in-place doesn't mean you can't leave your home to get exercise. >> you will still be able to walk your dog or go on a hike alone or with someone you live with, or even with another person as long as you keep 6 feet between you. >> reporter: okay, back live here at city hall, make no mistake here. this is not martial law. you will still be able to go out, do your shopping. you'll still be able to get your car filled with gas, go to the bank, but health department and the city just want to make sure that it is an essential trip and you need to economize when you go out. get that banking done, go to the grocery store. live in san francisco, cornell barnard, abc7 news. >> now, cornell, for all the

people who aren't considered an essential service and they're not going to be working, they're going to miss a lot. will some still get paid at least? >> reporter: yeah, ama, we're told city employees here in san francisco will still get paid whether they're on the job or not. and private employees who work in san francisco who are affected by the coronavirus crisis, may be eligible for a week of sick leave through the city. details to follow on that. >> all right. thank you, cornell. >> the number of cases in the bay area grew by 28 since yesterday. santa clara county saw the largest increase, 24 new cases for a total now of 138. san mateo has the second highest number in the area at 42. san francisco's cases are up since yesterday. now at 40. the number of deaths remain unchanged. two people have died in santa clara county and one in san mateo county. all right. here is a break down on the shelter-in-place order that takes effect again at midnight through april 7th, at least. all nonessential businesses must

close. this includes bars, gyms, clothing stores, and the like. it does not impact grocery stores or pharmacies, or doctor's offices and hospitals, banks gas stations. you heard the mayor talk about that a moment ago. and auto shops can also remain open. restaurants are limited to take-out and delivery only. all public and private gatherings of any number of people occurring outside a single-family or living unit are prohibited with some exceptions. this includes going on a walk, exercising or taking a pet outside to go to the bathroom, of course, a public transit will remain open. that's considered an essential service. however, passengers must maintain at least 6 feet of social distancing from other passengers. >> all right. so joining me live via skype is abc7 news medical expert dr. patel to help us get through all this new information. doctor, you can hear me okay, everything's good? >> i can hear you if you can

hear me. >> we have our social distance. now we have shelter-in-place. talk about why this move is so crucial at this point. >> the shelter-in-place move is sending shock waves throughout all these counties and to about 7 million people. but the reason it's so crucial is because plain and simple, we have to slow the spread. now, for a while we were relying on people to try to limit themselves and what they were doing and stay away from crowds. but i actually think it's important to set a standard and set a rule. this isn't an aggressive measure, but we need to actually take a very radical step in this way to limit the spread while we basically wait for time for our health care system to not be overwhelmed. we actually have to have a double pronged approach and i think this is the right step. >> it doesn't really help if everyone is out of school for a few bhen they're just going and hanging out in big groups of people. that just defeats the whole purpose. >> we saw people over the weekend still going out in other

cities for saint patrick's day and brunch. that could still contribute to the spread among our population and to those at most risk. >> okay. so talk to us a little more about exactly how a shelter-in-place works and how does this help? because obviously we just want to limit interactions with other people, but talk a little more about the difference between just that and the social distancing. >> so, shelter-in-place is essentially kind of just making the blanket statement and saying, you have to stay -- not have to, but you really, really need to stay indoors unless you're traveling out for an essential reason. such as you have to go to get medical care or go grocery shopping. jobs, as people say, should be going outside are essential services. so people working in public service, waste management or in the medical profession. but aside from that, helping people to stay away from others is what's going to keep the virus at bay. now, remember, a rough estimate is that one person with this coronavirus can spread it to two

people, and then those two would essentially spread it to four and so forth. so if we don't follow these rules, we could see it really spike and get into exponential growth. that's what we're trying to avoid. >> we're trying to flatten the curve as we keep hearing about how long could it possibly take to flatten the curve. >> you know, there's estimates that are all over the place. this afternoon president trump said, you know, to july or august. i think it's too early to put a time stamp on it. we have to see, number one, how it's going to work, if people are going to be compliant. also as we ramp up testing not only in san francisco, but all over the country, we should be able to track more cases, more outbreaks and start to see if we're making any dent in the spread of this disease. >> that's a good point. if we take this serious now, we won't prolong it longer than we have to.

that's one of the big take aways here. >> the big phrase we keep hearing is we want to look back on this in the future and think that we over reacted. >> right. >> that would just be a great goal for us to look back on this and say, oh, no big deal, we over reacted. that would be a great victory. >> absolutely. all right, dr. patel, thank you for checking in with us. stay safe and i'm sure we will check in with you again soon. >> sometime in person in the near future. >> yes, we hope for that soon. thank you. >> great information. kietz sizer permanent is setting up testing points for people and members who have to be tested. the wife of an employee at abc7 with symptoms was tested this morning. abc7 producer juan carlos guerrero shows you how it went and how their lives are changing because of the pandemic. >> life has gotten crazy since last friday when my wife sent me this text in spanish just after getting home from work. it says, i have a fever, 38.1

degrees celsius. that's 106 fahrenheit. >> i had an appointment with a nurse. she told me to take tylenol. i booked a appointment with a doctor saturday. >> the fever went away but she still had body aches and dry cough. the doctor said get tested and gave advice what to do until then. >> stay away from your husband. stay isolated and -- >> since i was not sick, she stayed in isolation in her room and i stayed away. i only went into the room to take her food. she ate by herself in the bedroom and i ate by myself in the kitchen. very strange. we couldn't even watch tv together. i did self-isolation as well, but still had to go outside to walk the dog. testing on monday was at a drive-thru tent in the parking lot at kaiser. only patients for testing got to go through. >> they don't let you get out of the car.

you stick your head out and they give you a tissue. you blow and give any mucus you may have. they come to you with a swab, but it's sharper, not like a cotton swab. they put it all the way in the back of your throat. they collect something from there and the other end, they stick it up your nose. it hurts a bit, to be honest, but you have to do it. it takes 20 seconds maximum. >> i was not tested because i don't have any symptoms. we expected to know within 24 hours if she has coronavirus. waiting 5 to 7 days living together, but each of us isolated in a different part of the house is very tough. in the meantime i will keep washing my hands every time i make contact with her and keep wiping whatever she touches with disinfectant. >> that is tough. tonight abc news will be airing a special edition of 2020 on coronavirus pandemic. that starts at 10:00 p.m. >> u.s. stocks closed sharply

lower today with the dow posting its lowest point drop in history. we'll continue to have that story as we continue here. it was a rough day on wall street. also, taking a look at the grocery store rush. people trying to get the items that they need. grocery stores will remain open, but we'll have more on the rush to get all those items people care about. plus, the rush to get a

i felt gross. it was kind of a shock after i started cosentyx. four years clear. real people with psoriasis look and feel better with cosentyx. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms, if your inflammatory bowel disease symptoms develop or worsen, or if you've had a vaccine or plan to. serious allergic reactions may occur. ask your dermatologist about cosentyx. ♪ do you recall, not long ago

♪ we would walk on the sidewalk ♪ ♪ all around the wind blows ♪ we would only hold on to let go ♪ ♪ blow a kiss into the sun ♪ we need someone to lean on ♪ blow a kiss into the sun ♪ all we needed somebody to lean on ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ all we need is someone to lean on ♪ if everyone makes these changes and critical sacrifices now, we will rally together as one nation. we will defeat the virus and we're going to have a big celebration altogether. >> the president gives new guidelines to control coronavirus. he called for the closing of schools and tovoid groups of more than ten people. however, he said a nationwide

lockdown would not happen. >> now, this woman is about to receive the first test of an experimental coronavirus vaccine. scientists injected four healthy volunteers at kaiser permanente washington institute, that's in seattle. there is no chance she or the other volunteers could be infected because the shots do not contain the virus. this is just one of dozens of research groups racingnow, of course, to create a vaccine. even if the research goes well and we hope it does, a vaccine would not be available for widespread use for 12 to 18 months. >> u.s. stocks closed sharply lower today with the dow posting its worst point drop in history. instead of soothing the markets, another emergency interest rate cut from the federal reserve had the opposite effect. the dow dropped nearly 3,000 points. the nasdaq and s&p closed 12% down. >> well, people are back in line outside stores in the east bay. this is sky 7 video from costco in san leandro this morning

where you can see a lot of l of groceries. but experts say think twice before you go shopping. abc7 news reporter is live in foster city with a word of calm from people who know the true state of our food supply. chris? >> reporter: exactly. good afternoon, dan. we've been practicing social distancing out in the field as well. i only very quickly peeked into the store. it's worth mentioning it's very calm, very orderly, but extremely busy. we've been watching carts come out of the stores packed with food. but here's the thing. if you are seeing empty shelves in your grocery stores, the california grocers association wants you to hear this message loud and clear. there's plenty of food. >> we went to another super market. >> reporter: that's the drill these days, grer s shopping. both these women senior citizens having trouble finding the essentials. with the new shelter-in-place rules they worry it will get

worse. >> lines are extremely long, shefl shelves are empty so it's kind of scary. >> reporter: it proved an all hands on deck meeting for the california grocers association, a group that represents stores big and small. >> the main message is there is plenty of food. there is plenty of supplies. but delivering it to our stores and trying to keep up with the buying patterns of hoarding and overbuying is an impossibility at this point. >> reporter: to meet demand, safeway announced they are hiring immediately 2000 openings for stores in northern california, western nevada and hawaii region including delivery drivers. they want to make it clear to shoppers, california food distribution centers are ready for disaster. >> dealt with fires and earthquakes and natural disasters, so we are set up in such a way where there is an abundance of freight and supplies. >> reporter: still to help grocers in the shopping store in

edmonton canada, they opened special hours for seniors shopping in a cleaner environment. >> i think that would be wonderful, it would be extremely nice because the younger people are there and they're knocking me out of the way. >> reporter: to give you another idea of the pressure that grocery stores are facing, this safe way in foster city is normally open 24 hours a day. they've had to reduce their hours from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. just to give their staff enough time to restock. remember that next time you go shopping. live from foster city, i'm kris reyes for abc7 news. >> chris, thank you. and bart is, of course, seeing a major drop in ridership. yesterday 37,000 people rode bart which is a 61% decrease compared to an average sunday last month. despite that, bart said in a statement it will continue to provide regular service for riders performing essential activities and for riders traveling to essential business work. >> the national football league is making adjustments due to the

coronavirus. the league announced today it will proceed with its draft next month, but without public events. it will still be televised, but it's not yet clear if the draft itself will be held in las vegas as planned. you know there is sooch hoopla around it. they're going to have to adjust. meantime major league baseball has pushed back its opening day to mid may at the early est. this comes after the cdc recommended restricting events of more than 50 people for the next eight weekends. the mlb also called off the rest of the spring training schedule on thursday. little league baseball is amending its plan as well. the organization's board of directors is strongly advising all local baseball and softball programs worldwide suspend or delay their seasons until monday, may 11th at the earliest. forecast. a chilly and rainy over the weekend, still some of that around today. what's next, meteorologist drew tuma has the forecast. drew? >> dan, certainly a chilly afternoon out there. we are tracking more scattered

showers on the way in the next 24 hours. live doppler 7 right now showing huh- you a lot of us are dry. we have areas in the bay area under a downpour. like cloverdale, ukiah light rain, coastal showers as well. notice on live doppler 7, we pointed out in the last couple days, the pinks and purples in higher elevation, you have snow. we saw snow on the highest peaks this morning. we're finding that as well in the santa cruz mountains. you can see light showers in the santa cruz mountains and there is that mixed precip we're talking about, that wintry precip thanks to the cold storm we have overhead. still, snowing in the sierra. this is going on two days now of nonstop snow. it continues now. we've seen 2 to 5 feet of snow already and it just continues overnight as well. so the winter storm warning has been extended until 11:00 a.m. omorrow above 3,000 feet, an likely, up to a foot on the

highest peaks. we're going to see travel issues continuing on 80 and 50, overnight and first thing tomorrow morning. a live look from the exploratorium, showing fair weather nice puffy cumulus clouds. baby blue sky. we are seeing sunshine here and there. but rainfall, pretty impressive over the last three days. look at the south bay. typically the south bay sees less rain than most of the bay area. however, the storm just stalled over the southern half of the bay area, so san jose picked up well over an inch of rain in the past three days. similar story in oakland. more than 2 inches in morgan hill. the city almost an inch, little bit less than the north bay where we've seen dryer skies. half an inch most spots in the north bay. good to see the change. we need that after a dry february month. chilly out there, chilly in the city. numbers well below where we should be this time of year. we're about 60, 61 degrees.

there is the area of low pressure going to bring us another chance of wet weather over the next 24 hours. the storm impact scale, level 1 system we have tonight and tomorrow. additional rainfall less than a quarter of an inch. so overnight tonight it will be a cold night out there, dro 30s the bay shoreline, low 30s to upper 40s. we'll show you the scattered shower chance. not widespread but we'll track showers first thing in the morning 4:35 a.m. wintry flakes in the highest peak. anywhere is fair game for showers. scattered showers on saint patrick's day. get a little bit of a break as we head mid week around here. dan, you can see starting friday night and then next weekend saturday and sunday we have more rain coming our way as we see those chances increase even early next week. all right. how are you doing? good to see you. >> social distancing on the set. good forecast. we appreciate t. >> it's a difficult time right now. it's not all bad news.

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highlighting small acts of kindness happening in our communities. abc7 news's anchor dion lim went in search of people giving a

lending hand in many ways. >> reporter: in redwood city. >> we're seniors in high school and we're going on a grocery run for a couple of members in need in our community. >> reporter: young people documenting their efforts to raise awareness for the group project covid-19 love peninsula which has gotten more than 50 volunteer sign ups in one day. in the east bay crystal founder of oakland at risk.com connecting healthy young adults with elders or those with compromised immune systems. >> even within a day or two, we have had over 250 people that have signed up to help. it's amazing and it just shows that the bay area is an amazing place full of amazing people. >> reporter: and in hercules, at a time when restaurants are suffering themselves, a heroic offering from the restaurant lela by the bay, offering school kids and adults free meals, no questions asked. meryeangorter:o marin county and

tommy salsa in novato. >> from the bottom of our heart, if anybody needs a burrito, we're here to help. >> reporter: giving kids what they call amigos burritos. a hit. we found alice in pacifica doing her part to help her 86-year-old neighbor and in san francisco we socially distance visited 78-year-old maryann who has asthma and discovered a world of friends and love via next door. >> it's so wonderful. i can't tell you how grateful i am for that. i never expected so much of that, really. >> reporter: in san francisco, dion lim, abc7 news. >> that's great. >> so nice seeing people help. and all the volunteers we spoke with said many seniors don't have access to the internet or use apps like next door. >> so true. they want to tree mind anyone watching this story, don't hesitate to call a friend to find these resources. we've listed the ones mentioned

in this story at abc7news.com. >> that's right. well, the majority of the bay area is soon to be in a shelter-in-place. just what does this mean, though? we're going to talk to abc7 news contributor phil matier. >> plus a covid-19 program gets rolling out. we'll update you i suffered with psoriasis for so long. i felt gross. people were afraid i was contagious. i was covered from head to toe. i was afraid to show my skin. it was kind of a shock after... i started cosentyx. i wasn't covered anymore. four years clear. five years now. i just look and feel better. see me. cosentyx works fast to give you clear skin that can last. real people with psoriasis look and feel better with cosentyx. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms,

if your inflammatory bowel disease symptoms develop or worsen, or if you've had a vaccine... ...or plan to. serious allergic reactions may occur. i look and feel better with cosentyx. five years is just crazy. see me. ask your dermatologist if cosentyx could help you move past the pain of psoriasis.

>> a sepin shelter-in-place

mandate is about to take effect in most of the bay area. affecting nearly 7 million people. the order impacts these six local counties. alameda, contra costa, marin, san mateo and san francisco. napa, sonoma and solano are not included. this begins at midnight tonight and runs through tuesday, april 7. that is three full weeks. the order says you must stay inside and can venture out only for necessities, like groceries, prescriptions, doctors visits and essential business. >> officials say the reason for the strict mandate is clear, to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. here's health chief dr. grant colfax. >> the evidence tells us that now is the time to implement this step. today we are ordering that everyone in san francisco who can, remain at home until april 7th. this is a critical intervention that we know can reduce harm and

save lives. the coronavirus is spreading in our community and we need to slow it down. >> that's grant colfax, dr. grant colfax, the public health chief in san francisco. joining me live in the newsroom, chronicle insider and abc7 news contributor fill matier. phil, i suspect it was going to come to this and this kind of action will be taken increasingly around our community, the state and the country. what do you make of it? >> it's interesting, dan, because over the weekend mayor london breed and the other officials were actually expecting to make an announcement to close restaurants, much along the lines of what the he governor did. word came from santa clara of an increase of 78 cases and that spike sent a shock wave through all six counties. the group of health directors decided it was time to order the shelter-in-place. now, this is largely going to be voluntary and they're looking for a lot of common sense. you are going to be able to leave your home. as a matter of fact, they're encouraging you to get out and

take in some sunshine, walk the dog, you know, walk around with your family. but stay at a distance from other people. what they are trying to do ask to continue to cut down in big events and big congregations even smaller ones, as a matter of fact, but this is largely going to be voluntary. don't expect to see the police out there and don't expect to zeroed blocks see roadblocks or anything like that. this is to exercise common sense. >> we hope everyone will heed that in common sense and for the community. we heard them say the police do not intend to arrest people, write citations or give people a hard time about this, but how will this be enforced? >> that remains to be seen because we've never had a situation like this, dan. what we are going to be doing is taking a look. let's say if a group congregated in one area -- because most places are going to be closed down. if that happens, this gives the force of law to say come in and

let's break it up. like i said, as far as like what is an essential trip, what is essential this, that is pretty loose. for example, you're going to be out there in the bay area if you happen to be, you will still see workers in construction. if they're building housing, that is considered essential. so construction projects, even these high rises, employ a lot of people, stay at a social distance, keep on working. public works projects are essential. they will continue. you'll see workers out there. a lot of this is going to the next phase of this is going to be the question of what to do with people if they come down with the virus and need to be quarantined. already officials are looking at hotels and other space in the bay area that might be commandeered or volunteered into being used as shelters. that's the next step. to you now this one is stay calm, stay indoors as much as possible and avoid crowds, even small crowds. >> absolutely. you talk about the essential services which is what officials are reminding us, the pharmacies are going to stay open, grocery

stores, public transportation will continue to operate. >> hardware stores. >> think the supplies you need at home will be available to you. let's talk a little about the economic impact, which is still going to be tremendous. we haven't begun to feel it yet because people 8 are going to go out of business because of all this. >> people are going to lose their jobs right away. there are restaurants in san francisco. suppliers in san francisco, everything from the nail salons on are going to immediately be shuttered and those people are going to be out of work. so that's an immediate economic impact. the second one is the businesses themselves. many have been sort of on the edge, brick and mortar, whether it's retail or restaurants. they're going to find themselves -- there are talking about no evictions during this order and holding off on collecting taxes. eventually the bill is going to come due and that's going to be big. the second part of that is fewer tax dollars, that means more problems with the cities in terms of going into budget deficit. are they going to be able to continue to provide services down the line? that's before we get into the issue of the stock market.

so they're already looking at tens of millions of dollars of losses or outlay to try to get this thing contained. then the losses -- well, as one city official said, at the end of three weeks, people are going to say, nobody died. maybe you overreacted. actually that's the point. we're trying to make sure fewest people as possible is fatal. if that is what we have to take, we'll be glad to take it. >> exactly right. we'll deal with the economic consequence as they come. first things first. phil matier, thanks, phil. >> dan. >> the grand princess cruise ship is gone from the port of oakland. this is it on the move shot from sky 7. the plan called for moving the ship into the bay last night. that was delayed until this morning. the ship will anchor in the bay for two weekends with 75 medical workers on board to care for the 340 crew members and six foreign passengers. after the quarantine it will move to pier 45 in san francisco which is near the existing cruise ship terminal. that's what local officials have

told phil matier. we know you have other questions about coronavirus so we've dedicated a page of our website to all the stories about it. you'll find the latest up days plus how you can prepare at abc7news.com. you can download the abc7 news you can download the abc7 news app to gcalifornia phones offers free specialized phones... like cordless phones, - (phone ringing) - big button, and volume-enhanced phones. get details on this state program. call or visit

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clothing were in the parking lot this morning. they asked drivers to not lower their windows. to get a free covid-19 test here, a patient must first go to verily's project website and answer questions. if qualified based on symptoms, then an appointment is scheduled. president trump and members of the coronavirus task force revealed plans for the testing program at a white house news conference friday. but even san mateo didn't know then it would be done in their city. quote, the city of san mateo was informed on saturday the event center was going to be utilized as a testing location wrote the city manager. they have been coordinating with the testing site organizers to understand the logistics of the operation as they prepare to open. four san mateo police officers were standing by, but with only two vehicles showing up, traffic control and security were not issues. 75-year-old judy kagan has lived in san mateo for 47 years. >> i think it's a good idea that people have an ability to be

tested without going into a clinic or something. i think it would have been better to have notified everyone so that we would be knowledgeable of what's going on. >> reporter: verily is doing testing now only in san mateo and santa clara counties. the company is based in south san francisco. it lists a who's who in partners including stanford medicine, mayo clinic and the american heart association. a company spokesman initially offered to answer questions by email, but after abc7 news submitted questions, there was no response. verily describes itself as a coalition of researchers, clinicians, engineers, designers, advocates and volunteers with a desire to accelerate health innovation. the testing is done with a nasal swab. now, the results have been emailed to the patient in a matter of days. it's off to a slow start on day one. we don't know how many tests verily hope to process once it's

ramped up. we're live, david louie, abc7 news. >> david, you put together a story at home today. what does it look like for a reporter to work at home? >> reporter: very daunting. it's actually going much smoother than we thought. a reporter's friend is always their phone. we're able to contact people, do interviews that way. our photographers are our best partners. they're acting as field producers. they ask good questions out in the field as well and they're gathering news as a team. we're working in two different locations. >> they are always our best partners. thank you so much, david. >> great job there. all right. well, just what exactly is social distancing? we hear about that all the time now. and why is it so important? we're going to really break that down for you in a new way. the full report is nex ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ blow a kiss into the sun ♪ we need someone to lean on

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time now for the forwarding doing it a little differently with social distancing. >> what exactly is social distancing? here's abc7 news anchor reggie aqui. >> reporter: the novel virus coronavirus has spreld around the world. the world has officially declared a pandemic. the coronavirus is transmitted by droplets from coughs.

and sneezes. the best way to not getting to practice social distancing. what is social distancing? >> social distancing is the term we're using right now that is essentially everyone doing their best to stay away from large crowds while we're trying to reduce the spread of this disease coronavirus. >> reporter: imagine a crowded room full of people. everyone in the room is healthy, except this person. they are infected with the coronavirus, but they don't know it. they shake hands with half the people in the room and, let's say, half of those people will get infected. over the next five days, those people go on with their lives. some develop what seems like a cold. others have no idea they're sick, but they're spreading that coronavirus along the way, infecting friends and family and strangers without ever even knowing it. that's what health experts call an outbreak. social distancing keeps the number of people in that crowded room from ever being infected by, well, not being crowded. >> social distancing is almost

like everybody's own responsibility. it's the way of protecting the community and slowing the spread of viruses. >> reporter: social distancing is not the same as self-quarantine and isolation. that's when public health officials order you to stay away from other people because you are infected. >> oh, oh. >> reporter: social distancing means thinking about the impact you might have on others if you do get coronavirus. the cdc recommends keeping 6 to 10 feet away from other people. >> if you are on an airplane or a bus, for example, are you going to choose a seat that's closer to a group of people? are you going to try to keep a little bit distance, 6 feet away? if you, for example, go to dinner, are you going to try to go to a table that's in the corner or are you going to go to a bar and sit at the counter next to a bunch of people? if you want to go to the gym, for example, are you going to try to go when there's a lot of people because that's when it's convenient or switch it up and

go at a less busy hour when you can keep your distance from someone? this is something people are going to go through in their minds for every activity they have, whether it be work, play, meet-ups, whatever it may be. >> reporter: stay safe and stay away from each other. >> we've been practicing social distancing here on the set. it's provided technical challenges, but our wonderful team has figured out how to do it. i think it's good for us because it will keep us here working and providing information for folks and it's comfortable for folks at home to watch knowing we're being safe. >> a lot of people are now finally taking it seriously today. i know a lot of friends are ready to stay three weeks where they are in their home and just do what they can from there. so i think people are now finally realizing they have to break that chain to stop the spread of what's going on around here. so hopefully we'll hunker down the next three weeks and really staves off something down the road we don't want to deal with. >> hopefully we won't have to

stay in this state quite as long. >> exactly. >> people are hoping not to get in long grocery lines. we found this message on prime, delivery window is not available. it has no delivery time until next sunday. hopefully people have had a chance to get most of what they need, at least to get them through for at least a week, hopefully two weeks. i mean, we've tried to do that. >> we've done the same thing. the thing to remember from our authorities is there's plenty of food. there's plenty of toilet paper. maybe not on the shelves right at this moment, but the supply chain is there. if we give it a few days, a week, there's no need to panic. they will restock those shelves and amazon will begin to catch up with deliveries as well. >> totally. >> amazon is hoping to fix the problem. they are now hiring, of course, huge demand. the company is looking to hire 100,000 people to keep up with the crush of orders. they are even offering a

temporary raise of $2 per hour through the end of april for hourly employees who work at its warehouses, delivery centers, and whole foods grocery stores. this is another way you can social distance, right? you don't have to go to the store. the store can come to you. they can deliver stuff to your home. >> it's one of the things i worry about is those workers, like waiters, waitresses who depend on tips or hourly workers who now need income. maybe this is one way. amazon is hiring. we heard safe way wanted people to deliver food. hopefully there are ways people can supplement their income. that's going to be one big issue the next couple weeks. >> good question. >> uber eats is waiving delivery fees from all independent restaurants amid the coronavirus pandemic. san francisco-based company announced an opt-in program for uber eats to get pay outs rather than the standard weekly pay out. uber eats is pledging to deliver

300,000 free meals for workers and other relief efforts. while the rest of us are hunkering down, there are people who need to provide the essential serves to keep us running. >> we salute every one of those people. they are doing heroic duty. doctors, nurses, cops, firefighters, paramedics, all those people and grocery store workers, pharmacy workers, all those people doing their jobs in this time of crisis. >> they're getting take out from a lot of restaurants. you can support them. we ordered food overed weekend wuzi w using one of those apps. you can have them drop the food off on your step. you don't have to interact closely with somebody. >> i did the same thing, they left it sitting there. >> that's important for people to know you can still get food if you want take-out from restaurants and that you don't have to get close to people if you don't need to. >> yes. still help the businesses and t need,ut kp thsocial distancing and hopefully keep everybody safe. >> we don't have to get close to those deliver workers and they don't have to get close to us.

>> i walked past the starbucks. all the chairs are put together in the corner. they closed down the interior patio you can sit in. you can still order your coffee through the mobile app and stuff like that. so you do have ways to kind of get those conveniences you do like in your normal life. it's a little different now. you can still get the stuff you crave from time to time. >> i heard some places were just limiting how many people go in at a time. a couple people come in, get their coffee, leave and just to keep the place from getting too crowded. >> people are smart. we will, they will figure this out. that's it for 4:00. >> up next we'll get cooking.

tonight on abc7 at 8:00, catch "american idol." followed at 10:00 by pandemi. stay with us for abc7 news at

11:00. starting tomorrow, tuesday night, abc's night line will air at 11:35. jimmy kimmel live will air after night line because there is so much important news to bring you as quickly as we can. if you're stuck at home looking for something to eat and wondering how to put together those beans and rice into a good meal, one san francisco company is lending a hand. abc7 news community journalist dustin dorsey has one option. >> as more closures are announced and shelves are being cleared out at the grocery store, people are stuck at home with the food they already have. but a san francisco-based company is looking to help folks create delicious meals with what's already in their pantry. >> we talk as a team about the kinds of things we were making at home and it made us realize there was so much we could offer people who were stuck at home and stuck with the ingredients that had been in their fridge or pantry for a while. >> so san francisco cooking school took to social media with the simple instagram post asking for people to share what's in

their kitchen. from there the team started creating custom meals they could make without going to the store. >> we had a lot of attention, a lot of engage: a few curve balls. i'd say for the most part people have had some interesting ingredients at home that we have been able to get creative with. it's mostly our lead recreational instructor whose name is josh, and he's been monitoring the instagram feed and coming up with most of those creative ideas. but we have a team of teachers here so there are lots of resources. >> founder of san francisco cooking school jodie said a few items can help with meals. rice and beans can be stretched a long way into dishes. having dry spices can transform them into different meals. finally, chicken and ground meat are proteins that can be frozen and used in many ways. >> first of all, you don't have to be in the mode of running to the store every day. there's a lot of nonperishable things you can keep on hand. and there are simple kitchen

techniques you can put into practice for one recipe and use with other ingredients you have so while you're feeding people at home you're learning things that will be beneficial for you in the future. >> visit at sf cooking on instagram for simple recipes and food tips while you're at home. i wanted my hepatitis c gone. i put off treating mine. epclusa treats all main types of chronic hep c. whatever your type, epclusa could be your kind of cure. i just found out about mine. i knew for years epclusa has a 98% overall cure rate. i had no symptoms of hepatitis c mine caused liver damage. epclusa is only one pill, once a day, taken with or without food for 12 weeks. before starting epclusa, your doctor will test if you have had hepatitis b, which may flare up, and could cause serious liver problems during and after treatment. tell your doctor if you have had hepatitis b, other liver or... ...kidney problems, hiv, or other medical conditions...

...and all medicines you take, including herbal supplements. taking amiodarone with epclusa may cause a serious slowing of your heart rate. common side effects include headache and tiredness. ask your doctor today, if epclusa is your kind of cure. the coronavirus leading to unprecedented measures being ordered in the bay area starting at midnight. millions of people are being told they should stay home. >> what if you depend upon public transportation to get around? we are expect an update from the major transit agencies at any minute. >> hospitals are front and center when it comes to dealing with the coronavirus, of course. the action they are taking to make sure they have enough beds. >> and another ground zero grocery stores as people try to stock up on staples. the message for those who are worried. >> announcer: now from abc7, live break news. >> department of building inspection. >> let's go to