we're going to do a hard close in that part of the state. just in orange county area. ♪ >> after picturs of packed beaches governor newsom cracks down but only in one southern california county. that's despite reports he would close beaches across the state. tonight, the confusion over the coastline, the relief that shoreways here will stay open. plus reaction from a sheriff who all but threatened a standoff over this. also this evening waiting for the worst. and the new hope it will never materialize. the local funeral homes that created mobile morgues for a surge that may be passing us by. plus, the trailers in alameda now ready to shelter the homeless during the outbreak.

you might be surprised who's moving in and calling them home. and testing out the luggage carousel. sfo gets ready for its post-pandemic future. >> now your health, your safety, this is abc 7 news. and we begin tonight with a battleground over beaches like this. people flocking to the shoreline flagrantly flouting social distancing guidelines. this scene in southern california and expectation it would prompt governor newsom to close beaches across the state but the governor surprised people today when he only ordered beaches in orange county to close. good evening, thanks for joining us. i'm dan ashley. >> i'm kristen sze. so people are clearly getting tired of not being able to go where they want to go when they want to go. in fact, a well-known san francisco attorney has filed several lawsuits calling into question governor gavin newsom's stay stay-at-home roules. >> reporter: kristen and dan,

harmit dylan filed six such lawsuits and said there could be more. some of governor gavin newsom's stay-at-home orders are at the center of several lawsuits. civil rights attorney harmit dylan says over the last couple weeks she's filed six lawsuits against the governor. >> governor's overreaching on a number of grounds. >> reporter: in part the lawsuit center around protests. >> the governor has chosen to limit protests to zero in this state. which is outrageous and absurd. >> reporter: small businesses. >> no appeal process. no selection criteria. >> reporter: the closure of houses of worship. >> going to worship communally is a 1th amendment protected confident. while it is not at the same level as 1st amendment protection as protests, petition, the press, other forms of speech, it is protected under the constitution. and we believe that it is unconstitutional for the governor to impose restrictions on communal worship that are broad eer than necessary to achieve the government's interests. >> reporter: now possibly state beaches. >> today's orange county beach

shutdown is almost certain to yield legal action. >> reporter: governor newsom announced today beaches in orange county will be closed. >> the application of these rules has to happen at the local level, but when it doesn't and the enforcement can't, we want to be supportive and provide guidance. >> reporter: before the governor meat his official announcement humboldt county sheriff announced his opposition to the potential to beach closures in his county on social media writing he believes it violates constitutional rights and he would not enforce it. later he said in a statement he was grateful the governor didn't unnecessarily and arbitrarily restrict access to our coastline. and while dhillon says she anticipates some sort of lawsuit based on those beach closures she did not want to say whether or not she'd be the attorney to file that lawsuit. live in san francisco, abc 7. >> all right, melanie, thank you. some orange county leaders are outraged about newsom's decision to close beaches.

the order is all activities in surf. newsom called the decision a, quote, temporary pause saying beaches could re-open quickly if they get a good framework of guideline guidelines. the senator who represents part of orange county released a statement today saying "governor newsom doesn't seem to get it. orange county residents have been responsible. if our citizens exercise proper social distancing, then we should allow access to the beaches." newsom was expected to close all beaches after a moemo was circulated yesterday by the california police chief's association for warning departments all beaches would be closed, not just southern california. but just in the past 90 minutes the association released a new statement saying the memo was about still evolving decisions and apologized for it being shared widely. so the confusion over all of this was certainly felt in pacifica. abc 7 news reporter chris winn

has that part of our coverage. >> we're going to do a hard close in that part of the state just in the orange county area. >> reporter: and with that announcement from governor gavin newsom, a big sigh of relief from bay area residents who thought they were going to lose access to local beaches. >> i do think it's really important that people be able to get out and get fresh air. and exercise. especially since we've been shut up since march. >> reporter: the confusion began wednesday night after a memo released by the california police chief association said the governor was planning to close all beaches throughout the state. that information would turn out to be wrong with only orange county singled out due to concerns about overcrowding over the weekend. >> we have been clear. we have been transparent. we've been talki ining about th every day. many days in a row. and we were very, very focused on this the last two days, in particular, reaching out to all kinds of stakeholders. >> reporter: the police chief's association responded with a statement thursday afternoon saying in part, "we sent out information regarding decisions that were still evolving which

was regardbly shared out of our police chief membership and apologize for the undue concern." in pacifica, officials say more than 70% of people approached by police on the beach in recent weeks have been out of towners. beach parking lots have been closed for weeks to discourage people from traveling and gathering here in large groups. >> i don't really like rule breakers, but i also understand because i try to picture if i'm living in a little apartment somewhere in hayward, do i want to get my kids out of the apartment and come to the beach? yes. >> no coolers, no beach chairs, no umbrellumbrellas. that really you should be there to get some exercise, walk your dog, surf, hike, run your children. >> reporter: a reminder from some to not ruin it for everyone else. >> the virus is everywhere. we've done an amazing job flattening the curve and we need to continue to maintain that. so just a little bit longer. >> reporter: in pacifica, abc 7.

the city of sausalito is set to crack down on nonessential travel and social distancing violations this weekend. it's in response to visitors who flocked to the town last weekend. if officers do find anyone in violation of the rules, they will be cited and keep in mind, that citation comes with a fine of about $500. officers will also enforce parking restrictions. city lots have been closed since last sunday. and you may have noticed them while walking around the mission district or even driving around in the town of colma. i'm talking about the giant white refrigeration units funeral homes purchased anticipating a surge of covid-19 deaths. abc 7 news reporter stephanie sierra is live to explain why thank goodness there's not been a significant need for them across the bay area. stephanie, we're glad to report that. >> oh, certainly, dan.

>> reporter: it's a familiar scene in new york. these large white refrigeration units, makeshift morgues, filling up parking lots as fneral homes across the city become overwhelmed. >> they're in a war. >> reporter: a scary reality robert gordon, president of cypress law funeral home is grantf grateful isn't in the bay area. >> the initial models we saw we would expect approximately 1,000 additional deaths. >> reporter: that was a prediction for san francisco and san mateo counties three weeks ago. in an effort to prepare, gordon purchased these two refrigeration containers that could each accommodate 50 bodies. >> instead of 300, we've served 16. so it's about 5% of what we expected from the surge. >> reporter: now both units sit empty. after seeing a surge of covid deaths in late march/early april, dan duggan of duggan mortuary in daley city is installing this secured

refrigeration unit on his property, yet -- >> the last three weeks have been actually very, very quiet. >> reporter: that seems to be the trend. funeral homes in each of the nine bay area counties tell abc 7 refrigeration units were purchased in anticipation of a surge but most are not being used. like this one visible in the parking lot of duggan's funeral service off 17th street in the mission. it has the capacity to accommodate 60 bodies but abc 7 confirmed it's empty. duggan and gordon both agree it's a real testament to effective stay-at-home orders. >> we're very grateful to all the families in our community that sheltered in place, that did the right things, helped us all to be safer. >> if this trend continues, we're told those refrigeration units that are temporary, ones that are visible outside, may be taken down by late may. reporting live, stephanie sierra, abc 7 news. >> stephanie, thank you. cities in the east bay are moving ahead with plans to get

at least some of their homeless population off the streets during the coronavirus pandemic. that includes the use of brand-new trailers from the state office of emergency services. ac 7 news reporter laura anthony has our story from alameda. >> i think it folds into a queen-sized bed. i think if we fold this out -- >> reporter: these are the finishing touches on four new homes. trailers that will soon house eight people otherwise living on the streets of alameda. >> we have one couple and a father and son who will be moving in for starters. >> reporter: the trailers delivered from the california office of emergency services are just one part of alameda's response to the covid-19 crisis for its homeless population. these are not only for the unhoused but for those asymptomatic for coronavirus. >> and the goal is to create a space where they can isolate, they're more vulnerable when they're on the street to getting covid and so this provides us a space for them to isolate safely during covid. >> reporter: in oakland, crews have laid the groundwork for the dozens of trailers that city has

received. they're expected to be ready for residents next week. >> when they're on the street, they're open to the elements, right? >> reporter: those who work with the bay area's homeless population know for every person who gets a spot in one of these trailers, there are many more still on the streets. >> the mortality rate for homeless on the street is already higher than most. right? so then to compound it with the covid-19 virus, i don't think that's something as a community that we would want. >> reporter: in alameda, laura anthony, abc 7 news. meanwhile, as of today, alameda is blocking vehicles on two streets so residents can have more room for social distancing as they exercise or ride bikes. the streets are pacific avenue between grant and oak, and versailles avenue between central and fernside. once this crisis eases, more people will see firsthand the next phase of harvey milk terminal 1 at san francisco international airport. the terminal features a ticket counters for jetblue and

southwest airlines. with american airlines arriving soon. it also includes major security upgrades and a new baggage system that is only in use at sfo. >> what's great about this is it's a sign that our airport remains open for essential travel and this project is one of those construction projects that we deem as essential to move forward. so although travel activity remains very light right now, it's good to see a project like this moving forward. >> travel activity, flying, is down about 95%, by the way. the new terminal also includes an exhibit honoring harvey milk, the first openly gay elected official in the united states. the exhibit is located in the pre-security area allowing public access. a candid conversation about race and coronavirus. why has the virus hit african-americans so hard? what community leaders just told abc 7 news, next. and one step toward re-opening. the new nascar as racing these are extraordinary times,

and we want to thank the extraordinary people in the healthcare community, working to care for all of us. at novartis, we promise to do our part. as always, we're doing everything we can to help keep cosentyx accessible and affordable. if you have any questions at all, call us, email us, visit us online. we're here to help support you when you need us. take care, and be well. to learn more, call one eight four four cosentyx or visit cosentyx.com

today at 4:00, we held a virtual town hall on race and coronavirus. talking to a panel of experts about how the african-american community is disproportionately affected. >> when you look at it at all levels whether the individual, all the way, a lot of people have not fared well within our health system and, in fact, we've seen that mistreatment really, it kills black americans so the truth of the matter is, the pandemic has done nothing but exacerbate what was already in existence. >> we have to have at the state and federal level targeted resources to the most impacted communities and if we don't do that, we'll never deal with all of the issues in this emergency. but in addition to the emergency, we have to move forward after this pandemic is over and begin to really deal with the social determinants. >> earlier this month we focused on the pandemic's impact on the asian-american community. and next thursday at 4:00, we

will focus on issues the latino community is facing. that's may 7th here on abc 7 news. you can also watch live online on our website, and the abc 7 news app. >> well worth your time. thousands of people nationwide could violate stay-at-home orders tomorrow by staging may day labor actions. >> let's bring in 7 on your side's michael finney working from home to tell us more. michael? >> reporter: yeah, it's being called an international day of action. tomorrow is may 1st. that is international workers day. employees at biggest corporations like amazon, walmart, and target, plan to stage a one-day strike to protest working conditions during this pandemic. reports say workers at instacart, whole foods, and fedex, also plan to walk off the job. amazon issued a statement saying, "while we respect people's right to express themselves, we object to the irresponsible actions of labor groups and spreading

misinformation and making false claims about amazon during this unprecedented health and economic crisis." americans are hoarding more than just toilet paper. they're hoarding cash, too. the savings rate has just hit its highest since ronald reagan was president. back in 1981. that savings rate has surged just past 13% to 13.1% in march. that's up 8% which is what it was in in february. americans had $2.17 trillion in savings during march. dan and kristen, this shows not as many of us have money but those of us who do right now are hanging on to more of it. >> interesting. all right, michael, thank you. okay. we all have a lot of questions as some bay area counties are preparing to relax stay-at-ohm ord home orders. we put some of them to local health departments. some people want to know if there changes that allow for some sort of church services for

kids or, i should say, or kids on play dates. so the answer is no. gatherings for nonessential services are still not permitted. are dog parks able to re-open under the new relaxed shelter-in-place rules? no. are golf courses and tennis courts open? that differs by county. some golf courses will open on monday but with restrictions. if tennis courts are open in your county, you're only allowed to play with members of your household. and that's if they are open. >> because you obviously share the tennis ball and come into contact with that. well, nascar is racing back after having to put its season on pause because of the coronavirus pandemic. drivers will be back on track may 17th in south carolina for a nascar cup series race. the race will have no fans in attendance and all race personnel will have to wear masks and socially distance. six other races are scheduled for the rest of may. no schedule has been set for june at this point. so far, nascar and ufc are the only major sports organizations

to release specific plans for resuming competition. okay. take a look at what people in half moon bay saw this morning. wow. steve took this calling it a fogbow. not a rainbow. right? like a rainbow but with sunlight shining on fog. will we be seeing more fog?

here at abc 7 we're honoring the class of 2020 who've had to forego graduation ceremonies and other milestones due to the coronavirus pandemic. jose madrigal and eric gonzalez are both graduating from june jordan school of equity in san francisco. they both play for the san francisco glens soccer team. and team staff wanted to recognize them. both boys will be playing soccer in college in the fall. congratulations. off the field, they both also hold jobs and help coach younger players. great role models.

jose and eric, congrats and good luck. >> good luck, indeed, guys. terrific. awfully proud to tell their story. well, let's turn our attention to the weather forecast. almost at the weekend. you noticed it was nice out there today but cooler. meteorologist sandhya patel is here with the forecast. sandhya? >> yeah, it was absolutely beautiful outside today, dan and kristen. we saw more sun. after some morning fog. even had some drizzle that measured in half moon bay and pacifica. look at this bright view from our santa cruz camera right now. just a lot of sun out there and a few people out on the beach. santa rosa is in the mid 70s right now. petalu petaluma, the breeze coming in cooling you off at 66. 62 napa. 71 in livermore. temperatures from the low 60s to low 80s for many of you. with the additional sunshine the numbers actually responded and came up a few degrees today. it is breezy from our kgo roof camera, you can see along the embarcadero, 60 in the city, 71 in san jose. 66 in oakland. 78 degrees in gilroy. the winds, sustained winds right

now in san francisco, 40 miles an hour. so you may be hearing the winds. 33 in fairfield. another windy day on tap tomorrow. as you take a look at live doppler 7, we do have a few clouds going through. not just low clouds but also higher clouds. here's a view of it as we look toward sutro tower from our emeryville camera. notice the camera is shaking in the wind. coastal fog in the morning. mainly sunny in the afternoon. gusty and cooler conditions over the weekend and a warmer pattern developing next week. in case you're wondering, the winds will relax next week. i know people are asking about this windy pattern, but it's typical for springtime. first thing in the morning, fog will be right near the beaches. the rest of you looking at higher clouds. 40s, 50s, in the morning, if you have to run out for groceries or just take the dog out for a walk, you'll need that extra thin layer. for the afternoon, a nice mild one. 81 in antioch. 73 in fremont. palo alto. 65 in san francisco. 70 in oakland. 76 in san jose. 72 san rafael. 78 degrees in santa rosa.

61 in half moon bay. as we fast forward to the weekend, want to show you a cold front that is going to come through. saturday evening in the north bay, really it's around mendocino, lake counties, could see an isolated shower or two. for the rest of us, we're pretty much looking a the d inin ining. sunday starts off with clouds followed by sunshine. what this front is going to do is drop our temperatures. saturday, mid 70s. for the warmest inland spots. on sunday, just a slight bump up. as you noticed, the accuweather seven-day forecast will feature bright, breezy afternoon tomorrow. low 80s inland. low 60s coast. a lot like today. then cooler and windier for your weekend. with mid 70s inland. upper 50s coastside. all right. for those of you who like the warm weather, you're going to get a summer preview next week on thursday. getting 90s back in the picture in our inland valleys. mid 60s coastside. dan and kristen? >> wow. okay. we're ready for it. thanks, sandhya. well, what some are calling couchwest airlines. one man

coming up tonight on abc 7 news at 6:00, the i-team has new accounts from workers inside an east bay nursing home that suffered one of the earliest coronavirus outbreaks. why they say patients could be

better protected. also, it was supposed to be quick cash, but 7 on your side's michael finney explains why millions of people still have not received their stimulus checks. i was talking today with a colleague who's in the same boat. and a young student deals with the covid-19 crisis head-on. see how he managed to make 100 face shields for local health care workers. look at this fellow work. all coming up tonight on abc 7 news at 6:00. all right. with many of us on some form of lockdown, shelter in place, stay at home, you could say that homes have become the place to travel. right? >> that is right. take a look at how one man repurposed his treadmill to recreate the airport experience he didn't know he missed. okay. that's funny. "world news tonight" is next.

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tonight, the coronavirus here in the u.s. 24 hours after word of a possible treatment, now news tonight on the behind the scenes effort to speed up a vaccine. how soon here in the u.s.? and tonight, what the u.s. intelligence community is now saying about the origins of this virus. tonight, dr. anthony fauci on whether the u.s. could have a vaccine by the end of the year. vice president mike pence today touring a general motors plant in indiana making ventilators, wearing a mask after the uproar over those images of him at the mayo clinic, with covid patients and health care workers, they had all masks. he did not. mrs. pence defending him today. also tonight, that rare statement from the office of the director of national intelligence, saying they are looking into where this virus originated. was it in a market? what the statement from u.s. intelligence makes clear