stay well and keep it golden. county hardest hit by the kz kz ta coronavirus taking steps toward re-opening. why face coverings are taking center stage. hybrid learning will likely be the future for california's 6 million students. the state's chief reached tout schools today about their future. united airlines bringing out the big guns in hopes of bringing back some nervous passeng passengers. changing look of flying and the effort to restore confidence during a pandemic. cash creek hopes it has a jackpot on its hands. we get an inside look at how different the casino will be when it re-opens. and new numbers on the coronavirus and african-americans. the push now for more outreach. >> building a better bay area for a safe and secure future. this is abc 7 news.

>> good evening. welcome. i'm larry biel. >> thank you so much for joining us. new developments tonight. santa clara county is now getting ready for phase 2 under way tomorrow. the spotlight is on face coverings and how big a role they should play. what will it take to re-open schools here and across the state? oakland is asking parents directly what they want to see. united looks to technology in the new coronavirus era. the goal, of course, to make surfaces safer and reassure reluctant travelers to fly again. and a rare look tonight inside cash creek casino. what it's doing to re-open, it hopes, in june. a look at the headlines and one of them the new public health order starting tomorrow in santa clara county. it says w face covering when at any business as well as on public transit. however, as abc 7 news reporter chris winn explains officials in san jose could take it further with stricter are regulations and enforcing this could be an issue. >> reporter: in the bay area's

largest city the san jose city council is expected to vote in earl l i june on a proposed ordinance that would require almost everyone to wear a face covering whenever they're in public or when interacting with anyone outside their immediate household. >> we certainly want to make sure when your actions are sort of getting into the space of others and putting their livelihood and their health in jeopardy, that's when i think the city and any governmental agency needs to step in and really be very thoughtful as to how we do things. >> reporter: the proposal does make room for exceptions such as not having to wear a face covering when exercising outdoors. children under the age of 6 as well as those unable to breathe while wearing a face covering or those who can't put one on themselves would be exempt. however, there are concerns about overreach. >> we're trying to protect one another and encourage people to wear masks. and i'm all for that. but i don't want is to turn out to be a big gripe session. and, you know, a big burden on our police department. >> reporter: san jose police say they don't have the capacity to enforce the entire ordinance

because of limited staffing. the police chief is also concerned about the potential for 911 to be overloaded with unnecessary calls saying enforcement would impact the area's most vulnerable populations. city and county leaders aren't expecting full enforcement but hope to convey wearing a face covering must become a social norm. >> not trying to give them a citation or cite them. we wnt thant them to have the b information to keep themselves, employees, employees' families and customers safe. >> reporter: a proposal in early june calls for a creation of a health and business team who would provide special training to provide basic covid-19 education in the community in multiple languages. >> we think by having these conversation s and really educating people we're going to increase compliance. >> reporter: building a healthier and safer bay area as it continues to debate how to do just that. in san jose, abc 7 news.

low-risk businesses in solano county including restaurants can officially re-open tomorrow at 6:00 a.m. with modifications. the county approved today to move further into stage 2. vacaville, city hall is tentatively set to re-open june 1st. summer camps can resume june 15th. playground structures and picnic and barbecue areas remain closed. a landmark decision, the uc system is getting rid of s.a.t. and a.c.t. requirements. the plan will be phased in over several years starting with the tests being optional next year. the goal is for the uc system to develop its own test. by 2025 new test or not, use of the s.a.t. and a.c.t. will be fully eliminated for in-state students. guidance for out-of-state students would be determined. an eye on re-opening schools in the fall, school districts are asking parents to weigh in on how that should look like. we examine the options asked to consider.

as she looks at education, one of the four areas abc 7 news is committed to in the effort to build a better bay area. >> reporter: oakland parents are being asked if they think their child is academically ready to move up to the next grade. the non-profit go public schools is just one of many organizations working with oakland unified on the survey. >> families are going to need that information and schools are, too, plans around intervention and know wrg to allocate resources to make sure that we recover from this pandemic in the most, like, equitable just way possible. >> reporter: just as important for the district is knowing how parents feel about re-opening schools. here are the seven options. continue with distance learning. students start classes earlier in july. have kids in school for half a day with some remote learning. make in-person learning optio l optional. have in-school instruction one day and distance learning the next day. district changes to year-round school to make up for lost

learning. students in certain grades will be expected to start the school year earlier. other school districts in california are also asking parents to weigh in. >> we may actually have to be very flexible with our school models. >> reporter: but as the superintendent of public instruction indicated today, school districts will not have the final word on how and when they will re-open. >> being informed by science, by health and safety, and experts. we'll be informed by best practices of people who know. >> reporter: thurmond says there's to playbook for how to re-open schools given the current situation. what is certain is that any kind of social distancing in the classroom will be an unavoidable expense for school districts throughout california. in oak lan, lyanne melendez, abc 7 news. the largest airline at the airport, united, is trying to

convince fliers to return to the skies and it's safe. united not alone but believes its standards partly developed by oakland's clorox will make a difference. david louie with an inside look. >> reporter: united says a majority of its fligrigts s flights arrive and depart half full. passengers with ill be using touchless check-in kiosks starting friday and receive individual hand wipes as they board and more of them in onboard snack bags. sneeze guards will help to protect employees. behind the scenes employees are required to do thermal temperature checks. at the large maintenance base, they've been busy making hand sanitizer. the biggest change is disinfecting the aircraft cabins. it's already done for all international and overnight flights. soon, every aircraft will be electrostatic sprayed before takeoff. >> move from the back to the front of the aircraft and spray or fog the entire aircraft, letting it rest for a minute or so. it's a very effective tool and has immediate effect.

>> reporter: tray tables and the galley area also sanitized. united partners with oakland-based clorox and the cleveland clinic to set its own standard for disinfecting the cabin. >> our partnership with clorox and the cleveland clinic sets us apart and hopefully instills the confidence it's not just united determining the best path to take forward but work with true experts in the field. >> reporter: united was criticized earlier this month when a san francisco cardiologist tweeted a photo of a packed plane as medical volunteers returned home from treating patients in new york. today passengers heading to chicago were switched from a smaller 737 to a larger 757 so there would be empty seats to allow for social distancing. united says this will happen more frequently along with allowing passengers to change flights if theirs is heavily booked. with covid-19's impact on airlines so severe, they hope addressing hygiene will provide the lift they seek. a at at sfo, abc 7 news.

san leanndro making changes to keep crowds to a minimum over memorial day weekend. changes at chabot park. picnic tables and parks will be closed. leaders want the parks only to be used for exercising or walking as long as you're social distancing. parking lots at both parks in the boat launch will be closed tomorrow through monday. santa cruz county, beaches remain closed for the holiday weekend. this is a live look at our santa cruz beach cam. see the waves there. surfers are allowed to catch some of the waves in the water. no one is allowed to sit or sunbathe on the sand. the county is trying to prevent group gatherings. you can exercise on your own or walk at a social distance. it's necessary to keep doing this for the health and safety of locals and visitors. a casino is showing exactly how much covid-19 is changing how they do business. abc 7 news reporter wayne freedman went up to cash creek near the small town of brooks in yolo county to check it out.

>> reporter: this is what's going to you decide you want to go gambling in a place like cash creek casino. you get your temperature checked. they open the door for you. in you go and this is just the start of the changes. for now, at least, you can't help but notice the relative quiet. there are no gamblers on this 107,000 square foot gaming floor. just a few of the 2,400 employees still getting paid with tips and health benefits from a casino that has been closed for months. here's the general manager. >> we could be open right now but we're not. and that's because we don't think that it's time yet. >> reporter: that will happen only after all of their covid-19 modifications. here's one change you'll notice immediately in the casino. not all these machines are on anymore. one off. one on. one off. and no chair. that's one way of social distancing. but this, they say, is the ideal, putting those machines in a circle. which leads to a question. why isn't there plexiglas between these games?

>> the more surfaces you add to the casino, the more we have clean and sanitize. >> reporter: slot machines, one of the biggest moneymakers and one of the biggest risks, this one has 14 buttons in front and a pull arm. that's 15 touch points. they'll need to be cleaned constantly. >> we're going to be cleaning all the time. it will be a never-ending chore. >> reporter: table games have always been very social. this roulette table, 16 people on both sides in the old days. in the future, six. do you like playing blackjack? still can. but instead of being three feet apart, those tables wi s will b feet apart. instead of having seven players, three. for three weeks the casino has been reconfiguring this floor, moving machines around, taking themay gont point. feweres f ce go up. >> not in this economy, no. >> reporter: bottom line, it's all a gamble. then again, we are in a casino. cash creek has not yet said when

they plan to re-open. at cash creek, wayne freedman, abc 7 news. >> different times. facebook's big push to work remotely, a sea change for a company that provides three meals a day in the office. the tech executive who was sleeping when authorities say people kidnapped then murdered him. we now know the link to those arrested in this case. and the coronavirus has been infecting and killing people of color at dispropor

we're getting a look at sobering new numbers that confirm coronavirus is disproportionately affecting the black community. health is one of the four areas abc 7 is committed to in an effort to build a better bay area. as abc 7 news reporter julian glover explains, scientists need to better understand how covid-19 affects different members of our community before any vaccine can be found. >> reporter: sutter health, one of the largest health care networks within the bay yeah giving me an advanced copy of a

report that was fast tracked given how shocking the findings are that black patients diagnosed with covid-19 are three times more likely to end up in the hospital for treatment than white patients. >> bearing the brunt of the burden of this disease. negative impacts within communities of color, in particular african-americans. >> reporter: the head liline of alarming new study conducted by sutter health finding concerns racial disparities in covid-19 hospitalizations. dr. steve lockhart is sutter health's chief medical officer. >> african-american patients were almost three times more likely than white patients to be hospitalized. there was also a greater tendency for them to be admitted to the icu as well. >> reporter: the study pulled data from sutter's two dozen hospitals and more than 100 clinics across the state focusing on more than 1,000 of their patients testing positive for covid-19 since the start of the pandemic. and found more than half of all african-american covid-19 patients had to be hospitalized

for treatment versus just a fourth of white patients requiri requiring a hospital stay. nearly three times as likely. even more alarming, one in four black patients had to be moved to an intensive care unit for life-saving treatment compared to one in ten white patients. glaring disparity. dr. lockhart believes in part access to testing is the issue. >> african-american patients are coming in later and sicker. so it's not about necessarily who is tested but when. >> reporter: lockhart says outreach is critically important in the black community so patients don't wait until they're sick to get tested. he says we need to see more asymptomatic testing if black neighborhoods like this popup testing site that now come to antioch baptist church in san jose on wednesdays. he also warns that race and trust may be another issue as the state's focus shifts to increase contact tracing in the fight against covid-19. >> there is really little chance this will work well in our communities unless we do have

these not only -- probably also important contact tracers. >> reporter: african-americans make up just 6% of the population here in the state of california, but they make up 10% of the covid-19 deaths so far. dr. lockhart says that sutter health is working to bridge the disparities and do more outreach to black and brown communities to try and improve outcomes and hopes other health care networks will follow suit. reporting in the south bay, i'm julian glover, abc 7 news. felony charges are expected soon against four suspects who were arrested in last year's kidnapping and murder of a santa cruz county entrepreneur. we'll show you the four men. 23-year-old joshua camps. 22-year-old steven lindsay. and two brothers, 22-year-old curtis charters and 19-year-old caleb charters. they're accused of kidnapping tushar atray from his home in the pleasure point neighborhood october 1st. sheriff jim hart says the arrests came after more than

3,000 hours of intense investigation. >> i've been on this job for 32 years. i can tell you there is compelling evidence against these four people. we have the right people and now it's the district attorney's office's job to take this case, to take it to the judicial system and prosecute this case te best they can. >> investigators say lindsay and caleb charters worked for atray in his cannabis business. they say robbery was the motive for the crime. facebook ceo mark zuckerberg says as many as remotelyremotely five to ten years. facebook looks into supporting permanent remote work for its existing employees. the company will adjust salaries depending on where employees live paying less to those who work remotely from cities where the cost of living is lower. oh, keep your sun gescreen handy. it's about to get hoo

safety took to the skies in san francisco today. check this out. this rescuer dropping from a helicopter was part of a training exercise to practice rescuing a surfer at ocean beach. the national parks service says with warmer weather and a holiday weekend just around the corner, it is important to remind people about rip currents and that conditions at the coast can change quickly. of course, people can't be just sitting out on the beach but surfers can be out there, sandhya. as they mentioned, it's going to be warm this weekend. >> it is, indeed. and ama and larry, we're going to ease people into the warming trend. today it began. w're going to slowly crank it up as we head into the weekend. by monday, you're going to feel the heat. let me show ou a live picture from our santa cruz camera. it is absolutely gorgeous. a serene scene. people look like they're social distancing nicely. here's a look at your memorial day weekend forecast. a warming trend on saturday with

upper 80s going to low 90s sunday. by memorial day, it's going to be sizzling inland. upper 90s inland. mid 70s right near the coastline. live doppler 7 showing you pretty much clear skies in the bay area compared to 24 hours ago. temperatures are up. just about everywhere. 4 degrees warmer in san jose. 6 degrees warmer in santa rosa. oakland up, too. and livermore up 7 degrees. is this stunning or what? from our sutro tower camera. looking at downtown san francisco. sant ra rosa, 79 degrees. low 80s around concord. fairfield. another live picture from our kgo roof camera. look how clear the air and clean the air is with fewer people commuting. a little breezy outside. not terrible, though. 65 in the city. it is 79 in redwood city. 75 in san jose. and from our east bay hills camera, you're looking toward mt. diablo where it is sunny right now. gusty winds tomorrow. a little bit cooler. temps will rebound for the holiday weekend. we're looking at triple-digit heat early next week.

as you check out the hour-by-hour wind forecast, midnight tonight the winds pick up around the coastal areas and will get stronger. tomorrow if you do have a commute, 34 mile an hour winds at point rays. gusty into the early afternoon. 7:00 p.m., 30, 32 mile an hour winds. not out of the question. with the wind direction, we're going to see a slight dip in the numbers. because it is going to be windy, we're not expecting fog tomorrow morning. temperatures in the 40s, 50s, a few high clouds. that's about it. look at your afternoon highs. if you liked today's weather, you're going to enjoy tomorrow because other than a slight dip in those numbers, it's still going to be pretty mild. 77 livermore. 74 san rafael. 78 in santa rosa. 66 in the city. 76 in san jose. 62 degrees in half moon bay. now the heat begins to climb. as we go into monday, memorial day, upper 90s inland. triple digits on tuesday. it's going to be toasty. wednesday still going to be hot. the accuweather seven-day forecast going from a little bit

cooler to a warming trend for the holiday weekend and summer-like sizzle. early to middle part of next week with those triple digits inland. 70s right near the coast. >> thank you, sandhya. sometimes it's all about the dough.

that could mean an increase byin energy bills.. you can save by using a fan to cool off... unplugging and turning off devices when not in use... or closing your shades during the day. stay well and keep it golden.

i'd like to thank everyone who has put themselves and their families on the front lines especially health care workers, delivery people and people who work at the post office. >> these are awesome. thank you so much. >> i'd also like to thank crystal at the san mateo joanne's fabric store. she gave us more threads and fabric when she heard we're making masks. now i can make vn moeven more m zbrmpblts co. coming up on abc 7 news at 6:00, a worker who blew the whistle on conditions at a

nursing home suspended and escorted out by police. the i-team confronts the owner about the disciplinary action. also a 7 on your side warning about a scheme that uses the pandemic to defraud taxpayers. michael finney will show us what to look out for. plus, goodwill and the salvation army preparing for an onslaught of donated goods. you may soon have a problem locating a store near you. that's all coming up on abc 7 news at 6:00. a bay area cafe chain, a really good one, gave customers a parting gift today. >> yeah, more than 400 people lined up at a specialties bery of its frozen cookie dough. the address was released on the company's instagram at 8:00 this morning and people rushed to get there by 10:00. >> specialties, which is based in pleasanton, announced their closure over the weekend. they said covid-19 and

shelter-in-place orders decim e decimatdecimat decimated revenues. their locations were known for sandwiches, popular for catering. >>

tonight, as america reopens, what the head of the cdc said about a possible second wave hitting the u.s. it made news. and then, the president late today and what he said about any second wave. saying the country will not close and what he added. tonight, several states reporting cases on the rise now, as we reopen. in alabama, for example, where cases jumped by more than 600 cases, images tonight of a high school graduation. masks to get in. but not everyone choosing to wear one. tonight, the warning from dr. anthony fauci, saying, quote, now is not the time to tempt fate. the head of the cdc warning a second wave is likely coming and that a second lockdown cannot be ruled out. the president with a very different message just a short time ago and you'll hear it. and the new study tonight raising questions about late action taken by the u.s.