cea officer warnl icwilleumbers show hospitalizations in the state are soaring. it's clear, coronavirus is at a critical crossroads. enforcement over masks. a hot topic in napa today. the debate over education versus enforcement and the action taken just moments ago. and beaches are facing restrictions up and down the state for this holiday weekend. we are live at one of the bay area's most popular that is staying open. and the secrets revealed for covid-19. the scientific detective story now yielding powerful clues to treating the disease. >> building a better bay area for a safe and secure future. this is abc7 news.

>> and good evening. thank you for joining us. i'm dan ashley. >> and i'm dion lim. we begin tonight with the first real signs of reopening santa clara county, and it is clearly designed with the knowledge that covid-19 will be here for a long time. abc7 news reporter chris nguyen has the update from san jose. >> reporter: departing from the sector's specific plan that has been used in recent months in santa clara county, health officer dr. sarah cody offered a long-term containment strategy for covid-19. >> we need to adapt to a new way of being, a new way of living that keeps us all safe and that allows us to do some of the things that we miss and that we cherish and that we find most meaningful. >> reporter: multiple activities that were previously restricted ca resume, including gyms, hair and nail salons and small gatherings. however, the mandatory use of face coverings, strict social

distancing protocols and significant capacity limits will be in place. >> it will come back with a vengeance if you let your guard down. >> reporter: indoor activities that would require the removal of a face covering such as indoor dining or indoor swimming pools will continue to be offlimits. places that encourage large crowds like theaters, nightclubs and arenas will also stay closed under the new order. infectious disease experts say the county's approach makes sense. the more airflow you have access to, the better. >> we've got to really kind of double down and keep reminding ourselves that what we're doing is literally for the lives and well-being of our community and our nation. >> reporter: employers must also alert the public health department of any cases of coronavirus that are directly tied to their workplaces. >> i want to say just one big thank you to all of you who have been sheltering in place. all of you who have been wearing your masks, and to say to everybody else, join us. this is the only way we're going to fight this if we do it

together. >> reporter: the order goes into effect july 13th, or two days after the state approves the plan, whichever date comes later. in san jose, chris nguyen, abc7 news. more warnings from governor newsom tonight to avoid crowds this fourth of july weekend and wear a mask. state hospitalizations are up 56% in the last two weeks. the number of patients in intensive care beds has gone up 49%. more than 350,000 businesses have received notifications about following public health mandates to protect customers and employees. but enforcement measures across the state are still in question. >> we're not going to everybody's backyard and enforcing. you know that, and they know that. we're just encouraging people to be safe, to be thoughtful about themselves and others. >> the governor also announced a new public awareness campaign you'll see to encourage people to wear masks. there will be ads on radio, television, and billboards as well. reduce the risk of exposure according to health officials,

but getting people to wear them not always easy. today napa county along with its cities and towns established a covid-19 task force, and part of its job will be dealing with complaints about people who aren't wearing face coverings or maintaining physical distancing. abc7 news reporter wayne freedman has more. >> reporter: in communities across california, places like napa, the change has been slow and steady, from never trusting people in masks, it's the other way around now. >> it's a little irresponsible to be walking around and being in places without a mask, considering the infection rates and the advice we're getting from public health officials a nd the gornor. unties now face a loss of state funding if they don't get masking and social distancing under control. that is why napa county's health director and board of supervisors met this morning. they're talking about taking those measures to the next level. >> and education and outreach is not enough, then it's going to get to the point where we have to really have more enforcement for noncompliance.

>> reporter: right there you just heard the two new e words, education and enforcement. now add another, at least for local business owner, elation. >> it is not our job, no. >> it's really challenging to make the host at a restaurant be the enforcer of mask wearing. >> reporter: as in many communities, napa restaurant owners have been through three excruciating months without income while investing for reopening. at oenotri, the owner has put in plastic barriers and still not opened inside to protect his staff. it is tough being tough he says. >> if somebody comes in and they're not willing to wear a mask or get their temperature taken, we won't serve them, period full stop. >> reporter: it remains unclear what penalty measures napa county might take or how it might enforce them. fines? citations? >> if public health officials can't change behavior, if the governor can't change someone's behavior, the data can't change someone's behavior, i don't know how effective a fine is going to be to change someone's behavior.

>> reporter: but we may soon find out, and not just here. in napa, wayne freedman, abc7 news. another day of waiting for hours to get tested at cal state east bay. the drive-through location in hayward has seen such a surge, they've had to cut off the line every day this week. the site hapz a capacity of 500 tests per day. the spike in demand comes with the expansion of tracking and tracing. the chief is considering adding an evening shift so people can get tested after work. a site will be closed tomorrow ahead of the long holiday weekend. and while governor newsom has ordered certain beaches and parking lots closed this fourth of july weekend because of surging covid-19 cases we've been talking about, one of the bay area's most popular in the county with the highest number of cases is actually wide open. abc7 news reporter laura anthony is live from alameda's crown beach with the story there. laura? >> reporter: well, hi, dan. this beach will be wide open this weekend, and this day

happens to coincide with the highest number of new positive cases here in alameda county since the pandemic began. still, this weekend we're expecting this beach to be largely full of people. th the hiday weekendas apoaching, this beach alameda may be the only viable option for many in the bay area. in the wake of governor newsom's tightened coronavirus restrictions that closed beach access and/or parking lots up and down the state. >> it has kept me totally sane and fit. >> reporter: beachgoers are aware of the ongoing risk, but grateful they still have access to crown beach, despite a recent surge in coronavirus cases in alameda county. >> i come here every day to swim. and i never sit on the beach. so i just get out of my car, go in the water, do my swimming, and go home again.

>> reporter: for many here, the primary precaution is staying away from others and taking advantage of the relatively light trfi before the expected crowds this weekend. >> we're out here today because we thought we could still get out here and be far enough away from people before the crowds hit tomorrow. >> as long as people follow the rules -- no alcohol, no fireworks remain distanced and wear masks when necessary, parks police will go with the flow, and so will those who love coming here. especially now. >> it's amazing. the water is terrific and the sun is out, and i'm just so grateful to have it here available to me. >> and we're back live here at crown beach. the wind has picked up. and if you want to find a way to sociallybeheayo do it with this kite surfing. of course, you'd have to know how to do it, dan and dion. you can see there is just a few

people out here now. that's because it's cool. it's windy. but the parking lots are open and the expectation is as it warms up this weekend, there will be a lot of people out here given the limited options elsewhere. live in alameda, laura anthony, abc7 news. >> it does look so nice out there. thank you so much. multiple beach parking lots in the bay area will be closed for the holiday weekend to discourage people from crowding them. governor newsom ordered the closure of state beach parking lots in san mateo ten beach, thornton and ono nouveau, gray whale cove, montara, half moon bay, pelican point, san gregorio. in sonoma county fo kruse rhododendron state reserve, fort ross state historic park and sonoma coast state beach will be closed as well. now over to marin county. only lots for tomales bay and mount tamalpais state park will

close. and in santa cruz county parking lots will be closed for natural bridges, lighthouse, twin lakes, seacliff, manresa and sunset state beaches. in san francisco, the closed parking lots include baker beach, china beach, crissy field, fort funston, fort point, land's end, marina green and ocean beach. parking lots all closed. the head-on crash in discovery bay this afternoon. the man in one car was killed while the driver in the other car walked way with minor injuries. the chp says it all happened on highway 4 just west of discovery bay boulevard. witnesses told police that the pontiac was driving on the right shoulder at speeds close to 100 miles an hour when it lost control and veered into the jeeb. officers are investigating whether alcohol or drugs were a factor in the collision. well, being temporarily closed is turning into a

long-term nightmare. business owners detail the real cost of being shut down. >> i've just been using credit cards and savings and my business still isn't able to open. so, yeah, i really don't know what to do next. >> state legislators are furious. that's next. plus the sinister nature of coronavirus, but local researchers say they may be able to exploit it to find a drug to treat the disease. we have a fascinateling report for you

knew to the unemployment numbers released today. the nation's jobless rate fell to just over 11% in june as states reopened their economies. it was 13.3% in may. 11% still at depression era levels. and state lawmakers, they say too many people are using up their life savings, waiting for

benefits. they're calling for california's employment development department to change the way it handles claims immediately. here is abc7 news reporter melanie woodrow. >> california's employment development department says it is working around the clock, seven days a week, processing unemployment benefits during the pandemic, but despite paying more than $37.5 billion in benefits over the last few months and processing more than 7 million claims, there are hundreds of californians who have told 7 on your side and state lawmakers that they've received only one payment or no payments at all. >> i've just been using credit cards and savings and my business still isn't able to open. so, yeah, i really don't know what to do next. >> i've been paying taxes for m entire life. good upstanding citizen, and i don't understand why i can't access these benefits. >> i've only received one payment in the last 15 weeks that i've been unemployed. >> reporter: entry member david chu is calling on ded to

performance. >> edd is failing our state. >> reporter: in an email, an edd spokesperson writes, quote, we are enhancing our technology systems to increase efficiencies and have already hired or have offers extended to more than 4,000 new staff needed. anna lu has been trying to help her parents whose names were incorrect on their claims. >> she has been trying to call to fix it. it has not been able to reach anybody. >> reporter: state senator scott wiener. >> people are not asking for any kind of special treatment. people simply want to be able to access the unemployment benefits to which they are legally entitled. >> reporter: chu says contractor deloitte is part of the problem. >> the fact that edd has been relying on a contract they're has had a history of bungling projects is just mist fight. >> reporter: in an email statement, deloitte tells abc7

news the system we developed in 2013 and continue to help maintain has paid out more than $30 billion in state and federal unemployment benefits and process in order than 6.3 million claims from californians since mid-march. melanie woodrow, abc7 news. >> a bay area research team has unlocked some unnerving secrets about how the covid-19 virus works. but at the same time, they could provide a powerful strategy for disrupting it. the covid-19 virus isn't just devastating, it's devastatingly clever, hijacking the power of our own cells in novel ways to make itself more dangerous. but now a team at ucsf is hoping to turn one of the virus' own weapons against it. >> in my opinion, you really have to respect the virus. but let the virus tell you its secrets. >> reporter: research biologist nevin kroghan and his team began spying on the virus as it infected human cells, paying special attention to how the cells were exploited. using tools like mass

spectrometers they discovered something truly chilling. first, it helps to understand that invading viruses like covid use material in our own cells to make copies of themselves. eventually, stretching the host cell like a balloon. >> and when that cell or balloon finally newly to attack surrounding cells. but the covid-19 virus it turns out is so devious, it doesn't even need to wait for that burst to actually happen. microscopic images captured by collaborators in germany and montana showed the cells had grown probe-like tentacles and have the ability to pierce the surface of surrounding cells, providing the covid virus with a kind of invasion tunnel, possibly explaining how it spread so quickly. >> it's just such a brilliant and devious strategy. >> reporter: but crogan wondered could it have an achilles heel? his team learned the virus is

exploiting a specific type of molecule to create the tendrils. they're so critical to a cell's function that they've become a popular target for specialized cancer drugs broadly known as kinase inhibitors. the question now, could one of the cancer drugs also be a covid fighter? >> we narrowed in on about a dozen and highlighted six or seven that look particularly potent in a laboratory setting. and we're very, very excited now to try and take these into clinical trials. >> reporter: the strategy would be to block the virus from creating those tentacles and perhaps slowing its spread, neutralizing one of covid's most potent weapons with a goal of eventually defeating it. isn't that incredibly fascinating work? now if one of the kinase inhibitors is successful, the professor believes it might also be combined with another drug in a type of cocktail formula to treat the virus. well, just ahead, get ready for a lovely fourth of july.

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a popular vantage point for fireworks in the east bay will be closed this fourth of july. the oakland fire department is shutting down grizzly peak boulevard between skyline boulevard and centennial drive. that's five and a half miles. >> it's a measure we're taking for multiple reasons, one to discourage areas that have been used for congregating with the amey going on. and also due to fire safety. we've already responded to five fires since june 1 in the grizzly peak area. some have been determined to have been started by fireworks. others are suspected of being started by fireworks. >> fireworks are illegal in most of alameda county, and there will be no big fireworks shows in san francisco or berkeley to watch this year. now your accuweather forecast with spencer christian. >> i'm spencer christian with a look at your almost fourth of july weekend weather. here we are under breezy

conditions right now all across the bay area. we've even got some strong wind gusts. take a look. 29-miles-per-hour gusts right now at fairfield. 18 in santa rosa. and wind speeds are fairly brisk in other locations as well. 24-hour temperature change shows it is quite a bit cooler in most bay area locations than at this time yesterday. four or five degrees cooler in the north bay. 8 degrees cooler in the inland east bay and concord. a few degrees warmer at oakland, san carlos and half moon bay. looking across the embarcadero from our rooftop camera at abc7. these are our current temperature readings. 66 -- no, it's 63. the temperature has gone down. 63 degrees in san francisco. just a few minutes ago it was 66. also 66 at pacifica. gilroy 68. we have low to mid 70s in oakland, mountain view and san jose. looking across the skyline of oakland, it is 69 degrees in santa rosa right now. petaluma 78. concord 75 and a warm 80 degrees at livermore. and the golden gate, you can see

a little fog drifting through the golden gate right now. these are our forecast features. fog will expand overnight, and there may be some spotty morning drizzle, especially near the coast and around the bay. it will be warming up for fourth of july weekend. quite a warm-up is coming our way, in fact. but a cooldown begins early next week. before you go to the beach, bear in mind, if you're planning to go to the beach, bear in mind that a beach hazard statement will be in effect 3:00 a.m. tomorrow to 8:00 p.m. sunday. wave heights are increasing. the surf is rough, and there is increased chance of sneaker waves and rip currents. so if you're going to be near the coastline, keep your eye on the ocean and stay away from the water if you can. overnight we'll see an expansion of the low clouds and fog, as i mentioned earlier. from the coast out over the bay and locally inland to many locations, in fact. so we'll start the day with lots of lingering low clouds and fog tomorrow. but the fog will burn back to the coastline by midmorning, giving us a mainly sunny day over the bay and inland airs. low temperatures overnight will be mainly in the low 50, and

highs tomorrow will range from 50 at the coast to mid-70s around the bay to mid-80s inland. it will warm up nicely, though. fourth of july weekend we'll see mid-90s saturday and sunday in our inland areas. and as you can see here on the accuweather seven-day forecast, after a nice warm holiday weekend, we'll have a bit of a cooldown beginning on monday. nice weather ahead. enjoy the weekend. dan and dion? >> it sure look likes it. you too as well, spencer. thank you. well, two days before independence day, a special

no matter what challenges life throws at you, we're always here to help with fast response and great service and it doesn't stop there we're also here to help look ahead that's why we're helping members catch up by spreading any missed usaa insurance payments over the next twelve months

so you can keep more cash in your pockets for when it matters most and that's just one of the many ways we're here to help the military community find out more at usaa.com superior accuracy in the palm of your hand. the new accuweather app from abc7 news. minute by minute forecast, plus realtime radar and alert. keeping you safe. search accuweather in your app store and download now. coming up on abc7 news at 6:00, generosity gone too far. check out this scene at a local goodwill. we're going explain the right way to donate things that you have cleaned out of your home to make it safe for everyone. and if you've been waiting weeks, maybe longer for ups to deliver your packages, you're not alone. 7 on your side's michael finney finds out what the problem is, all coming up in half an hour on abc7 news at 6:00. well, finally tonight, today marked a milestone for 24 of our

bay area neighbors in alameda, and this weekend they will celebrate their first independence day as u.s. citizens. >> really exciting. america's newest citizens practiced social distancing aboard the flight deck of the uss hornet museum by taking the oath of citizenship, they can now vote to decide the future of their adopted nation. >> i'm very much looking forward to casting my vote in november to be a part of defining what america look likes moving forward. >> it's a very happy day for me. and i'm hoping to do great things for america. >> don't you love that? and because of covid-19, the new citizens attended today's ceremony without any family or friends in attendance. i'm sure they will celebrate in other ways pretty soon. >> congratulation. those are always such moving ceremonies. "world news tonight" with david muir is next. we appreciate your time. i'm dan ashley. >> and i'm dion lim. for spencer christian and all of us here at abc7, thank you so much for joining us. have a quality evening and don't

forget to tune in. we'll see you right back here tonight at 6:00.

tonight, the new covid shock. as america records its biggest one-day surge in cases since this pandemic began. more than 50,000 cases reported in one day. dr. anthony fauci warning we are at risk of losing control. at the same time, president trump insists they are putting out the flames. tonight, we go inside one florida hospital as doctors and nurses suit up for battle. 10,000 new infections in florida today. and their youngest victim yet, just 11 years old. disturbing reports about young people throwing covid parties in alabama to see who gets it first. a 4-month-old hospitalized there. hospitalizations rising in more than half the country. one houston icu at 100% capacity. and tonight, after first resisting the move, face masks re