from san francisco's top health official as concerns grow about the new fast spreading variant of the virus. also, celebrating with takeout this new year's eve. how restaurants are preparing. thousands of dollars were raised to repair a statue of breonna taylor in ocalan. now that statue has vanished all together, and a video surfaces that shows a police officer hitting his own k-9 partner. the story behind this video next. this is "abc 7 news." >> please over the last few days before the new years and the celebrations that are planned, we hope some arins can a ed, some are done differently. >> the state's top health officer dr. mark gallie makes a plea to all californians to help avoid what's calling a surge upon a surge. good evening. i'm ama daetz. >> and i'm dan ashly. thanks for joining us. we'll begin with the discovery of a more transmissible variant

of covid-19 in cole alcohol, the first case of the variant as seen in british and they are wondering if that variant is why cases have exploded so rapidly in southern california. mel know woodrow is in the newsroom with more concern about that variant. >> reporter: it's just another reason to be cautious as we round out this holiday season. >> with the first united states case of a more contagious covid variant just detected in colorado, california health officials are warning we'll likely see the same thing. >> it is very likely that it could be here, but it's not yet detected. now, this is not a surprise. all viruses mutate over time. >> reporter: it's one of several warnings that they are issuing on the heels of the new year. >> please, over the last few days before the new years and the celebrations that are planned, we hope some are cancelled, some are done differently so that we can

maintain and bring down this spread, but we know and expect that some of that will happen. >> we cannot afford to have a christmas or a new year surge on top of the surge that we are already experiencing. >> the regional stay-at-home order has been extended indefinitely for two of california's regions, southern california and san joaquin valley. they will be lifted when it's less than is a boston >> it could be another three weeks, could be shorter than that. >> reporter: four factors matter in the decision, current icu capacity, it current seven-day average case rate, current transmission rate and current rate of icu admission. the greater sacramento area and bay area region are eligible to exit the order as soon as wraer 1st and january 8th respectively if icu capacity improves. however, their orders could also be extended if icu capacity is

below 15%. northern california is the only region not under a stay-at-home order. dr. gallie said many hospitals around southern california are already being stretched to provide the kind of care we want, comparing the situation to a rub remember band. >> we know that that stretch has a limit before it breaks. >> the state has opened several alternative care sites to help dedecompress overloaded hospital. >> melanie, thank you. all right. here are the percent action of available icu beds that were released today. the san joaquin regions remain at zier, o. the bay area showed a modest 1% improvement compared to yesterday. a carmel restaurant is facing thousands it of fines for violating monterey county's orders. tuck box had been ordered to pay a $20,000 penalty but that was stayed by a judge as long as there were no more violations. the district attorney says starting on december 15th the restaurant allowed customers to dine outside and inside.

the county said the tuck box could lose its permit if it continues to violate county health orders. bay area restaurants are planning to offer special takeout menus on new year's eve. a look at how the special packages are providing the hard hit industry with a lifeline and silver lining until the end of the year. this is as business as it gets these days at mr. du's in chinatown, once one of the most popular restaurants in the city before the restaurant hit. still the owner says he's thankful to be preparing special new year's eve meals in the form of a tasting menu. >> we sold 100 tickets at 145 each. >> this is one of dozens restaurant all over the bay area that are now using these elaborate new year's eve meal kits to help salvage their year. >> the first layer here, there will be a spiney lobster,

roasted lib you duck with mushrooms. >> here a traditional new year's feast will go into the boxes handmade by the owner's father. >> we put them up online about two weeks ago and i instagrammed something about it, and we sold out in 14 minutes which was a little shocking. >> that kind of good news is rare for the restaurant industry that's been pushed to the brink. 85 bail area restaurant are listed with new year's eve to go menus with meals and champagne toasts. >> people want to celebrate the fact that we're moving on from this year and still like do something special on new year's. demand has been really strong. a lot of these restaurants are selling out. >> reporter: for the owners,er is veng new year's eve meals is a chance to end the most difficult year on a positive note. >> right now it's the only lifeline that we have really.

a lot of food are so kind of hopeful and about kind of like forgetting about the old year and looking to the new year. >> reporter: chris raize for abc 7 news. over the weekend we told you about the sculpture of breonna taylor that was vandalized in downtown oakland. in just one day thousands it of dollars have been raised to repair that sculpture, but now the artist says it's been stolen. here's abc 7's news anchor lice kreutz with more on the disappearance. >> reporter: 48 hours after this bust of breonna taylor was first reported vandalized in downtown oakland artist leo carson says it's now missing. >> i was walking by to the post office today and i saw that it looked like this. >> reporter: all that remains now is the base and the plaque that reads say her name, breonna taylor. >> the vandals knew that their attack was defeated the first time. they tried to crush the blacks lives matter movement. >> reporter: the sculpture was installed here this month and over the weekend it was

vandalized. since then more than $230,000 has been raised from people across the country to cover the cost of repairs. >> they hate that and can't stand that everyone is coming together and fighting it so now they have come back with another attack. >> reporter: oakland pd is investigating the incident and carson says there's no leads on who took it. at a press conference he filled the base of the sculpture with concrete to prevent it being moved or stolen. he's asking people to bring flowers to place on or around it. >> each without her image it will be a symbol for her and the black lives matter movement. >> reporter: kumi lives nearby and says this happens to artists in oakland more than people think. >> thousands were raised for this. that's great. i want to see that type of money raised for a black artist honoring somebody on a wall over there. >> reporter: a school board member elect for oakland's school district five says he hopes this incident brings issue to the larger issue. >> we've lost half of our

population displaced out of our neighborhoods. >> reporter: carson plans to remake the soldier and donate the rest rast funds to breonna taylor's family. in oakland, liz kreutz, aches 1 news. a viral video out of vacaville is putting a police k-9 handler in the hot seat. the police officer is shown punch his own k-9 partner. stephanie sierra spoke with the man who caught it all on camera. a warning though the footage you're about to see may be disturbing to some viewers. >> the dog was crying. the dog was crying like somebody was running him over or something like that. >> reporter: robert palomino was on his way to work when he heard sounds of a talk yell ping. a warning. this may be disturbing to some of you. the vacaville police officer seen in the clip is signature on top of his k-9 partner punching him. according to police the officer was doing routine training in the back parking lot of vacaville fire station 73. >> before the video i saw him

give at least ten punches to the dog, at least. >> reporter: how many minutes was that dog screaming? >> you would say like at least five minutes. >> reporter: vacaville police captain matt lydon says the handler was conducting a search for narcotic. the dog performed well so his handler rewarded the dog with a toy. >> at the conclusion of that the dog wasn't willing to give up the toy, and in -- in the handler trying to obtain the toy the dog became angry with the handler and lunged in an attempt to bite the handler. thank goodness that did not happen. >> is punching a dog ten times really necessary? >> well, i'm not prepared to speak to anything that -- that i did not observe myself. >> renee lancaster is a retired police officer and has been a k-9 handler for 22 years and has trained police dogs for is a law enforcement agencies across the bay area. >> would you train your k-9 like

that? >> well, i wouldn't sit on my dog and punch it as a first choice, no. personally i can't imagine having to get to that extent where you would have to sit on your dog and punch it when i couldn't even see the dog moving. >> reporter: the handler seen in this footage has been a law enforcement officer for 11 years but is only a few months into the department's six-month k-9 training program. >> the handler placed the dog in a position of dominance which is common in police k-9 training to create that dominance and teach that dog who is in charge. >> is that acceptable behavior? >> we're always looking at better ways to traurngs making sure that we're in compliance with our policy and procedures. >> reporter: palomino says it didn't seem like training. >> he was like hitting the dog on the face. i'm like this is not cool. >> reporter: captain lydon says the video is being investigated and thankfully the k-9 is doing being a. now, it's unclear if the officer will face any disciplinary

action or had any previous complaints involving excessive force. we'll keep a close eye on this. for the iteam, abc 7 news. >> stephanie, thank you so much. a bay area food bank is now feeding half a million people up next the desperate search for volunteers to help get the food distributed. also monterey bay aquarium is famous for its collection of sea life and how it's playing a role in the safety vaccine. >> also ahead, free covid testing. the pop-up site that showed up in palo alto today. abts 1 news continues right after this.

the holiday season is typically filled with volunteerism. many people are staying home when help is needed the most. abc 7 news reporter chris nguyen spoke to the mayor of the

largest city. >> reporter: none profit organizations throughout the bay are bracing for a drop in volunteers. a potential reality they hope to reverse in the weeks to come. >> this is a time for us to step up. to be able to offer our energy, our time and our resources. >> reporter: san jose mayor sam liccardo is urging the public to continue its season of giving in the new year and at heart of it all a push for people to sign up to volunteer through silicon valley strong, a regional effort aimed at helping those who need it the most. >> take advantage of of this opportunity to be able to tell future generations where we all were at a time such great need so that when we're accounting for ourselves and for our moment in history we can say we're all part of the solution. >> reporter: each month second half vest of silicon valley serves half a million people in santa clara and san mateo counties. the demand is so high it's now double what it was prior to the pandemic. >> this is going to be a long road to recovery for so many

hoe-wage workers, for so many low-income families and individuals in our community. >> reporter: second half vest works with 300 partner organizations to operate is 30 drive-through distribution sites mostly staffed by volunteers. in fact, if they need 5,200 volunteers in january alone with you are nowhere close to filling all those spots. >> we're really doing all we can to make the experience and we're so grateful to those folks who do show up to volunteer because we can't do the work without them. >> reporter: a remind there's so much work to be done. >> with the kind of work we're seeing in food. if volunteers are not showing up, we won't be able to get the food out. >> in san jose, chris nguyen, abc 7 news. free covid is the testing began at a pop-up site in palo alto. the testing is availabler tuesday at the library parking lot of the starting january 13th it will be offered every other wednesday. anyone who wants a test need to

make an appointment online, keep that in mind. signups open up four days before the testing site. insurance is not needed and documentation is not it's free >> there's an ultra cold freezer here capable of storing of vaccine. dustin dorsey shows us how the community came together to fight the pandemic. >> reporter: after months of struggles fighting the covid-19 pandemic hospitals across the country are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel including this hospital in monterrey county. >> we've started to see the vaccines arrive and we really see that as our only pathway out of the pandemic so there's a lot of hope and excitement at the hospital with with the arrival of these vaccines. >> reporter: but even with such good news an issue presented it self. >> we had placed an order for the ultra cold freezer months

ago. it is not due to arrive until sometime in january. >> the pfizer vaccine must be held safely at minus 94 degrees fahrenheit and industrial freezers, something that the hospital didn't have on hand when the vaccines arrived in mid-november. an unsuspecting community staple stepped up to recognize the hospital. >> we recognized we're one community here in monterrey county so this is a concrete and tangible way that we can contribute to getting our county healthy again. >> reporter: a freezer normally used in the animal husband bandry clinic was transported to natividad hospital and now stores the covid-19 vaccine and it comes by way of the collaborative in which leaders from different sectors within the county help the local community any way they can. >> the aquarium, they are not just a great attraction to go visit. they really wanted to help us out and figure out a way in which they could put their mark on being able to kind of move us

forward like our only pathway out of the pandemic. >> being part of the covid-19 collaborative, being able to loan this ultra cold freezer to the hospital is all part of getting our county healthy again so that our economy can reopen again and with that the monterrey bay aquarium will be able to reopen again. >> reporter: a community that comes together is stronger together. that's true in monterrey county. reporting, dustin doris to, abc 7 news. >> stay with us, showers are about to make a comeback. we need

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enroll now at coveredca.com sky 7 caught a special delivery this afternoon. that will be headed for the port of oakland. you're looking at new cranes that will allow the port to handle massive ships. transporting the cranes is a delicate operation because the ship must lower its cranes so that it will clear the golden gate and bay bridges. if everything goes as planned

the cranes should arrived tomorrow morning. once installed they will this the tallest at the port, and it was a nice day for that. meteorologist drew tuma is here with more on our weather. drew? >> hi, guys, yeah. gorgeous day today and right now we have a beautiful full moon in our evening sky. tomorrow is going to look a bit different as rain returns to the forecast. live doppler 7 showing you the active sweep and we're dry at the moment. we do have a beach hazard statement going in shortly at 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. mainly our west and northwest facing beaches will be most exposed to those strong rip currents. current wave heights are 7 to so if not 11 feet high. numbers today made it into the 60s, a beautiful winter day. 56 in the city and 57 oakland and 56 in san jose and 59 the current temperature in santa rows, a. mainly clear skies, another cold night on the way similar to last

night. most cities falling into the 30s. again, we have a gorgeous full moon out there. the last full moon of 20 to it. the live story. live doppler 7 along with high pressure briefly in control right now. really quiet conditions across california, but here's our next front that's going to neve in here tomorrow night and bring us some showers mainly after sunset tomorrow. so highs tomorrow. temperatures in the upper 50s if not near 60. during the day you'll find increasing clouds. the daylight hours were dry. the rain will return here at night with a level one storm. s. we'll track light scattered showers which will cause slick roadways out there. rainfall looks to be less than .2 of an inch with a quick moving system t.future weather will begin here tomorrow. we're dry with increasing clouds and then into the evening by 7:00 p.m. we do expect the showers in the north bay moving to the south throughout the evening by about

sock. some showers approaching the south bay and early in the morning on thursday, an isolated shower by the sunrise it should be out of here and that means that new year's eve is a pretty dry day across the region so, again, rainfall estimates out there. we really do expect most cities ending up with less than mt. 2 inch of rain. the heist rainfall totals with likely be found in the north bay. the accuweather forecast, nighttime showers tomorrow and perhaps an isolated sprinkle before the sun gets up here on new year's eve. the day is pretty dry to finish 20 to. new years begins with dry conditions and then you see a string of wet days, dan and ama, and we'll keep our eye on that. >> thanks so much, drew. >> stay with us. we'll show you the sfo crew that put together a ver

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issue. >> we can use words. we don't have to use our fists. >> our concerns might be different, but we're in this together. and building a better bay area takes all of us. >> coming up on abc 7 news at 6:00, part two of the series fire, power, money. pg&e's power grid is quite literally the biggest machine in california and it's been killing people. tonight we investigate whether peegy is doing what it needs to do to keep it from caution more death and destruction. the new round of stimulus money will start going out tonight. new at 6:00, how to stretch your check to get the most out of it. that's all coming up and more in half an hour on "abc 7 news at 6:00." hope you can join us then. before we go the smooth sounds of safety. >> wash your hands for to second, no fist bumps, elbow touches. working around the clock and keeping it clean here. >> i love it. airport employees, they have some moves. the this is san francisco

international airport's first music video. maybe not their last, dan. >> no, it's fantastic. i love it. the concept was to take the health reminders we've all about getting to wear masks, wash our hands and stay six feet apart and share them in a different and more memorable way. airport workers working for agents and air crew engineers created the song and performed in the video. that's fantastic. >> that is good, and it always helps when it's something catchy that sticks in your head. >> it's so true, and it's great of them to do that in such a positive way, and it's just ten months into this pandemic, a nice reminder in a fun way to keep doing what we're supposed to do. >> absolutely, 100%. that's going to do it for us for now. "world news tonight" with david muir is next. thanks for joining us. i'm ama daetz. >> and i'm dan ashley. for drew tuma and everyone here, thanks for joining us and hope to see you again in half an hour.

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tonight, breaking news as we come on. the first case of that uk covid-19 variant confirmed in the u.s. the mutation health officials warn spreads more easily, already triggering travel restrictions both here and abroad. where in the u.s. it was just found. also, the dire situation inside southern california hospitals. icus pushed to the brink. the growing concerns about getting oxygen to some patients. plus, the vaccine's slow start, falling far behind schedule. president-elect joe biden slamming the trump administration for the rollout. operation warp speed had announced a goal of 20 million doses by the end of the year. so far, america nowhere near that number. developing right now, the setback on capitol hill involving your money.