building a better bay area for a safe and secure future. this is abc 7 news. hi, everybody. i'm dion lim and welcome back to our daily program called getting answers. it is the final one, hard to believe, of 2020. what we are doing is here every day we are asking experts your questions at 3:00 to get answers for you in real time. a bay area doctor will be joining us to talk about the latest developments with covid-19 and try to convince you to stay home with your close family for new year's eve if you are still thinking about going out. also, we'll talk about improving equality in our schools for the new year. one of the women taking over after a high-profile scandal rocked one local school board joins us. plus, she's also making history at the same time. then, since, of course, it is new year's eve, how to set and

keep those resolutions and why you may not even need to make one at all, but first, we do want to get to the very latest covid-19 headlines here in the bay area. just hours ago, san francisco announced an extension to the stay-at-home order and mandatory quarantine for travel indefinitely. healthcare leaders say they need more time to see the effects of the virus through the holidays. today the bay area also saw a slight increase in its hospital icu capacity rising to 8.5%. that is from 7.5% yesterday. however, yet another grim milestone for california today, topping 25,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic. we are the third, u.s. state now to hit that number behind new york and texas. but, of course, with the new year's eve, typically being one of the biggest party nights of the year it is only safe to assume that the battle with coronavirus could be much more dire in the weeks and days to come. we have still yet to see the

full effects of holiday travel or all of those get togethers. so appropriately enough, joining us now to talk to us more is a primary care physician for lifelong medical care here in the bay area. once again, thank you for coming on our show again. >> thank you so much for your great reporting, dion, and for having me on. >> i appreciate that. you know, lat's start off with the basics. describe what you're seeing on the ground level with covid-19 right now, where we stand. >> well, we are overwhelmed. it's an overwhelming number of people who are getting sick. we are talking about whole families, husband, wife, kid. we're talking about people going into work and having multiple people at work who have infected each other and our hospitals are getting full. people are getting asked and a friend of mine who works at a local hospital and i checked if with her to see how she's doing and she said some of the er doctors are being asked to work the icu because we have such an

overwhelming number of patients, and we really need the community's help in stopping this latest surge and also we're anticipating an even greater surge like you mentioned in january because of all of the travel and all of the get togethers and frankly, we're terrified. >> what a contrast that is because here we are during the holiday season. we're supposed to be joyous and at the same time you wrote this scathing article, a plea really, in "the huffington post" to try to convince anyone traveling for new year's eve, maybe hanging out with people outside of their direct family, what did you include in that article and do you think -- i mean, what's your prediction for this holiday season? >> well, it all depends on our individual behavior and i wish that it wasn't up to individual actions, you know? it shouldn't be up to -- we should have policies in place and we should have really functional government that would

have prevented the moment that we're in right now, but since we don't, now we're depending on individuals to do the right thing, and i wrote this because you know, we want you to stay home and we want you to stay safe and for those of you who are at home, we appreciate you. we know you're sacrificing and we thank you so much for your sacrifice because you're saving lives. by staying home you're saving lives and what i want, the people who are not staying home to understand is that if you are going to see somebody, if you are going to see a friend, do it outdoors. we're lucky we live in california. we still have sunshine in december. do it outdoors. wear masks and maintain physical distance, and i say the words physical distance because we don't actually want social distancing. we're tired. we're isolated. a lot of us are anxious. we're depressed. we don't want people to socially isolate, we want people to stay

apart. if you will make that decision and some people are, please, hang out outdoors, masks on. do not take the masks off to share a meal. there are ways to minimize your risk. the ideal way is to stay at home and only see the people you live with under one roof, but if you are not going to do that, at least do it outdoors with masks on. >> yeah. i don't think you could get any more clear on this, and maybe we need to tweak how we go about calling social distancing. it's that physical distancing more so than anything, and that goes with my next question because san francisco just extended the stay at home order today because really, they won't be able to truly see the effects of the holidays for a bit. should other bay area counties, in your opinion, follow that lead? >> absolutely, dion. the numbers are terrifying. yesterday in the nation we lost close to 4,000 people.

in california alone, i believe it was a little under 500 people yesterday. just our daily. so you did the math on that. i did the calculator, 4,000 people a day in the nation is almost three people a minute we are losing to covid-19. almost three people a minute in this nation we are losing, and if that's not an emergency. if that's not a time for our elected officials to take action, and the actions that i'm talking about are not going to the french laundry and dining with your friends. those aren't the actions i'm talking about. i'm talking about real actions where there are mandates and where there are rules and we're looking out for each other in a very real way because losing three of our fellow americans every minute because of this pandemic that we haven't had handled is -- it makes one sick. it makes me sick to think about those numbers. >> yeah. it is a sobering statistic. i took note of it as you were saying it because i think it really hits home on how dire the

situation is, but given this, how important is it for san francisco to continue issuing these strict sheltering orders? because the case count is increasing. you have figures like what you just mentioned. what is the value in continuing these orders while at the same time we're seeing the numbers get worse? >> well, the value in it is we look to our leadership for guidance. we do, and unfortunately, there are those of us who have to leave the home to work, and the reason i wrote the piece that i wrote was not to speak to our essential workers. it was actually to speak for those of us who have the luxury or the -- you know, we are placed in the unfortunate position where we can't work. if we are at home and if we have the ability to make a choice about going out, we're looking to our leadership. what should we be doing? we're hearing these reports. we're seeing the news about oxygen running out at hospitals in california. we're seeing news about

mortuaries saying no, we cannot take any more people so given those statistics and those news reports, yes, we're looking to our leaders and that's their job and i would argue they're not doing their job enough. and it's a patchwork. it's a patchwork quilt. one county will issue this. one county will issue that. it's not statewide. it's not nationwide and we're nine month, ten months into this and we don't have a nationwide mask mandate when we know masks work. so, yeah, do our leaders need to do their jobs? yeah, they need to do their jobs and certainly, what we can do as individuals is yes, it will stink not seeing your loved one for your annual's new year's eve party. it's going to stink, and i am so sorry. i wish we didn't live in a society that didn't handle the pandemic and since that is happening, guess what? missing them tonight will be a heck of a lot better than missing them forever. >> i am so glad you mentioned this, and we look at other countries like asia or new

zealand and how that message has gotten the virus under control. real quickly, i know we have less than a minute now, but when we were talking in the commercial break you shared some disturbing facts about front line workers particularly in southern california and their resistance to taking the vaccine. i know you are set to take the vaccine or get it very soon. share with us what you learned just today. >> well, i was reading some of the reporting coming out with respect to the vaccines that have luckily been made available to frontline workers, and i saw one of the statistics i saw was that in riverside county about 50% of frontline workers had refused to get the vaccine, and so we're having people rejecting a vaccine that it's a miracle we have a vaccine so quickly that's being made available and the fact that there are people working on the front lines who don't understand the value or don't understand the importance or since this issue has become so politicized they don't get

how helpful and how useful and how safe they will make themselves and their family, it broke my heart. dion, it broke my heart reading that statistic. >> i'm shocked, too, because the medical community is so steeped in science. very quickly, do you have a reason why that they cited for not wanting the vaccine? >> no. the reasons weren't given. the numbers themselves were terrifying. >> as always, we so appreciate you joining us. make sure to check out her article in "the huffington post," truly a great remind tero stay inside this new year's eve. be sure to stick with us because the scandal that rocked the school district. a school board trustee's wife tweeting racist spats at kamala harris. that got national a tenthttenti we are talking to the woman who took a seat on the board and why she's making the changes that she is. we'll take a break and how about poor fred wilson?

what a shame. so soon after retiring. i hear his wife needed help with the funeral expenses. that's ridiculous! -he had social security. -when my brother died, his wife received a check from social security, all right-- for $255! the funeral costs were well over $8,000. how on earth did she pay for it? fortunately, my brother bought additional life insurance -before he retired. -whew! i bet that cost a pretty penny, huh? not with colonial penn. coverage options start at just $9.95 a month. less than 35 cents a day. i have it myself. we both do. -both of you? -that's right. neither of us had to answer any health questions or take a physical exam. in fact, no one our age can be turned down. for any health reason. -no one? -no one? nope. hm. is this a plan that offers a lot of protection at first, and then reduces it little by little each year? no! i've had this coverage for years.

my benefit never decreases as i get older. your rates go up every year, right? no, not at all. friends keep telling friends about guaranteed acceptance whole life insurance from colonial penn life insurance company. with this coverage, your premium never increases for any reason, and your benefit won't decrease simply because you grow older. options start at just $9.95 a month. if you're age 50 to 85, you cannot be turned down because of your health. colonial penn specializes in protection for mature men and women. to find out more, call now. (male announcer) call now and you'll also get this free beneficiary planner and this free prescription savings card that can help you save up to 80% on prescription drugs.

welcome back, everybody. here at abc 7 we are focused on improving and building a better bay area throughout this pandemic and beyond. one major piece of that is better understanding issues surrounding race and social justice. you may remember back in november i reported on the president, the now former president of the las lomitas school board, john venverloh stepping down after his wife was found tweeting racist and misogynistic remarks about kamala harris. a lot has changed on the diversity front when it comes to this school board. to talk about it is cynthia solis yee who is the first asian-american woman to be on the school board.

cynthia, first off, congratulations to you on your new post and welcome to the show. >> thank you. it's so moving to even hear you say that. >> amazing. >> the first, yeah. cynthia, you were one of the first people as well to speak out after mehridith venverloh, the former school board president's wife made those remarks. what has it been witnessing that unfold? the scandal itself. you were so discouraged you almost said you wanted to move back to new york you were that discouraged. >> i was. i was -- my initial reaction was just -- i was really distraught. i have to say, though, it's been really amazing to see the community at las lomitas step up and show there isn't any space for this, and i mean, it just makes me even prouder to be a part of this community. i had a role on the pta where we all had to talk immediately

about how to handle the situation, and even though we had been working on diversity, equity and inclusion issues, you know, we are looking forward to having more training, for staff. i just started working at a social justice non-profit over the summer and realized as an asian-american woman i had so much more to learn so i'm really looking forward to serving our community and sharing and learning everybody else. >> yeah. you know, during this time of this past year reporting on social justice issues like this part of me is always a little skeptical that things really will change after stories like this, but truly, the las lomitas community has stepped up here. talk about the sweeping changes to the school board because it is more diverse than ever and also the thinking in the community has shifted. >> yes. so our new president is a woman. there are -- our superintendent is a woman.

there are five members now. we are new complete. three of us are women. the first asian-american ever on the board was jason morimoto who was elected on the ballot and the other trustee who was recently appointed is molly finn who is also an amazing female. and so to me that is just amazing change. i was actually surprised to hear that i was the first asian-american woman, in a good way, but that -- it just brings so much solidarity, i feel, to our future. >> it really does, and you mentioned this earlier that you are involved with a non-profit and it is la cocina and it's an incubator for female entrepreneurs and diversity, equity and inclusion. how are you going to bring that

discussion to las lomitas. >> i would say, in my experience in la cocina with social justice training it's a new spencer fex for me and not necessarily in your community, and for me i'm really looking forward to working with the board on rolling out these initiatives, but at the same time there are so many informal ways to learn more. i just got so interested in documentaries and books, many of which are mainstream. la cocina, one of the recent books was cast by wilkerson. eye-opening learning and for me, that's something very easy to roll out into the community. the asian-american history documentary series on pbs, amazing and something that we all have a lot of tv time now

they found incredibly eye-opening. i'd love to s.t.a.r.t. sharing things like that, but also formalizing a little bit more of the vocabulary and terminology they think i was surprised that i needed to learn. so -- >> i think we've all done some reflek reflection during this period of time and have become much more aware of how far we still need to go. we have only about a minute left, but i do want to ask you this. with the title of being first, i think representation is fantastic. it is something that i am such a proponent of, but it's just scratching the surface. what is your message to others in the bay area who are starting to appoint their first blank and their first x, y, z of some background that they need to really remember going forward? >> you know, i'm really grateful. i never understood, you know, how meaningful this type of representation would be to me.

i think when i was moving into this community and didn't necessarily see someone like me in the leadership position and that brings a feeling of insecurity and now i have two daughters and i feel like they can look up and say i can do that in a way that kamala harris is making us all feel. and so to me, you know, just that opportunity is making a big difference. >> yeah. powerful words. we will be cheering you on as things progress. cynthia solis, thank you for being on the show. >> thank you so much, dion. happy new year. >> happy new year back. >> when we return it is the question that always creeps into our minds what about right now. what would my new year resolution will be or should i make one? and one psychiatrist who s

thank you for staying with us. just about half of us make new year's resolutions, but sticking to them isn't always so easy.

those cheat days might turn into cheat weeks and cheat months. you know how the story goes. by mid-january, 60% of people would have given up. i've seen figures as low as 8% of people stick with resolutions by the end of the year, but don't beat yourself up just yet. it might actually not be because of a lack of will power. there might be medical reasons as to why. joining us to talk about this is dr. scott vinor, thank you so much for being here. >> it's my pleasure. >> right away, i am so surprised at the stat of january 17th. you call it ditch day. that is not even three weeks. i have such little hope for our will power. >> yeah. positive reinforcement is essential and when people don't see results, their efforts aren't worth it. people give up pretty quickly. >> it is kind of like, we need the ward, and the people who are losing weight. you need to see the number on the scale in order to kind of --

i guess keep you on that track of determination to keep going. you say a person's personality and their mental health that plays a role as to whether or not they can keep their resolution. how so? >> well, it's one of the biggest problems is we all have great intentions. we are motivated, but part of it we don't see the results. a part of it is we don't know what the right approach is. we're bombarded every day by try this diet and do this exercise program and we don't know what makes sense to us as an individual. a better understanding of its own biology by genetics, we determine what we need if we're set up for success? it's reinforcing and it will make harder and it will help us keep our wellness. >> it sounds like there's a bigger picture when it comes to having the genetic mental health addressed and assessed through this new year. >> yeah.

absolutely. >> so, for example, people might say to themselves ooum an overworrier and i'm an overthinker and there is a medical or biological reason that you might be that way and you can take steps or improve the things that you want to see improved. >> in your eyes what were the overall tips given the assessment that you just mentioned for successful resolution or goal for 20 twont. >> to me, it's e special, and have the guide of how you're going to get there. it's one thing to say i'm going to lose weight this year and another thing to have a plan and what you're going to do to address that goal. so having the plan in place and then the motivation to stick with it, and understanding what are the things that might hold you back in addressing them. >> are there some tangible, maybe exercises and people can

deploy? i mean, for example, one that i've heard in the past is writing down your goals and making a vision board. that way there's a visual to associate with what you want to accomplish. >> i couldn't agree with what you just said. absolutely, you need to make it tangible and you need to break down the goals and the timeline is essential and checkpoints. a lot of people have gone to psycho therapy and it's a proven fact that what makes psycho therapy work is setting goals and then being held accountable for your goals so people need to set realistic goals for themselves and checkpoints along the way and if they don't need it, extend the checkpoint and reach it before trying to move on. >> i've heard this. i've had friends who say they can't accomplish a task if they don't have a deadline to meet so that's a good reminder to people out there. i would like to ask you if you have any personal new year's resolutions and also what you're doing to make sure you stay on

top of them. >> so just like everybody else, every year, i'm motivated and have resolutions that i'll make and this year is no different and hopefully i've taken steps to make sure it works. my res lugsz to set aside to to teach them what i've done in the mental health world. >> every thursday it's dedicated to this endeavor and each thursday is broken down into pieces of what i will accomplish each week and of course, holding myself accountable and see how that goes. >> if we call you on a thursday in june you will be fulfilling that resolution? >> oh, absolutely. i better be right here at my computer. >> we will hold you accountable. dr. scott vinor, thank you so much for joining us. >> my pleasure. thank you for joining u

thank you so much, everybody, for joining us for this interactive show, getting answers. we'll be here every week day at 3:00 on the air and also livestreaming your questions and answers online. today we heard from one local bay area doctor giving an extreme warning to those of you thinking of going out for new year's. she says the health care world is suffering greatly. we also heard from the newest school board trustee at las lomitas at the trails and she is blazing in her new role. the bay area's headlines are next on abc 7 news at 4:00. i'm dion lim. until then, get the very latest news online at abc 7 news.com or straight to your app. world news tonight is next, be

sure to follow me on instagram, facebook and twitt tonight, the final hours of 2020. america celebrating the new year in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic. an unprecedented new year's eve across the u.s. new york's times square, normally packed with 1 million people, will be mostly empty when the ball drops at midnight. police officials telling everyone, don't even attempt to come down here. authorities in cities across the country cracking down on large parties. asking people to stay home this year. and news tonight about a new year's eve celebration in las vegas that was expected to draw thousands. we're also tracking the frustration growing over the slow covid vaccine rollout. thousands of people waiting hours in their cars for vaccinations in tennessee. traffic backed up for four miles. states trying to speed up the