next, new developments on the highly contagious variants of covid-19. plus the new push to ramp up distribution of the vaccine from the south bay to the east bay. there's just one problem. also ahead, open for business. people lower their window and roll up their sleeves in the newest effort to vaccinate thousands every day in san francisco. plus, how this quiet out of the way restaurant is generating a lot of noise. and the snow just a short time ago on a south bay mountain top. we begin with the new more contagious variant of the coronavirus that could spread and become more dominant strain by march.

>> we do have variants in this country right now. the u.k. variant is in several states. >> there is some evidence that the new variant may be associated with a higher degree of mortality. >> grim. good evening. thank you for joining us. >> to combat this and other variants, stanford medicine has launched large scale surveillance to identify exactly which ones are circulating in the bay area. abc 7. news report he chris joins us. >> reporter: a wide scale effort is underway in the bay to track down multiple variants of the coronavirus that are already spreading in other parts of the world. >> this virus is quite transmissible and some of the new variants may be even more transmissible. >> reporter: dr. benjamin pinsky is where scientists have developed new tests to track viral variants and to quickly identify new mutations,

information that is critical to understanding if they'll spread more easily. >> the u.k. variant is in over 60 countries now. the south african variant is in over 20 countries. so despite limitations on travel. >> reporter: one strain that is already concerning is known as l-452 r which has been identified as the cause of several outbreaks throughout the region including the deadly christmas day outbreak at kaiser san jose which infected at least 90 people. researchers have already screened hundreds of samples collected through the testing sites and are planning to ramp up over the next week. >> there is plenty that we as individuals can do even if we're not vaccinated to prevent transmission. and we know those methods. >> reporter: surveillance will help determine whether they cause more significant disease or render vaccines less effective. crucial details that could help public health efforts across the country. >> the key is the masking and

social distancing and all those things we heard about over and over again. those things work on all these viruses no matter which variant is present. >> reporter: a battle against the virus being valiantly fought by the researchers at stanford. in the south bay. abc7 news. >> the news comes as california set another unfortunate record with 764 deaths. the previous high was two weeks ago, 708. we are seeing a couple of trends that do give us some hope. over 23,000 newly diagnosed cases were reported. that's well below the daily average. the seven day positivity rate continues to drop. it is now at 8.9%. health officials in contra costa county said they want to administer a million doses by july 4th. there is one obstacle on the way. >> we would like to add in the mass vax model where people drive in without an appointment west just need a lot more vaccine form. to give you a sense, we get

about 12,000 doses of vaccine doses per week. so one mass dose clinic takes about 10,000 doses. 5,000 to 10,000 doses. we just don't have enough vaccine to support that right now. >> since december 15th, the county has administered more than 65,000 doses. s about 5,800 every day. >> san francisco has now opened it's first mass vaccination site. more appointment there's soon be available. amy hollyfield was there and looked into how people got those appointments. >> great. it is absolutely what i was waiting for. >> reporter: we heard a lot of that first thing this morning. joy and relief for people as they pulled into the vaccination site at city college when it opened at 8:00 this morning. >> i am thrilled because it was a scramble to get an appointment. >> reporter: that was our other question. how did the 500 people with an appointment today get this

golden ticket? brendan said it was about determination. >> at one point i had my phone going, i had the computer, i had different lines holding for an hour at a time. and almost gave up. but i didn't because i'm persistent. >> reporter: but jim stevens told us he got a text last night from ucsf saying appointments were available. >> this was like 8:00 last night. and so i immediately logged on and there was an 8:30 a.m. appointment available which i took immediately and i'm here now. >> reporter: his advice is to register online with your private provider for vaccine news. the city is working the medical community to create many more of these events and once you do get word of a spot, it apparent will you is a great feeling. >> exhilarating. they just emailed me yesterday and i couldn't believe it.

>> i feel fabulous. i'm excited. i see an end to this. and that is so important. >> reporter: he recommends setting up a patient account through my chart. that's how he got the text. hospitals use that. others use my health. whatever your provider uses, that seemed to be key for a lot of people here today. in san francisco, amy hollyfield. abc7 news. will. there is a new push in santa clara county to get residents vaccinated. a brand new site open today at mt. view community center. officials are hoping to provide up to 1,000 vaccination as day. right now they are being offered only to health care workers, long term residents and people over the age of 75. >> i expected to be in line for over an hour. i tried to do everything they asked me to do and it all worked out. and it was wonderful. >> the county says as more

vaccines become available, health care providers will expand access to additional groups of people. today the state quietly unveiled a pilot site to sign up for covid-19 vaccines. people can register at my turn.ca.gov to be notified when they're ready. despite health guidelines banning restaurant dining, there are some places that are simply not compliant. abc7 news viewers tipped us off to one place the solano county they say doing a booming illegal indoor business. so we sent abc news report he wage friedman to check it out. >> reporter: maverick barbecue has the distinction of being either the most popular restaurant in suisun city or the most reviled. it is hardly a haven for the mask wearing multitudes. >> go in at your own risk. i don't think you need to live in a nanny state. if you're that afraid of covid, stay home. >> reporter: what you can't see in this video is the lunch time

crowd packed shoulder to shoulder inside. a clear is that flagrant violation of state and solano county guidelines. >> he's trying to make a living. >> i agree with him. >> reporter: he being this man, the owner. he referred to us a lawyer who never did get in touch. did he cite his constitutional rights. they hang on the darkened window below that red neon open sign. >> i have no problem with it whatsoever. i've had the virus already. and you know what? no one here has a problem with it. >> reporter: but others do have problems with it. most restaurant owners in the heritage park shopping center preferred not to talk on camera. the owner of this restaurant talked about it. it is not healthy that they're open, running business as usual. >> reporter: she described cutbacks, takeouts and a business scrapping for every penny while a little distance

away, they are siphoning customers. >> i feel they should be fined or close them down. i don't know what to do. >> reporter:atod the state's department of alcohol beverage control says it has concerned violations at maverick and will be contacting the solano county district attorney general's office. meantime, maverick remains open and busy and not talking. wayne friedman, abc7 news. man at the center of the ghost shipment fire pleads guilty. 36 times, one for each of those killed in the inferno. plus today's rain is just a drop in the bucket compared to what's coming. get ready for the biggest storm of the year. and making a difference. how a call to action in one oakland neighborhood is bringing out the best in people. abc7

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hard to believe but in the east bay, it has been over four years since the deadly ghost ship warehouse trial. the first trial ended with the injure deciding one definite not guilty and the other, today, all these years later, almena pleaded guilty. leslie brinkley has been following the case from the very beginning. >> reporter: the court hearing was brief and held remotely with no one but attorneys, the judge, and the defend derek almena there. families of the victims said it was hard hearing 36 names read in succession. he said guilty, 36 times, he said guilty. >> tears started falling. >> reporter: this grieving mother said her daughter chelsea was an electronic music composer and deejay who ran back into the burning warehouse in december 2016 to try to save friends. during the 2019 trial, almena is

the founder and master tenant was accused of turning the warehouse into a deadly fire trap. inviting people to live in a space zoned for stwornlg no sprinklers, no exit signs and no smoke alarms. >> there are no words that can convey our disappointment with this evil plea bargain. and our sorrow. >> reporter: almena was jailed in 2017. a jury dead locked over his guilt in 2019. there was supposed to be another trial next month. but things changed. >> since the middle of last year, he got out for covid and he's been on ankle bracelet at home.os le he' getting off scott-free. >> spending quiet time with his family isn't justice. >> reporter: accounting for time served and good behavior, co-potentially serve less than two more years in custody.

almena is scheduled to be sentenced on march 8th. he's not expected to face any civil penalties. he remains under house arrest in lake county. i'm leslie brinkler, abc7 snow in the santa cruz mountains. check that out. it really came down. and it is just a hint of what could come next week. spencer christian is tracking all of it for us. how is it looking? >> it's looking very wet. i've got the forecast animation all set up. a quick look first at our travel weather. the bay area airports tomorrow, maybe sunny, light breeze. overnight low about, 40. and some of the more popular travel destinations look like this. honolulu, sunshine, new york city, mostly sunny and cold, a high of 31. chicago, snow showers, a high of 38, and los angeles, showers as well with a high of 57. now let's look at what's

happening in the bay area, looking at live doppler 7. psych our storm has pretty much ended. we have spotty showers scattered widely around the bay area. we're looking at partly cloudy. 50 in san francisco, oakland, 53, 49 in mountain view, san jose, 50, and half moon bay at 50 degrees. the view looking northward from the golden gate, we see fewer clouds now. the current temperature readings, 53 degrees never santa rosa, novato, 48, 52 in napa, 49 in vacaville, 51 in concord, 48 in livermore. and the view from suit tower. the sky above is getting brighter and brighter. these are our forecasted showers. dry, sunny break will be with us tomorrow bust more storms follow sunday through all of next being. here's the forecast animation for tonight. you can see the storms, the

showers just widely scattered. winding down. giving way to partial clearing, going into the morning hours. overnight temperatures majorly in the upper 30s. and low 40s around the bay shoreline and along the coastline. tomorrow's highs under sunny skies, it will range from mid 50s at the coast to mainly upper 50s just about everywhere else. looking at the storms, starting sunday morning. it will continue into monday. that will be followed by a little bit of clearing on tuesday but then late tuesday, another very significant storm will start to swing in and that will be with us wednesday. lots of snow in the higher elevations. strong gusty winds and this storm will rank 3 on the storm impact scale west haven't seen a 3 in a long time. by the end of next week, we expect rainfall totals from 2.5 inches of rain to 3.5 inches of

rain. that's a week's worth of rain. so here's the accuweather seven-day forecast. after our break tomorrow, a series of storms ranking only 1 on the storm impact scale until the more vigorous storm comes in wednesday bringing snow in the higher elevations. remember, we haven't seen but not sflong quite insome time and then lighter storms many quite some time. >> 3! that's a real storm. president's new effort to ease the economic pain from the pandemic. plus, medicine and music. plus, medicine and music. what doctors doing to ease their ♪ here's to the duers. to all the people who realize they can du more with less asthma thanks to dupixent, the add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma. dupixent isn't for sudden breathing problems. it can improve lung function for better breathing

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president biden signed a pair of executive orders today aimed at offering a quick dose of relief to an economy still struggling with the pandemic. it aims to provide economic relief to families, small

businesses across the nation. >> our rescue plan will provide flexible grants to them hardest hit small businesses survive the pandemic and low cost capital to help entrepreneurs of all backgrounds create and maintain jobs, plus provide a sense of goods and services at communities so desperately depend on. >> the order is aimed to increase food aid for families, make it easy to get benefits and pave the way to raise minimum wages to $final for federal workers and contractors. the economy is a major part of building a better bay area. and as president biden focuses on economic relief as he builds his administration, one oakland neighborhood is setting an exam of how relief can be set at the grassroots effort. david louie takes you to the long fellow area where neighbors in need are receiving checks this week. >> reporter: boreded on two sides by freeways, a long fellow neighborhood in north oakland is easy to drive past.

you would be overlooking a diverse community that really cares about its residents. while last year's stimulus checks helped some, job losses left many others in need. an idea was born to create a relief fund using the nonprofit status of the longfellow community association. >> the number of folks that came out of wood work to donate was really just amazing and heart warming. >> reporter: fliers went out the announce it after $13,000 was raised from private donations. >> people who are in a position to help stepped in to help. the people who wanted to ask for help were willing to ask for help. there is a lot of transparency. >> reporter: a wide net for those who didn't have a permanent address but are very much a part of community. >> folks are asking for rent, folks are asking for food, folks are asking for money to pay the light bill. it is really the foundational things. >> reporter: residents could ask for grants for $100 to $1,000.

recipients were selected by lottery. stephanie received her check this week which will go toward rent. >> i received $1,000. and $1,000 agencies long way, believe me. >> reporter: neighborhood involvement is a longfellow trait. the communication association over ten years has done many improvement projects. >> we're really an inclusive and diverse community. >> reporter: the grant program is about $2,000 shy of fulling eight remaining requests so their work isn't completed. long fellow has a certain way of carrying for its own. >> i think it means our neighborhood is really paying attention on each other. >> reporter: it is known two of the recipients are active themselves and they are already paying forward the kindness of neighbors. >> it has made a tremendous and will make a huge difference in my life and my sanity. >> reporter: in oakland, david louie, abc7 news. >> if would you like the make a difference and fill that gap and help fund last eight requests,

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as we all fight the coronavirus pandemic, california is mandating face masks to stop the spread. we remind you to wear a mask for you, your loved ones and your community. please, wear because you care. finally here, a look at how front line medical staff are using music to keep their speernlts strong during the pandemic. last night they got together for another in what has become a schedule of regular performances. abc 7. news anchor dion has the story. >> reporter: she loves performing classical and just about any other kind of music. so does mattias. the idea of performing together first took shape under a different spotlight. the doctor is a pediatric surgeon at the children's hospital in stanford where she is a pediatric nurse.

working together they started talking about music? so we started practicing some songs together just the two of us. and we, he might have mentioned, we named our group after one of the suture that's we use in the operating room. >> we were able to blend nicely on our music. todays and likes and the harmonies. >> reporter: rough lay did he go aid later, they found an important new audience. >> welcome to the first second home concert of the year. >> reporter: they have joined with dozens. doctors and nurses and others across stanford for a popular series of virtual performances known as the stuck at home concert series. the weekly concerts were launched after the covid-19 lockdown forced stanford to cancel a symphony performance. and organizer jackie says they've grown into a kind of antidote for the stress and pressures doctors and nurses are facing for the pandemic. >> it has turned into this amazing way to have a space of joy and music and also contemplation for sort of what

we're all going through. >> or in their interpretation, you've got a friend, the james taylor classic that they performed together at last night's concert. ♪ ain't it good to know you've got a friend ♪ ♪ you've got a friend ♪ >> a heartening message for medical professionals dealing with an historic challenge. friends, colleagues and entire families have signed up to join the stuck at home series. >> the idea was great. >> has broken down some boundaries in terms of of our ability to connect with one another. when we wouldn't have otherwise. >> reporter: at a time when music might be the most soothing of medicines. abc7 news. >> what a great idea. and they sound wonderful. >> they do. they're good. all right. world news tonight with david muir is next. i'mam daetz.

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tonight, several major stories as we come on the air. the alarming news on that uk variant of coronavirus spreading in the u.s. at least 21 states. the uk prime minster boris johnson now saying they believe the uk variant of the virus is not just more contagious, but could also be more deadly. british experts saying up to 30% more deadly. tonight, scientists say it is too early to be sure. so how do you get ahead of it in the u.s.? and news on vaccines tonight. will there be enough to have second doses in time? what dr. fauci is saying about the window of time. how much time before you have to get the second shot. we also have news on masks when it comes to fighting off the more contagious variant of the virus. news tonight on help for american famils