cacique.your auténtico awaits. have vaccine? next at 5:00, what the cdc says you can now do. new guidance gives us an idea what a vaccinated life might look like. plus, new developments on reopening public schools in san francisco. what we are learning about who can go back and when. also this evening as cameras surround the man who pleaded guilty to unintentionally killing 36 people in the ghost ship warehouse fire, we've just learned what he has been sentenced to after a very emotional day from family members. and what we can expect from the biggest storm in weeks now set to hit tomorrow and wednesday. building a better bay area for a safe and secure future this is abc 7 news. with more and more people

getting vaccinated each day, we are starting to turn a corner. >> and that corner, according to the director of the cdc, means millions of people who are vaccinated can now get back to doing the things they enjoy with the people that they love. good evening. i'm dan ashley. >> and i'm ama daetz. thank you for joining us. the guidelines offer long-awaited freedoms after a year of following public health safety measures but also raise questions -- do i have to wear a mask? can i visit my family? can i now eat indoors? here are some answers from abc 7 news community journalist dustin dorsey. >> reporter: the covid-19 pandemic not only took the lives of hundreds of thousands of people but it also separated families due to the risk of spreading the infection. christine zion hasn't been able to seep her at-risk father since early 2020 until now. >> as of a couple days ago my dad and i both are now fully vaccinated. i took him to a doctor's appointment last week for the first time in months and i was

able to hug him and it's really exciting to be able to see him. >> reporter: the cdc announced new guidelines monday that detail what fully vaccinated people can safely do two weeks following their second dose. >> it's about time because we have been suspecting the cdc would put out guidelines along this line for several weeks as we see more and more data that the vaccines are working as they're supposed to in the real world as they did in clinical trials. >> reporter: what exactly can you do? the cdc says your risk for infection is so low you could start making safe changes to your daily life. >> once you're fully vaccinated you can visit with fully vaccinated people indoors and no mask and physical distancing are required. but what if you aren't both vaccinated? fully vaccinated people can visit a single household of people who are not yet vaccinated without wearing a mask or being socially distant

as long as everyone in the household is at low risk for covid-19. that would be like grandparents visiting their grandkids. but what if the roles were reversed? if you are in phase 1a or 1b and want to visit people like your grandparents or other high-risk individuals of covid-19 who aren't yet vaccinated, masks and physical distancing are still required because even fully vaccinated people can be carriers and leave those they are visiting at risk. if you are fully vaccinated you could start to feel safe doing certain activities like visiting family or eating indoors at restaurants but masks and social distancing are still required in public settings. you need to get tested if you experience covid-19 symptoms, travel recommendations and requirements from health leaders are still in effect and other covid-19 rules still apply. >> not everybody has the vaccine or is going to get the vaccine, we need to be respectful whether or not they have or have not gotten it. >> we still have a race against

the variants and the variants could come up and change all of our guidelines if we're not careful. it is by no means free reins to let loose of all restrictions. >> reporter: we have a full list from the cdc on our website, abc7news.com. and certainly the medical community is weighing in on the new cdc guidelines. an infectious disease specialist at ucsf says she agrees with many of the new recommendations but not all. >> these vaccines are amazing and, yes, nothing is ever 100% but neither is loneliness and so a real attempt to say we get it. the risk is so low, let's visit. >> dr. gandhi does not agree vaccinated people should continue to travel. >> travel doesn't make sense. i think that will change pretty soon because you're so safe after you've been vaccinated and

you have to travel to get there to see that unvaccinated grandchild. i think the travel will be the one that's the most controversial. >> the cdc advises against medium and large-sized gatherings. group size shouldn't matter if everyone is vaccinated, says the doctor. and governor newsom is applauding the new guidelines designed to ease restrictions for those fully vaccinated against covid-19. >> it shows the power and potency of these vaccines. not only are they safe and effective, they change lives. because the things we've lost, that connection, all this loneliness can be absolved and addressed immediately. >> the governor touted new figures which show 210,000 educators were vaccinated last week, for above the goal. he says this will help speed up the return of in-person learning across california.

new concerns about reopening schools. 66 early education and elementary schools will resume on april 12th after an agreement between san francisco unified school district and its labor unions, the details of which haven't been available until now. lyanne mell endez to give us th nuts and bolts. >> reporter: there are so many details given out today, valuable information for parents but, still this is all ongoing according to the school district. that's why they are asking parents to visit their website, return safely together the in-person learning plan and that's being constantly updated. 5-year-old marion will start her in-person classes at early education school on april 12th. until now her parents have been supervising her instruction. >> no question i would not accepted her back. but if we have an entire team of educators at a school, all

people working that are vaccinated, i feel more comfortable. >> reporter: on april 12th, 66 early education sites and elementary schools are expected to reopen, but only those in pre-k through second grade. special education students in elementary schools with moderate or severe disabilities will also start on that day. on april 26 all remaining pre-k through second grade will return for in-person learning including some third through fifth graders. the following students will also return on that date, all homeless and foster care students. newcomer students, those in public housing and students who have had limited online engagement. the number of in-person learning days will depend how many families are willing to return. those schools are just a few requests will have full in-person days. >> so if you have a student who is in pre-k, moderate to severe special day class or county school, and you choose to return to in-person learning, your

child will attend five days a week. >> reporter: those schools with a large number of families willing to return will have to split the week between in-person and online classes because of the social distancing requirements. families who don't want to return can remain in distance learning. the teachers union says many of those are students of color. >> rates of covid are higher in communities of color, and so there's fear of being out in public and then possibly bringing covid home, chinese immigrant families who live in multigenerational households in particular have concerns about that. >> reporter: it's expected most, if not all, teachers will be vaccinated by april 12th. a special education teacher for students 18 to 22. she has many questions on how to safely interact with them in person. >> knowing when we have students to staff ratio of one to two buo we do that logistically?

>> reporter: so the latest agreement will have to be approved by the school board, of course, that won't happen tomorrow during their regular meeting because this agreement was reached on friday night so they didn't have time to put it on the agenda but the school board has a closed session on thursdays and they have now opened it up to the public so they will vote this thursday to rat ratify, ama, this agreement. >> lyanne, in-person classes haven't even resumed. any idea if schools in san francisco in the fall will look anything like they used to, or is it too early to go there? >> reporter: it's never too early to talk about next year, right? anything that happens in august will have to be negotiated again between the teachers union and the school district. one positive note they will use this agreement they just reached, right, and use it as a base for future negotiations. it all depends on the course of the pandemic and how many people

are vaccinated by then because those things will have an impact in the fall in augment. >> absolutely. thanks, lyanne four years since 36 people lost their lives in an oakland warehouse fire, and the building today is an empty shell. the charred remains of a testament of the fire that ripped through this illegal living and performance space. today the families of those victims got their chance to tell ghost ship founder derick almena exactly what they lost in a very emotional hearing. as we learned in the last hour or so almena has been sentenced. live from the superior court building tonight with more, laura? >> reporter: hi, dan. i think it's important to say right off the top this sentence, this plea agreement is not something many of the families of the victims are happy with. nonetheless the judge did sentence derick almena to the plea agreement deal that had been reached several months ago. it all happened in this

courthouse behind me could only audio portion, but it was a hearing chalk full of emotion. we'll hear what some of the families had to say to almena. first we heard from almena's attorney. >> our client will not go to jail. our client will be subjected to house arrest, so to speak, for a little over a year. and obviously there's going to be large restitution. >> reporter: do you have anything to say? ghostship master tenant derick almena was dropped off in front of an oakland courthouse to learn his fate for his role in the disastrous warehouse fire that killed 36 people. once inside almena faced dozens of family members appearing by zoom delivering emotional victim impact statements to judge tree

in a thompson and to almena himself. the mother of chelsea dolan, i curse you with the pain in your bones and muscles that comes from clenching in fear as you face the fury of a firestorm coming to consume you. i do not forgive you. i never will. like most of the victims chelsea dolan was trapped on the second floor of the warehouse, a cluttered and unlicensed venue for a xhusic concert that ended in a deadly fire of 2016. andy kershaw is the husband of amanda allen. amanda was known for her glasses, which i received back twisted by heat and flame, covered in soot. i would never show those glasses to anyone now because i don't want anyone else to have to see that. almena accepted a deal pleading guilty to 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter. he's been released due to the pandemic. several family members urged judge thompson to throw out the deal. i am repulsed by this plea agreement. you do not take responsibility for your actions.

i am angry with this court in that it is a legal ic. an earlier plea deal was thrown out because a prior judge said almena lacked remorse. a sketch artist described his demeanor in court today. >> his reaction went from indifference to, like, rocking and looking down, and he almost looked like he was sobbing a couple of times, but i can't know that. >> reporter: a very strange hearing. at one point the judge stopped the proceedings to have deputies check on almena because to some he appeared to be nodding off. they even searched him to see if he had drugs on him. he did not. they continued the hearing. he did not speak. his attorney read a brief statement. i am sorry, i am sick with shame. he was sentenced to 12 years but with time served, time off for

good behavior he will serve the rest of that sentence, about a year and a half on home detention with electronic monitoring and three years' probation. laura anthony, abc 7 news. >> emotional day for those families. thank you, laura. still ahead, education intervention. the solution one family found when their son started falling behind in school. the plan

in the south bay i sta a county may get a break permit fees. the board of supervisors tomorrow will consider a proposal to reduce or waive health inspection fees. it targets small businesses with fewer than 50 employees. the income shortfall to the county would be offset by moving money from the general fund. >> this will collectively result in $5.5 million staying in our local economy, helping our small businesses remain in operation, retain their employees, and begin to rebuild after an extraordinarily difficult year. >> supervisors say right now 3,600 food facilities in santa clara county are temporarily closed with 1,000 shut down for good.

a year of distance learning has turned into a year of learning loss. it's something we will be focused on all this week as we work to build a better bay area. falling behind isn't just an academic issue. it can be an emotional one for both the student and the student's family. >> it was hard. >> reporter: south bay parent knows all about the difficulties of distance learning. she has 7-year-old twin boys who attend school in san jose. one of her sons was really struggling with his second grade reading. how did that make you feel knowing that your son was falling behind? >> it makes you feel really, like, sad for him, because specifically in this case i know he has a lot of self-esteem issues and compares himself with his brother who hasn't had issues with reading or with school. it's really hard to see when your child is struggling with something and fall behind. you feel powerless. >> but she spoke up asking the

union district for help. he received an intervention to get him back on track including a reading group with a specialist and tasks for him to complete. it made all the difference. >> he was so happy. so proud of himself. it shifted his personality the way he was being a different person and that, of course, made me happy for him. >> her son is now all caught up. she recognizes how easy it is for kids to fall behind when parents can't always keep them on track because they're working from home or outside the home. we will have ways for your kids to confront learning loss here on abc 7. >> get ready, we could see rain, even thunderstorms for the next couple of days.

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where can a healthier heart lead you? for people with heart failure taking entresto, it may lead to a world of possibilities. entresto is a heart failure medicine prescribed by most cardiologists. it was proven superior at helping people stay alive and out of the hospital. heart failure can change the structure of your heart so it may not work as well. entresto helps improve your heart's ability to pump blood to the body. and with a healthier heart, there's no telling where life may take you. don't take entresto if pregnant; it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren,

or if you've had angioedema with an ace or arb. the most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure kidney problems, or high blood potassium. ask your doctor about entresto for heart failure. entrust your heart to entresto. all right. i think storms are coming back, dan. >> we need them, ama. our meteorologist sandhya patel is tracking them closely for us. hi there, dan and ama, a changing situation as we speak. take a look at live doppler 7. welcome rain. it's isolated at best. let me show you where we're seeing the showers this hour. napa into yountville seeing light rain. light to moderate. stage road you will notice that

it is start to go get wet. so let's take a look at the wider perspective. still spinning off the coastline, and that will send more energy our way the next two days. that's when you'll see the brunt of this storm. beach hazard is up because it is kicking up the swells, risk of rip currents. watch out if you're going to go to the coast. seeing a lot of sun for parts of the bay area. temperatures in the low to upper 50s from san francisco to oakland and san jose. here from our kgo roof camera it is cloudy and breezy. level one storm tonight through wednesday expecting showers. the gusty winds with thunder, hail, snow down to 3,000 feet. so it's definitely going to feel like winter if it doesn't yet though it's so much cooler from our hour by hour forecast isolated showers tonight as we go into 5:00 a.m. give yourself time for the commute.

we will have some wet roadways. noontime scattered showers across the region. most of the activity comes in at night going into wednesday with snow over the higher elevations. and then the system winds down by wednesday night. some of the wettest spots will pick up over an inch, an inch and a half of rain in places like ben lomond, half moon bay. as we take a look at the winter weather advisory for lake and mendocino counties above 2,000 feet expecting accumulating snow through wednesday morning and in the sierra several feet of snow. a winter storm warning until wednesday night. expecting one to two feet possibly higher, but look at the snow level. it's going to be down to 3,000 feet with a few inches possible even lower than that. difficult toimpossible traso wo. grab your umbrella before you go. tomorrow afternoon you'll be using them and grab a jacket. 40s and 50s for your high. the accuweather forecast for

tomorrow and wednesday, it's a wintry mix, thunderstorm possibility with hail and then drying out but colder mornings thursday/friday. daylight saving time begins early sunday so spring forward one hour.

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svn west just put a new batch on sale today. the van gogh exhibition is scheduled to run through labor day. looks great. all right, thank you for joining us for now. us for now. i'm ama daetz. us for now. i'm ama i have the power to lower my a1c. because i can still make my own insulin. and trulicity activates my body to release it. once-weekly trulicity is for type 2 diabetes. most people taking it reached an a1c under 7%. trulicity may also help you lose up to 10 pounds and lower your risk of cardiovascular events, whether you know you're at risk or not. trulicity isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. it's not approved for use in children. don't take trulicity if you're allergic to it, you or your family have medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2. stop trulicity and call your doctor right away if you have an allergic reaction, a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, changes in vision, or diabetic retinopathy. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. taking trulicity with sulfonylurea or insulin raises low blood sugar risk. side effects include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea,

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tonight, several developing stories as we come on the air. for the first time, the cdc out with new guidance tonight. what americans who are vaccinated can now do. the cdc saying two weeks after being fully vaccinated, people can gather indoors in small groups without masks or social distancing. and if grandparents are vaccinated, they can visit and hug family members who are not vaccinated, as long as no one is high risk. what the cdc is still saying tonight about travel, about masks and social distancing even if you are vaccinated. dr. jha standing by tonight with your questions answered. meantime, millions waiting for economic help. president biden's $1.9 trillion covid relief bill passes the senate, now back in the house. how soon could it reach the

president's desk?