of it. ask your doctor about dovato-i did. ♪ next at 5:00, on the front lines of covid, cases arising and doctors are seeing patients asking for a vaccine when it's too late to get one. plus, the effort to vaccinate farmworkers here and in the central valley. also had the regret over not wearing masks. why one mother wishes she had done things differently. plus, the unrelenting firefight going on near lake tahoe. the bay area's fourth covid wave is only getting worse

tonight. >> you are watching abc7 news at 5:00 . tonight, the bay area's average daily covid case rate is now four times more than what we saw just three weeks ago. the trend seems clear and hospitalizations are up the highest point since march. our reporter stephanie sierra spoke with the chief of emergency medicine at ucsf, to break down what we can expect as we move forward here. >> reporter: made it very clear tonight the period we are in now is the most crucial- >> stephanie, pick up your microphone, if you can. >> reporter: ultimately her message was this period we are in right now is the most crucial one. and how highly transmissible the delta verrier is. and the next two weeks will be the deciding factor if all of us could be masking up again. top health officials say if we are not careful, the delta variant could move back our

progress over the next three weeks. >> i didn't expect to see this, given our high rates of vaccination. >> reporter: dr. maria raven, the chief of emergency medicine at ucsf- >> how important do you think this next two week period will be for the bay area? >> i think it will tell us a lot. it will continue to give us more data on the delta variant. which is largely what is spreading right now. and what is causing, in terms of these breakthrough infections among vaccinated people. >> reporter: in the past 14 days ucsf reports around 20 breakthrough cases among vaccinated individuals. most with mild symptoms. somewhere hospitalized. >> we have been seeing 1 to 2 a day. it gives me pause, because it's not what i thought we were going to see. >> reporter: covid hospitalizations are rising at a rate we haven't seen since march. in early july ucsf had zero hospitalizations, now there are 17. for context, at the height of the surge that figure was in

the 60s. >> of the 15 people in the hospital now 16 are unvaccinated. >> reporter: on july 1st, on average 231 new daily covid cases were reported to cost the bay area. now, a mere three weeks later that averages four times more, with 978 new daily covid cases. >> and we do expect the number of infections will keep going up, for at least a few weeks. >> reporter: infections disease physician dr. ajavon maldonado says there is never a more dangerous time to be in vaccinated than now. icu admissions have more than doubled. hospital admissions spectrum 166 two 412. >> we generally tend to see more people endorse

>> reporter: doctors think this could turn into a mandate. it's all dependent on what happens in the next two weeks. for now, their advice is to mask up indoors if you don't know people's vaccination status. >> it is spread so easily. >> have they treated patients who decided to wait getting vaccinated and then regretted it? >> reporter: yes, they both have and said most patients who didn't have other conflicting medical reasons all regretted it. this at that time and time again. the worst part, for the doctors , time to tell the patient it's too late and there was an opportunity ent this from happening. bottom line, don't wait. the sacramento mother regrets continuing not to wear a mask. that's because her family has

tested positive for covid-19. >> mrs. grace, say hi. >> reporter: grace, her mom emily, and the rest of the family tested positive for covid-19. even though- >> i was pregnant throughout most of this pandemic, so we were really cautious. >> reporter: in april she and her husband got the second dose of the pfizer vaccine. a relief, especially for her husband, a drummer with a couple of bands in sacramento. >> it's really hard for a musician not to play music. we talked about it and felt like that was something we could do. now that we were vaccinated and felt safe enough to do that. >> reporter: after playing a show, he had symptoms. nothing severe, but their two daughters got sick. a five-year-old and nine-month- old. >> the kids have been really, really sick. 103 fevers, diarrhea and vomiting. it has been especially scary with the baby. >> reporter: the american

academy of pediatrics says child covid cases exceeded 23,000 from july 8th through 15th, nearly double reported in late june. >> the covid cases are shifting to younger ages. we've done a very good job of vaccinating the older age groups. >> reporter: vaccines do a good job to protect against covid. and an even better job of protecting severe cases that lead to hospitalization, or death. even then, the vaccines aren't going to be 100% effective. doctors say, especially if you're around people vulnerable , like children too young to get vaccinated, wearing a mask indoors or in crowded places can add that extra layer of protection. it's another layer of precaution baker charlie was a she and her husband had continued to take. even after getting vaccinated. >> it has been hard. it has been really hard. >> i wish we had done things differently. >> the race to vaccinate farmworkers has hit a new level.

vaccine mistrust and a large seasonal workforce had to be overcome in order to sustain food production. abc7 news reporter david louis looks at how a unique partnership develop. >> reporter: at the height of the pandemic, before vaccines, covid-19 was affecting 40% of all farmworkers, a serious blow to growers and shippers. agriculture is a $2 billion business and monterey county. she told us she lost her sense of smell and taste, nausea and other symptoms put her out of work for two weeks. when vaccines became available this year a partnership of community clinics formed to register farmworkers and their families at events that handled as many as 4000 people at a time. today, it's estimated 75% have been fully vaccinated. >> i wish you could be like a farmworker. amen we could elevate the farmer community.

>> reporter: javier becerra visited vaccination clinic today to learn how the effort might be replicated in construction, retail and office settings. major challenges with creating trust in the vaccine and working rapidly. >> we owe it to them. we owe it to them for how much they gave us during the covid- 19 pandemic. i would be remiss to say this was personal. but it also was no other option. >> reporter: the payoff has been significant. the rate of farmer confections has gone from 48% down to 8%. >> i want to challenge the employees out there to match the growers and companies and monterey county that have gotten their workers vaccinated. it's not difficult, it's good for business, it saves lives. this date is close to having 21 million people fully vaccinated. that 53% of our state's entire population. which includes people too young

to be vaccinated. as you can see, firefighters are facing a tough situation as they throw everything they have at the tamarack fire, near lake tahoe. the fire is now 90 square miles and 4% contained. >> footage from firefighters shows wins whipping up a fire world as the fire spread into nevada this week. reporter victor park says crews are struggling to get control of the fire sparked by lightning on july 4th. >> reporter: an inferno of stubbornness. >> the extreme fire behavior meant it was definitely going to be a difficult time. and, in some cases, a firefight. >> reporter: although authorities say crews have been able to hold flames on the east side of the tamarack fire,

firefighters say they are threatened by the conditions. >> it has been hard to access the fire. >> firefighters on the front lines of the dixie fire spotted these flames, saying they might be the beginning of a completely new fire. the dixie fire is 18% contained, but has jumped in size, increasing by more than a third to more than 221 square miles. in the east abc7 was in oakland chinatown where there was a report of an armed robbery at about 10:00 a.m. there were quite a few officers on the intersections of eighth and webster street. across the bay someone broke into the offices of the san francisco aids foundation. they were called to the building and market street just before another car came the glass doors were shattered and

offices appeared to have been ransacked. investigators say it is not clear what, if anything, was stolen. they are not sure what the purpose was. stakeholders are coming together to address retail theft in san francisco, which has become such a big problem. reporter spoke with the union director about employees and stores most often targeted. >> reporter: united food and commercial workers local 5 local 648, represents employees of bay area retailers like grocery stores, drug stores and department stores. the type of retailers that have recently been hit hardest by thieves. >> it's a huge problem. >> reporter: will not san francisco supervisor wants to address. is creating a retail crime working group. >> we want to put everyone together and come up with solutions. >> i think it is an important

first step. we need to get stakeholders together. >> reporter: he is familiar with this video abc7 news reporter leanne melendez took of a shoplifter on a bicycle. retail theft at drugstores has been the worst . >> part of the issue is there's not enough staffing and stores in our members feel like they are put into danger. >> reporter: members feel instructed not to intervene, not just for their safety, but legal reasons. >> members have run to try to stop somebody and the person who steals sues the company because they said they got assaulted. >> reporter: the associate vice president tracy mcrae says the suspects are usually already gone. >> unless they are on the spot and we are able to catch them in the act, we have to go through the steps. it may take a while. >> reporter: the retail theft working group will meet at the beginning of september, after the august recess. man who

disappeared, coming up. the frustration at the sheriff's department and continued dedication of the continued dedication of the volunteers. ♪ unlock a summer of possibilities in a new chevy. expand your options... and your perspective. find your next adventure in a new chevy. enjoy the open road and make no monthly payments for the rest of the summer on select popular chevy suvs. plus, get interest free financing for 72 months when you finance with gm financial. find new roads at your local chevy dealer.

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to your doctor about twice-daily xiidra. like i did. [inflammation] i prefer you didn't! xiidra. not today, dry eye. there is still no sign of 37-year-old philip paycheck who disappeared july 10th, after going on around in the east bay hills. law enforcement remains perplexed, while volunteer search groups continue to look. >> reporter: the mueller rent staging area in the pleasanton hills remains the last known location of missing burly hiker philip. nearly 2 weeks after his disappearance. he went for a run on saturday july 10th and his family reported him missing that evening. even after intense searching, there is still no sign of him. >> this has been one of the biggest searches on the west coast for a missing person, and probably in california. we are mystified, we are

frustrated. we are perplexed as to why we haven't found philip. and knowing now that it is two weeks, it just reminds us of his family and everything that has gone on during this very long two weeks. >> reporter: the volunteer search team has not stopped in their efforts. they continued to hit the trails and post his picture, hoping for a miracle. >> he was an extremely fit individual, an extremely intelligent individual and extreme capable of taking care of himself. weeping fair are many reasons to believe he is still out there and you just tried to get was. >> reporter: the focus of the volunteer search is on finding anyone with security cameras that may offer clues to his location. they also have two possible eyewitness accounts in which two people may have seen him on the trails and at a nearby bridge on santa rita road. victor is asking for the two witnesses to reach out and share any information they may have. >> we haven't been able to talk with that woman or man yet, who

says she saw him. we would like to get in touch with her. if you are that person, or you know who she is, please have her get in touch with us. >> reporter: we made several attempts to blake with pleasanton police about these tips, but we haven't heard back. the sergeant still has hope for the family, friends and philip himself. >> it's possible he's up there and we missed him and he is in such a spot we are not finding. that we are having a hard time with that. if we can find philip, whether he is alive or not, we need to bring him home, to his family. that's ultimately what the mission is here, to find philip and bring him home. >> reporter: if you have any information regarding his disappearance, contact pleasanton police. in the east bay, the newer park mall in newark will be revamped to add a costco and hundreds of apartments. the city council approved plans by brookfield parties.

newark's mayor says the city received more than 200 supportive emails about it, but a review by our media partners at the bay area news group found many emails included in the agenda packet were attributed to people who appear to work for brookfield properties. a special celebration in daly city today for a project that seemed really impossible not that long ago. >> three, two, one. cut! yay! >> congresswoman jackie spear led the ribbon-cutting to celebrate the $60 million seismic retrofit and modernization of seton medical center. the fact that this event took place it is remarkable. in 2018 the parent company declared bankruptcy in the hospital was about to close, when a southern california company agreed to buy it last august. still ahead, meeting

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in the south bay, catholic charities of santa clara county has been distributing meals since the start of the pandemic. today the anticipated reaching 15 million meals served. they did that and more. organizers said they surpassed 16,890,000 meals. the huge number highlights the continued need in the community. >> the need is still here. >> the disaster is ongoing. numbers are going up again. more people are coming in for help each week. we need more help from the committee to respond. >> less than 10% of their budget comes from federal funds. the majority of their funding is from individuals. some even donating their own stimulus checks. happening tonight, a full buckman will appeal appear in the southeastern sky. tonight is the best night to see if. it will be around until

sunday. this night is the one. as long as it's not cloudy, i guess. >> that's the question. i saw two deer in my neighborhood today. >> don't get too close. [ laughter ] for most areas away from the coastline you will be able to see the moon. i saw it last night, absolutely beautiful. we are tracking the monsoon moisture of the desert southwest. the flash flood watch is a for too much rain. and isolated thunderstorms in the sierra. the reason we are talking about this is a thunderstorm chance monday and tuesday. there is potential for dry lightning and the possibility for new fires. this is what you need to watch

out for. the moisture, it gets khari, humidity increases. we may see a couple of sprinkles. the moisture increases lift, with the heatinofan isolated an storm or two. that is concerning enough for a fire weather watch around lake and mendocino counties. possibly new fires and some thunderstorms could be dry. if dusty, erratic winds develop, that will fan the flames quickly. since we're on the topic of fires, look at the air quality. it is absolutely unhealthy, in red, the very unhealthy for parts of northern california and the central sierra, where the fires are burning, the tamarack fire, the dixie fire. look at the smoke in the forecast. the heaviest concentration will be near the surface through the weekend. it aloft, in the upper layers of the atmosphere, it looks

like some of the smoke wants to get into our region as we head into the sunday, monday, tuesday time period. for now the air-quality forecast is good to moderate the next four days. here is a look at our exploratory in camera. temperatures, 50s to 90s inland. definitely warmer than yesterday. if you're getting away this weekend, sunny and mild at our airports. you are looking at honolulu with showers, 86 new york city, chicago 91 and los angeles 82 degrees. morning temperatures, 50s to 60s with the fog near the coast. afternoon highs, 90 in morgan hill, 82 in san jose. on the peninsula 76. 66 degrees north bay, 80 in napa, 85 in santa rosa and the east bay. 72 oakland, 80 in fremont, 80 and 94 in fairfield, 93 livermore. the heat continues, increasing

clouds sunday/monday. a slight chance of some under, keep that in mind. and sizzling summer weather for midweek. we will notice some upper 90s. what happens when your he jason, did you know geico could save you hundreds on car insurance and a whole lot more? cool. so what are you waiting for? mckayla maroney to get your frisbee off the roof? i'll get it. ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ ♪ ♪ whoa. here you go. (in unison) thank you mckayla! dude, get it. i'm not getting it, you get it. you threw it. it's your frisbee. geico. switch today and see all the ways you could save.

finally tonight, looking back and looking forward in santa cruz. >> the museum of art and history hosted a vaccination partnership today. anyo 1and over to get vaccinated and contribute to an art project. >> i am a firm believer that art saves lives. and just like right brain and left brain activities, we need to address this as a whole person and with everyone in our community. so, it is an important kind of outreach that we are doing. >> people filled out slips of paper to attach to a tree of hope. there were messages like, i hope our community heals and can thrive after the pandemic. and, i hope we remember all the good that has come out of these challenging times. there has been a considerable good in many, many respects, if you look for it. >> just have to be open to seeing at. >> world news tonight with

david muir is next. >> thank you so much for joining us. we will see you at 6:00.

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but then i found out about nonsurgical treatments. it was a total game changer. learn more about the condition at factsonhand.com tonight, the delta variant fueling the summer surge. authorities now saying that this could keep getting worse until october. and tonight, alabama's republican governor now saying it's time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks for this spike. the highly transmissible delta variant pushing some hospitals to the limit. in the kansas city area, hospitals running out of beds. st. louis county tonight re-issuing its mask mandate. florida, missouri, and texas accounting for 40% of all new cases. and tonight, that new model projecting this latest surge, that we won't see the worst of it until well into fall. tonight, dr. jha is here answering your questions about the millions of children heading back to school, under 12, not eligible for a vaccine. should they be wearing masks?

how do you keep them safe?