mask up, bay area. the into a mandate is back. why white county says it has no plans to change a look at who was hospitalized and who is getting sick despite being vaccinated. fire in the delta. residents are fighting the fire themselves. the covid summer search is not slowing down bart service. back in business. the city's cable cars return with one very temporary change. building a better bay area. moving forward and finding solutions. this is abc7 news . a new purse to mask up to

tamp down covid infections. santa clara, alameda, contra costa, san mateo and sonoma as well as berkeley are telling everyone to wear their masks indoors again. thank you for joining us. >> you are watching abc7 news at 5:00 . glad you are with us on this monday. the new mask mandates includes all bay area counties except napa and solano. stephanie sierra is live in the newsroom with more on the mandate the goes into effect very soon >> tonight at midnight all seven counties in the city of berkeley. health officers say the added protection is necessary in any indoor environment especially bars, gems and restaurants where there can be a heightened risk of transmission.

the writing on this mandate has been on the wall for weeks. the difference stems from data released by the cdc revealing vaccinated people can carry and spread the same amount of fibrous as those unvaccinated. the shift is impacting younger age groups, people in their 40s to 60s. a majority of those are unvaccinated. they are hopeful a simple precaution like masking indoors will lower those figures? >> it is a hospitalizations we are worried about. people in the hospital with covid are really sick and gasping for air. if they are in the icu, they are likely to have a tube down their throat. this is what we want to avoid. >> if you are vaccinated your chance of getting severe disease is next to nine.

he hopes if we get back to her hospitalization rates from mid- june, we can start to assess if we can ease up on these restrictions. and this is not a ban on indoor dining. you are allowed to remove your mask when eating or drinking at a restaurant. there is no added restrictions on capacity, just masking. and as far as enforcement goes, it is up to the individual business owners. >> stuff, what do you hear from the experts about what this search has done on the strain of covid in ware seeing signs of that. many health offices are spiking a report on demand for testing. officials are starting to work with local labs to reopen and hire new staff and organize testing sites we have available. >> steph, thank you.

solano county has no plans to issue a mask mandate. officials say it doesn't make sense. the county says that adding restrictions on businesses does not align with the data since fibrous brett is happening at home and in private social settings. county officials say that most people getting sick are unvaccinated and in their 20s to 40s. a group of parents is protesting the mask mandate in public schools. they have 454 members on their facebook page. the children are sent home. >> my kids do not want to wear a mask. they are not comfortable with them and they say they can't breathe. my seven-year-old is an asthmatic. >> we follow the guidance of the scientists to keep our schools safe, and that is what

we are going to do. >> they are holding a protest tomorrow. half of california will be under mask mandates as a bay area joins sacramento, los angeles and yolo counties. cases are searching because of the delta variant. and this search has questioning the efficacy of the covid-19 vaccines. melanie woodrow has a look at the numbers. butt about one thing there's certain up when it comes to vaccinations. >> if you are vaccinated you are less likely to develop covid. >> reporter: he is epidemiologist at stanford university >> we have data from multiple parts of the world. it shows that most cases of covid associated with the delta variant are happening among

people who were not fully vaccinated. it is true there have been some cases reported and those that are fully vaccinated, but the odds are much lower and you are less likely to develop covid if you are fully vaccinated. and if you develop covid, it will be milder that if you were not vaccinated. >> reporter: here in the bay area, numbers are down as compared to last year. according to state data, total hospitalizations are down by 13% when comparing july 31st 2021 to july 31st 2020. icus are down by 30% when you make the comparison. he believes it is too early to know how the rest of the year could play out when it comes to the delta variant. >> i do not think we can judge the impact. >> reporter: he hopes that the

evidence available in terms of the creased hospitalizations will encourage everyone to get vaccinated. >> it is the right thing to do for your own health and for all of us. we are all in this together. developing news from san francisco general hospital. it is likely the hospital will allow people that have received the johnson & johnson vaccine to get a second shot? >> it looks like it will be unanimously approved. those that got the johnson & johnson shot will get an additional or are approved to get an additional mnr ray shot. it is not mandated or clearly data driven yet. the data to support this. >> dr. chris colwell noted some research i shown people who received an additional shot had their immune systems

reinvigorated. kaiser permanente said it is requiring employees and physicians to get vaccinated by september 30. right now nearly 79% of kaiser employees are fully vaccinated. smoke village across the delta after strong winds field of fire of bradford island near antioch. it has no fire department which has been a real challenge. wayne friedman is life with a look at what those folks are facing. >> good evening, dan. that fire is still below wing. it is on an island occupied by roughly 25 people with no fire department. even if they did have a fire department, they could not get the trucks to the island because the fairy is too small. we have seen the heaviest smoke and the biggest flames within the hour.

>> it has not been this busy in years. for all of the two homes have already burned with other structures threatened on the sparsely populated island where a fire broke out at midnight last night. 25 people live for full-time and they are fighting this place on their own. >> we have not seen any fire departments show up at all. i discuss it because our taxes are high. >> reporter: the island is part of the state reclamation district that gets no support from the fire district or any other. >> it is a bit nerve-racking that the island has islands of overgrowth and if anything does start, it will burn. in a typical situation you

would think the fire could be put out pretty quickly. unfortunately, for bradford island, that is not the case. >> reporter: here is what is the case. one example of it, he's helping his uncle tried to evacuate she from harms way. the flames were burning nearby. >> we are trying to get the sheep out of here before anything burns up anymore. >> and that is an island filled with cattle. many more cattle 10 people. the struggle is a keep those cattle in good shape. the people have reached out to cal fire but that has not happened. no response from cal fire at this point. one other possible solution is odd but it is below sea level and surrounded by a levy.

there is talk of opening that levy and draining the water to put out the flames. life in eastland contra costa county, wayne friedman, abc7 news . back on track. this is a big day for bart. some say it is a good sign of things to come. >> why service workers may have

the san jose mayor was on hand at city hall reopened to the public for the first time since the pandemic. he wanted to make sure that everyone felt welcome >> we are thrilled to welcome the community back again. we make sure everyone wears a mask. >> post offices will require an appointment. b.a.r.t. is under a big bi

starting today, more trains are running more frequently including the airport. will the delta variant keep writers in their cars? we take a look. >> sky7 over a busy morning commute for bart cream in the east bay. more trains are rolling for the first time in a long time. >> i have seen a growth in population amongst writers. >> reporter: it is near pre- pandemic levels. the expanded service means trains will run until bit night at the part every 15 minutes between 5:00 a.m. an 8:00 p.m.. masks are required on trains and in stations. >> folks that have been vaccinated are still wearing their masks. >> this community says up until now b.a.r.t. schedule kept her in the car. >> the schedule was so sparse

that there was a lot of waiting going on. >> reporter: ridership was only 6% last year and to date it is a 22%. this week there is 92,000 riders per day which is pre- pandemic daily ridership 410,000. >> it will be a long recovery. that recovery has started, and we will get there. >> reporter: masks are required where three employees have tested positive for covid.for co will spiers of the delta variant keep the riders off of the trains? >> no. that is my only source transportation. >> i have both of my vaccines and i keep social distancing. as long as we keep doing that, we will win answers submitted

potential merger with northeastern university. represents a porter stage a rally outside alameda county superior court where they filed a lawsuit demanding the college released financial data and information about the pending merger. as voting members of the board of trustees they have the right to review all pertinent information >> they have asked for a list of assets or conversations taken with other partners. they have been consistently denied and we wonder what they are hiding and whyand whyand why >> reporter: officials with the all women's college in oakland announced the school would close in 2023 due to declining enrollment and financial problems. in june they announced the northeast and merger admitting men in the process. the president released a statement saying in partin partt

lawsuit is unwise and unsubstantiated effort to undermine confidence in the leadership of the college. staffing at restaurants and retail stores has been a challenge. where did the service workers go after pandemic layoffs? we found many of them are hoping to break into a more secure future in check. taking such a risk as part of the changing autonomy. >> reporter: over 2.5 million jobs were lost as the pandemic took hold. it cause some to seek a more secure future than the service sector. this bartender took the leapthep >> it was scary at first but i had faith in myself and my ability to do the work and my determination. i took that leap. >> he was invited to join the apprenticeship program at bitwise industries. a program that works with employers and funders to address the need for more diversity in there

>> industry partners are willing to create new pathways for internships and apprenticeships so it is not just one way and one avenue for people to enter the tech workforce. >> reporter: some whose path in life has been facet by setbacks. >> growing up, i was full of anger and present whole and as i grew up i learned that that would not get me anywhere. >> reporter: bitwise provides mentoring, networking and skills development and the potential to break from minimum- wage jobs. the average pay is $41,000 per year for alumni. >> we want to help others really realize the incredible potential in the people here in the east bay. >> as one door closes, another can open. abc7 news

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a shocker for rodeo fans in idaho. a 2000 pound bowlwlwlwlwlwlwl the crowd and then refused to go back into the chute. it trotted around the ring and went straight into the first couple of rose. here it comes. no one was hurt. >> how could no one be heard with a 2000 pound bowl? >> everybody is okay. a little frazzled. >> today has been a day. we are going to talk about warmer weather moving inland over the next 24 hours. today some of our cities or 10

degrees warmer compared to yesterday. we've got those temperatures going up and going >> mostly sunny skies. some puffy cumulus crowds but all in all a nice evening at hand. good air quality today and. changes coming our way tomorrow. it will be fluctuating between good and moderate air-quality. we will likely see a little bit more hayes in our atmosphere but not a huge decline over the next 24 hours. inland right now, 94 in fairfield. 90 in antioch. that onshore breeze will keep the cooler and close to the coast. 60 degrees the warmest it's been all year. here is live doppler 7 along

with satellite. we are sandwiched in between two features. onshore breeze this evening but just a bart east high pressure is building. that is starting the warming trend will continue the warming trend tomorrow as well. overnight tonight we have been the clear skies and a marinea layer full bounce back and we will find fog spilling in from the coast. numbers in the mid and upper 50s. hour by hour, coast for dealing with many clear skies. after midnight, the marine layer comes back. we will see coastal drizzle but the fight will be more compressed compared to last night. it will not make its way inland like in the past nights. after the morning cloud cover and afternoon sunshine,

cupertino. downtown after morning clouds a high of 67 with afternoon sunshine. the north april hit santa rosa and 86 in nevada. 86 in napa. the east bay is light and breezy and 72 in oakland tomorrow. in the tomorrow is warmer than today. 96 in antioch. 90 in pleasanton. warming up tomorrow but then we get knocked right back down on wednesday. and then we are right back up on thursday and friday with warm a makes a comeback. by the weekend we are back to august averages. if you like cold weather, wednesday is your day. >> not too extreme. san francisco's iconic cable cars are back

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search abc7 bay area and download it as soon as you have a moment. san francisco's historic cable calls are back celebrated the return with three rides all month long? >> they are will coming back passengers as they test surface. cable cars have been suspended because of the pandemic. routes may run on the slow side. so they are hoping the free price tag will incentivize writers mack to be patient. >> normally they would be testing the equipment and making sure that things are running smoothly and making sure they're running safe and the public is safe. listen to your operators and be patient and tag.>> marequired t cable cars are expected to return to full service early next month.

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tonight, the new major milestone in the battle against covid-19. but coming one month late. the u.s. finally hitting president biden's goal to have 70% of adults receive at least one vaccine dose. this as the delta variant fuels a worsening summer surge. the u.s. on friday recording more than 100,000 new infections in a single day for the first time in nearly six months. the country's daily case average jumping 532% since mid-june. nearly 80% of counties reporting high or substantial community transmission. in the area around austin, texas, just ten icu hospital beds remaining for a population of millions. louisiana facing the nation's highest infection rate and rising cases among children.