el cerrito and oakland. >> a caravan of people celebrated martin luther king jr. in oakland. the theme, one struggle, one fight, one people. >> we are fighting for all lives lost, whether it was someone in the community or someone who works in law enforcement. >> the executive director of the anti-police terror project says -- >> it is a call to do what he said and declare a war on poverty. >> she says with oakland in the middle of a violent crime pandemic along with the coronavirus pandemic and an economic pandemic, it was important to come together in the safest way possible. volunteers plant to henan -- handout food, gift cards and ppe pandemic couldn't stop people from celebrating. >> this is our 33rd year. this is a car parade. we are not getting out of our cars. we are still celebrating and it.

genernsf ters tradition began her grdparents. ty ught the citof crito to celebrate and make it a holiday, so for me, for my grandparents being part of that and everything going on in the world now and before, it is important to acknowledge the progress we have made and the progress we need to make as black people and as americans. >> this 86-year-old and her family survived internment camps . >> we fought for freedom. we fought for equality, all of the things that he said to us have been part of my mission in life. >> el cerrito's police chief. >> it is great to keep dr. king's dream alive, to talk about faith and family and community and how we can bring each other together especially

during hard times. >> two events keeping the dream alive. >> the story can never die. >> melanie woodrow, abc 7 news. kristen: people from more than 100 grassroots organizations marched with martin luther king the third, demanding congress passed voting rights legislation stalled in the senate. the group marched in the frederick douglass memorial s saying if they can pass an infrastructure bill, it is time to do the same for voting rights. julian: many are volunteering around the bay area as part of the martin luther king jr. day of service. food banks are especially in need of help, many facing staffing shortages because of the omicron variant. tim johns was at the second harvest in san jose, where volunteers were helping out. >> with the latest surge in the pandemic, food banks are experiencing the worst staffing shortages they have faced in years. >> volunteers make up about a

quarter of our workforce. we can't do this work without them. >> diane works for second harvest may food bank based in san jose. she said the situation has gotten so desperate in recent weeks that second harvest is considering hiring temporary labor, something that could cost an extra $50,000 per week. >> sometimes we are spending more money to buy pre-docs -- boxed produce which cost more. >> the call for help was answered monday thanks to a group of volunteers from the regional medical center of san jose, who came in for a day of service in honor of martin luther king jr. day. >> this gives us the opportunity to take a day on, to serve the community. >> ken is the ceo of the medical center. he says spending a day helping is the best way to put dr. king's message into action. >> this work builds you up and we want to be an inspiration to others sitting at home.

>> second harvest says covid has been the main reason behind staffing shortages. it is exacerbated from a huge increasing demand for assistance. >> there is an 80% increase >> despite challenges, she says they will always be here. >> unfortunately, the need is continuing and it is sustained on that is why we are here no matter what. >> tim johns, abc 7 news. kristen: they hills church, in partnership with rise against hunger, honor dr. king's legacy by helping those who don't have enough to eat. 60 people spent the day packaging 10,000 meals for people around the world. the bay hills pastor says it is important to spend this day in service of others. today's national day of service prompted members of a group called our city forest to plant trees in a park in san jose. about 100 people took part in the effort.

organizers say dr. king would have been happy with the effort shown by the volunteers. julian: kaiser permanente therapists protested to bring attention to what they call systemic racism in hospitals. union members claim kaiser rogue its promise to make mlk day paid holiday. it is delayed until 2023. kaiser says it is in negotiations with the union that represents the therapists. kaiser says it is, quote, unfortunate the union is using this as a tactic to gain leverage in bargaining. kristen: a family says they are in shock trying to comprehend the loss of a loved one in a senseless act of violence. a 40-year-old woman was shoved onto the tracks in front of an oncoming train at the times square station in new york city saturday. she was born in berkeley and grew up in fremont. she graduated from american high and ucla. she moved to new york to attend

business school. police arrested a homeless man in connection with the fatal shot of. -- the fatal shove. he is expected to be arraigned on murder charges. julian: a san bernardino police officer was treated for a minor injury after an incident. the officer injured his arm trying to arrest a man suspected of assaulting a clerk in a target store. the suspect was not hurt. kristen: in the east bay, a fire broke out at what appears to be in oakland. sky seven captured the smoke as it streamed up along both sides of 880, not far from 90 8th avenue. at least two cars were on fire. no word on injuries or what caused the fire. julian: new images of the massive volcanic eruption in the south pacific that triggered tsunami alerts in the bay area and beyond. there is a call for disaster relief after a second eruption.

>> new video of waves powerful south pacific volcano reaching the west coast. the high waters, crashing into the shores of pacifica, california, after a massive volcano erupted saturday near tonga, a remote island east of australia in the south pacific. a second eruption sunday triggered see nami -- tsunami warnings. the island nation says there is an urgent need for food and water. >> none of us have heard from anybody. although we haven't heard from them for almost 24 hours. >> there is concern the undersea communications cable to tonga may have been cut off, making it hard to communicate with anyone on the island. australia and new zealand are launching surveillance flights to assess the damage. the pilots are battling a thick cloud of ash.

>> advisory in effect. >> while tsunami advisories have receded, authorities had to rescue beachgoers in northern and southern california. many residents had to scramble. >> the water came in and took out the dock. the edge of the >> in south america two people were killed in high waves in peru. kristen: testing testing testins not enough tests, low results. the id digs into a group popping up around the bay area. school safety. more sick-outs planned. the right to vote, the effort to keep voting rights intact. spencer: not long ago we talked about all the rain in the bay area. that seems like a thing of the past. i will

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kristen: today's coronavirus headlines, the biden administration is preparing for wednesday's rollout of free at home covid tests. households will be allowed to order up to four. julian: omicron continues to spread. the cdc says the u.s. is averaging more than 780,000 new cases per day. kristen: case rates among

teenagers in san francisco are soaring. more than 1500 residents are testing positive each day, and 12-17-year-olds have the highest number of infections. covid cases are on the rise for teens and younger children across the country. the cdc recommends schools cancel football, wrestling, and band, indoor activities to curb omicron. but should they? i put that to a doctor, a professor of pediatrics, on our 3:00 p.m. show. her take is that a lot of the concern is focused on the activities surrounding sports. >> people hanging out and watching film in indoor spaces, trying to do learning, it is people going out to pizza afterwards, taking off masks. it is those activities that seem to be driving the transmission. that is why the recommendation is to do less of those activities. kristen: she went on to say there is a belief that transmission could be higher with indoor sports compared to

those that are outdoors. the doctor says based on data from south africa about the quick rise and fall of omicron, the hope is scaling back activities will be a short pause rather than an indefinite hold. julian: we have heard from many of you who have waited more than a week to get covid test results. the i team is looking into it, specifically the covid testing company virus geeks, which has more than a dozen pop-up sites across the area. stephanie joins us from the newsroom with the latest on this investigation. >> we all know there is high demand for covid testing right now. the impact is hitting some facilities more than others. we are looking into that and trying to get answers for viewers who are stuck waiting for results or than a week later. >> they didn't answer. >> desperate to get tested, marilyn is tired of waiting. she scheduled a pcr test at the san mateo event center with virus geeks, a company with more

than a dozen test sites. >> it seemed pretty organized. you schedule your appointment, they send you a qr code. >> according to the website, results are promised within 1-2 days. she was promised results within three days. >> which i thought was reasonable. >> three days came and went and it has been a week. same story for jenny. >> this is not ok for them to be contracted by the department of public health. >> the i team reached out to virus geeks for comment and received an automated customer service email stating they tripled pacitti to catch up on the current backlog, but added, processing times may take up to 5-7 days. >> it defeats the purpose and aggravates me. >> according to state data, 3% of labs facilitating covid testing across california in early january reported results five or more days later. >> any company producing anything that has more than 24 hour turnaround time, we are

wasting our money. >> i don't understand. >> we brought the issue to authorities in san mateo county, where a majority of the company's test sites are located. >> it has to do with the availability of reagents. we are urging contractors and our staff, making sure if they are testing people, that we get results back to them in a fairly good amount of time. >> in an automated email, the company rose, we hope to get back to the standard 1-2 business days in the near future. we will update you through the next few days. a week later, many, like lauren, got nothing. >> they said they would call back. they never called back. >> a few minutes ago we heard back from san mateo county, who confirmed they are working with the company to improve response times. same story in san francisco. in the meantime, if you are waiting for your results, there are plenty of other sites that are open, some turning around

pcr results in under 10 hours. we have the list posted on our website. julian: impressive. we know it is not easy finding a rapid test in stores but you have websites that make the search easier. >> sites that actually do the work for you. one is called zoo alert and it tracks the inventory of covid tests online and in stores, allowing you to order and ship to your home. we have those examples on our website. just click on the i team. julian: thanks, stephanie. kristen: as cases spike, many businesses arcade -- taking a break. a reporter spoke with business owners who said they don't know how much longer they can hold on while the pandemic continues. >> this is not how many businesses across san francisco were planning to start 2022. they are taking what some are calling and omicron break. >> for a variety of reasons. staffing has been hard. we are going through a labor

shortage and folks are getting the virus. >> one of those business owners who -- opened this ice cream store in the mission district aid of the. -- a decade ago. he decided to close. it has been two weeks. >> now, looking at our options, what are we going to do? >> over 1500 san franciscans are testing positive for covid-19 every day, according to the latest data. juan hopes to open soon. >> we put a deadline to the end of the month, but we may extend that, depending on what we hear. >> according to the merchants association, there are 10-15 businesses taking a break now because of how transmissible the variant is. >> places like flour and water, we closed manny's for a week and a half. >> they are avoiding a temporary

closure by incentivizing workers to get boosted. >> being able to give an employee $50 or $100 versus them out for 6, 8, 10 days, as well as having to shut down. >> many are waiting for the surge to slow down. there is still something you can do. >> support small businesses, go in there if they are open, by food. julian: tickets for the winter olympic and paralympic games in beijing will not be sold to the general public. instead, they will be passed down by organizers for the winter olympics, set to begin february 4. the paralympic winter games start march 4. kristen: we want to check out your weather today, not very winter like around here. julian: lots of sunshine, dry and relatively mild. spencer: i say dry with caution,

because there have been showers close to the bay area. you can see a low pressure system and just off the coast of southern california, picking up shower activity and light rainfall from san luis obispo down to long beach. in the bay area, we remained dry except for a sprinkle or two around the mount hamilton area towards gilroy and hollister. looking ahead at our model, we will remain dry or the next seven days, so let's take a look. dry right now, a nice view looking over san francisco, third -- 60 degrees. 61. san jose 62, 57 at half moon bay. blue sky over the golden gate with a few high clouds. 59 in novato and santa rosa. 64 in fairfield, the mildest reading so far. 60 in concorde. a lovely view, the pre-sunset sky, these are the forecast

futures. partly cloudy, mostly clear into the late-night hours. chilly inland, especially in the north bay. mostly sunny and dry next few days, into next week. springlike warmth develops at the end of this week. overnight, mainly clear skies but there will be passing high clouds through the overnight hours and into the early morning. it will be chilly with the absence of clouds. we will see bright skies tomorrow even with the passage of high clouds. overnight lows will remain in the upper 30's to low 40's in the north bay. inland east bay, upper 30's to low 40's. southbay low to mid 40's and mid-40's elsewhere. highs tomorrow will be around 50, 60 in half moon bay, san francisco 57, 58 in oakland. other locations will warm up to about 60. low 60's in the south bay, 60 and inland east bay and the north bay, 59. 61 in santa rosa and 59 at napa.

let's take a look at our accuweather 7 day forecast. it will be a little milder on wednesday than tomorrow, so highs in the low 60's near the bay and inland with right sunny skies. towards the end of the week, springlike warmth developing, highs inland and around the bay friday and saturday in the mid 60's, perhaps a little higher. low to mid 60's on the coast, then temperatures moderate going into early next week but notice, the dry pattern continues through the next seven days and according to the extended outlook we will be dry and the bay area for about the next 10 or 12 days. kristen: the demand for safety in schools. another sick-out plan for this week. why the latest

kristen: a few oakland schools will participate in a students sick-out expected to last through the week. julian: the idea is to bring attention to safety demands. >> like many schools in acorn woodland elementary has a number of staff and students absent. this fifth grade teacher says one in four students in her classroom is out on a covid related illness. >> either they themselves have it or a family member does. >> the campus will be open tomorrow, but most families there voted to keep their children home for the entire week.

teachers will only be out tomorrow to show their support, and will participate in a rally outside of the school. >> the fears are very real around what they are bringing to the classroom but also, what they could be taking home. they have younger siblings that can't be vaccinated, older family members. >> it is important to participate in the lockout because it is trying to help schools become safer for the kids who attend. >> many schools received the kn95 masks late thursday, but because school has been out since then, not all of the masks have been distributed to each student. the school district maintains classrooms are still very safe, despite the spread of the omicron variant. >> we hope that in the eyes of many folks that have been critical of the situation, we are improving. >> sasha teaches at bridges academy in oakland, another school joining the student walkout.

she says the community wants more covid testing through the district. >> there are sites that are not getting that kind of testing, and we believe that equity means that all schools are getting what they deserve. >> tomorrow, teachers at those schools will join a car caravan like the one organized last week, to raise awareness. leon melendez, abc 7 news. kristen: tomorrow governor newsom will announce the colleges and universities chosen for his caught -- californians for all college courts. in exchange for volunteer service to help the state's response to emergencies and disasters like covid, the state is hoping to subsidize tuition. students will get up to $10,000 for 450 hours of service. the governor budgeted $146 million for the program. julian: the fight for voting rights. decades after the assassination of dr. martin luther king jr., voting rights are still an issue.

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>> putting pressure on our united states senate to bypass the filibuster. >> as snowfalls on the martin luther king jr. memorial in washington, d.c. on what would be the civil rights icon's 93rd earth day, minutes away in the halls of congress, legislation to protect voting rights is stalled. >> passed the freedom to vote act. pass it now. >> president biden made the rounds making impassioned speeches to push congress to adopt the john lewis voting rights advancement act and the freedom to vote act, even if it means altering -- altering or limiting the filibuster. this is in response to restrictive measures passed by 19 mainly republican states to limit access to early and mail-in voting, and imposes stricter voter id laws. >> i will not support separate actions that worsen the underlying disease of division. >> kyrsten sinema and go mansion