>> building a better bay ay moving forward in finding solutions. this is abc 7 news. kristen: hello, i am kristen sze and you are watching "getting answers." we are asking experts questions every day at 3:00 to get answers in real time. we have amy schneider joining us fresh from her historic on that ended last night here on abc 7. her favorite moments, what is next and a surprise coming your way. and the pandemic has been hard on so many people but especially on families living in cramped, single room occupancy hotels in san francisco's chinatown. a reporter will share their plight and what the city is doing about it.

but first, the omicron descendant, the variant is here in the bay area and renewing worries that the surge is not the last of the pandemic. and major news in san francisco, mask rules are changing again starting february 1. next tuesday. the key points -- no mask required if everyone is vaccinated and boosted when eligible. number two, the if you are not vaccinated you can have a negative test, an an exemption to be able to enter those areas. pointing us now to talk about the latest covid-19 news is abc 7 special correspondent, dr. lapel. >> good to see you. i was trying to figure out what they mean about "exception."

kristen: did you figure it out? >> i did not. this is in line with what we saw in the bay area before the omicron surge and between what we are doing locally versus what the cdc recommends. when you say a negative test and exemptions, i want to know exactly what they mean by an exemption. an exemption from getting the vaccine? will there be someone at the venue's policing and making sure that you not only have a negative test, looking at the date of the test and the exemption? kristen: i do think they mean religious or medical exemption. if you obtain one and you have a negative test and you can show both, presumably you can enter the space. they have to work out the details a little more but i agree, in general the principal is going back to where we were

before omicron puréed do you think -- before omicron. do you think this is a good balance with public health and what the public will support? >> i think that is the threat we should be watching. there is a balance between what the data shows about how effective all three or two shots are and what the public is going to do and what the data allows us to do and the "offramp" is here. i would like to see them address following case rates as well as hospital capacity. that is another component we have to look at when we talk about changing from a pandemic to an endemic. kristen: ok. good point. also part of the san francisco announcement for indoor mega-event500 people,reoing to allow on as they have a negative test and wear a san francisco says

that is more in line with california's apartment of public health guidance. how do you feel about that? i'm thinking about the warriors game where right now you have to be vaccinated. >> i don't know where that specific change came from. i have been to a warriors game where everyone had to be vaccinated. i think there is a shade of gray. allowing someone to be unvaccinated with a negative test. we have a very highly vaccinated population here in the bay area so i'm am curious where that stems from. it does cause a little concerned but if they follow the guidelines and they show proof of an exemption and a negative test in a certain timeframe, you can still feel safe if you have all three shots. kristen: i have never seen doctors this split over masks right now. it seems like half are saying it is time to make them optional.

maybe a week or two right now il to soon. where do you stand? >> i don't think it is the time to completely lift tm make th optional. io talk about what the space looks like. i am looking at data and populations and it is hard to make a blanket recommendation when you don't know the vaccine status or the risk status of everyone around deal. when end outcome you have to show proof of vaccination or a negative test. people out there should be calling their own well fitted mask and be safe. kristen: i know you have prepared a round of two truths and a lie. let's go ahead and do that now. >> lets rock and roll. no segment is complete without one of these. tell us which one is not true of these. a, va2 is nicknamed stealth

omicron because of the high amount of false negatives on pcr tests? or pfizer-moderna have trials of an omicron booster? or is it c, studies suggest getting vaccinated before -- which one is not true? kristen: let's leave this up here. i know b is true. i read that. c i think is true as well well l so i'm going with a being the lie because i think it is think it is not a high amount of false negatives on the pcr tests that i think it is about pinpointing its origin or the exact variant. i'm going with a a and daniel

and erika and randy agree with me so that is my family and serve. >> i'm going to guess that you did really well on the sats because you smoked through my t-rex. a is a lie. people should rest assured that your antigen test and pcr tests will still pick up this stealth variant. the omicron variant, va1, there is a mutation in in protein. in order to contract is variant, scientists go in and do genomic surveillance. it will be harder right now to track but that is ok because there is no sign saying the sub variant is more virulence or dangerous or has the ability to evade our antibodies. b is true. and c is also true and you k

that off the bat. kristen: can you talk a little more -- i will take your accolades, thank you very much. viewers.it goes to the facebook thank yod variant specific boosters and perhaps which segment of our population may need them. >> i don't see any data right now suggesting we need a variant specific booster. when some people see these headlines that come out from companies about a trial they misread this and think, this means that the current regimen does not work. that is not true at all. the more studies coming out including one just put out by the cdc with immuno compromised people show that the boosters are incredibly effective. up to 99% positive in keeping people out of hospitals. these studies are done out of an

abundance of caution. they even made a delta delta vaccine, pfizer did and we never needed it. fingers crossed that this will never see the light of day but in the small chance that we need at, we have the data. kristen: are we seeing a rapid decline in cases in california? i know we already were on the east coast. >> we are seeing a decline. i feel hesitant to use the word "rapid." there are still so many deaths per day and such a maxed icu in the bay area but we are seeing a decline. we are seeing a decline alongside a high vaccination status. people in the bay area can feel optimistic about where we are headed. but if we were going to have an outbreak of a more transmissible sub variant, it will find high risk and unvaccinated individuals faster which is more

reason for those that have not gotten all of their shots to go out and do that. kristen: i think only half the eligible people have been boosted. i think we have a more important guest, a vip coming up. >> you do and i will bow out for that. kristen: dr. patel, thank you so much and we will see you next time. coming up, what we were alluding to, what is one of the hottest winning streaks in jeopardy history. oakland owned amy schneider had the

kristen: oakland resident and jeopardy great amy schneider has finally ended her historic run.

her winning streak ended up 40 at the hands of a chicago librarian. >> what is bangladesh? >> that is correct. you will add $12,000. you have a narrow $2000 lead over our champion, amy schneider. did she come up with bangladesh? you looked at that for a long time. no response. kristen: oh no. but you know what? she has cemented her place in jeopardy history. 1.38 million dollars and the most successful woman to have ever played the game. here with us today is the instant legend herself, amy schneider. hello, amy. i am so happy you are here. if you had said no, i would surely have understood because you must be exhausted. amy: there is a lot going on right now but i have been a

performer and it is all fun. kristen: i am glad you are having fun and it showed. every night you were having fun. congratulations on your inspirational and incredible run. tell us what the last 24 hours have been like for you. amy: it has been a lot. we had made plans to go to a friends house and watch the game and have a celebration/mourning party for the end of the run so that was really nice but ever since yesterday, my phone has been blowing up nonstop. whether it is ultra fans, family members or everyone wanting to reach out and congratulate me. it is been a wild 24 hours but it has been good. kristen: for sure, you had the entire jeopardy fan base and bay area and oakland as well -- we

have a little surprise for you from the mayor who was on our midday live show just a few hours ago. check out her message for you. >> you let her know that my staff has already tried to reach out to her because we want to declare it amy schneider day in the city of oakland. amy, i am one of yournef your os and you make our city so proud. kristen: did you hear that? amy schneider day? did you know about this? amy: i did not know and i am sorry that i missed that somehow but i will try to find where that is and say yes and i eagerly accept. kristen: i don't know if there will be a parade or an event but we are there. oakland is super proud of you but you have made it clear that you are proud of oakland also. amy: absolutely. i am not a native.

my girlfriend is an oakland native and likes to hold that over me a little bit that i have been here since 2009 and i told people that my expectation is that this is where i will live the rest of my life. i fell in love as soon as i moved here with the city, with california in general and i just cannot imagine wanting to live anywhere else. kristen: and we would not want you to live anywhere else. your last episode was taped in early november. that was a long time to keep a secret. are you a little relieved that you can go about now and do things? amy: absolutely. the whole time having to keep and i are in myself and making sure that i was not hinting at anything -- that was a little burden. i am someone that tries to be a very transparent person so holding this secret inside was a little bit of a challenge. i am glad that part of it is over. kristen: you could not tell

anybody. looking back and it was an amazing run but what do you cherish most when you look at the whole experience? amy: i think definitely what has meant the most to me in terms of the whole thing is all of the messages and even in person things from other trans people. they have seen beyond their and been excited, stoked and inspired -- and they have have me on there and been excited, stoked, and inspired. i -- there are still not a lot of us on tv. hearing from other people, even just today i got my booster shot and there was atriums person at the vaccine clinic and i got to talk with them. it was nice to speak to them briefly.

kristen: you cannot count the eyes and hearts that you opened. i also want to ask you about an essay you wrote where you talk about the -- being intelligent and pursuing knowledge and attributing your development to privileges you have had in your life. what did you mean? amy: first of all, being raised in a household that valued education. just last night i was with friends and one said, my mom was the teacher also but she did not -- it seems like she did not encourage that in me the same way that yours did. that is something that is so valuable. and your caregivers is is early years make a difference for you. i am obviously white which makes things easier for me. and for most of my life until

about six years ago i was presenting as male so there was never -- no one was ever surprised to see me in any situation. no one ever thought it was weird to see me there or notable in any way. and so that experience made myay life easier during those 30 some years. i don't want to pretend that it did not. kristen: do you go back to your day job now as an engineering manager or do other things or do you wait now that you are one of the most incredible jeopardy players ever? amy: i am certainly going back to my job for now. i am hoping my employers are n watching all of these interviews with people telling me to leave my day job. i'm definitely like, this is an opportunity.

i will be working on a book and trying to make that happen. and there are all kinds of people reaching out to me right now and wanting to to to to various offers and suggestions. kristen: you have the glad media awards in april. our viewer randy want to know -- wants to know if you will be in the tournament of champions in the fall. amy: yes. kristen: who are you most eager to go head to head against? amy: matt already thought i might have to. i was already doing some preparation for that. he is someone i am looking out for at the tournament of champions. and andrew he'd who i beat in my first game because he definitely

had the edge on me in final jeopardy. i could have lost. i am sure he is eger -- eager to take another shot at me and he was a tough competitor that i enjoyed playing against. kristen: we would enjoy to see you compete again and in the meantime, enjoy all that is coming your way. amy schneider day, we are there with our camera and everything. thank you and congrats again. amy:

oakland's own amy schneider who you i've seen on tv for weeks and weeks as she dominated the game of jeopardy. that historic and incredible run coming to an end last night. how many people have said, repeat after me -- b it is alri. to he name of bangladesh

ain, that is for s isten: i am teasing you but we each have areas where we are a little weaker. did you ever have those pockets where you thought, i'm going to stay away from that category? amy: i definitely did. the ironic and frustrating thing is that geography and nations of the world i felt were definitely in my wheelhouse. but the things that i definitely was a bit more leery of where things like popular music, i listened to the music that was popular when i went to high school and that was about it. jan that, i can struggle. kristen: u.n. me both. i know you spoke to my midday co. anchors and they all have so much musical knowledge. i always feel like i can't have that conversation. that makes me feel better. and kids, did you hear that?

it is ok to have areas that you don't feel strong and. i know you have a six month waiting period before you can do another game show but are you eager to do another game show? amy: that was one of fun experiences of my life so i definitely would be thrilled to try another game show out. i feel like i started at the top -- i have loved jeopardy my whole life. i think it is the best one but i would be interested in doing more. kristen: can i just tell you what i think would be great for you? the chase. you have seen that show. amy: i have seen that. kristen: i think you would be a fantastic chaser and one that would make me feel welcome rather than utterly intimidated. amy: you know, thanks, they historically have worked with jeopardy champions before so i am half expecting to have them

reach out and i will certainly take that call, for sure. kristen: look, now that you are going back to a normal life though it is not an old normal, how has it changed you? amy: yeah, i think - - - - the answer to that question i won't know yet for a little bit but one thing i can definitely say is that -- life but particularly after transitioning, i had a lot of anxiety about my appearance, my presentation, how i would come across on television and so, this was absolutely getting thrown in the deep end with that. but it has been great. everyone has been so positive. everyone has been so accepting of me and been -- and

responded so favorably to me that i can now look at myself on tv and think, she is pretty and charming and see what other people are seeing. that is something i struggled with most of my life. kristen: i am so happy for you. amy schneider, and we are also so proud of you. thank you for being here and amy schneider, we better have the front row seat with the best camera position. amy:

joining us on this interactive show, getting answers today. we spoke with dr. lowe patel and the great amy schneider. we did not have the san francisco standard on today but we will bring you that story

about the challenges of pandemic living in a chinatown sro. you can watch us at 3:00 every day on air and livestream. world news tonight, breaking news as we come on the air. three police officers shot in houston. the chaos erupting late today. the images coming in now. surveillance showing the shootout unfolding in the middle of the street. officers seen jumping from their vehicles, the suspect on the run. news on the manhunt. and the conditions of the wounded officers. what we're now learning. pierre thomas with late reporting. president biden and justice stephen breyer. making it official, justice breyer will retire abin wt he s so hil nominate t urer and wt brerai country and his optimism about