announcer: building a better bay area -- moving forward, finding solutions. this is abc 7 news. kristen: you are watching getting answers live on abc seven. every day, we talk with experts about issues important to the bay area and get answers for you in real time. today, we welcome the san francisco mayor to talk about issues important to the city, from the dream fours convention to public safety and a lot more. we will talk about it all. even as the salesforce dream force convention kicks off, is the largest employer in the financial district every bit as committed to being in the city? our media partner looked at the data and found some signs of possible retreat, but first, president biden making waves. he was at the detroit auto show a few days ago where he did an

interview saying "the pandemic is over her coat that declaration has caused celebration in some circles but much concern in others circles. among them doctors and public health experts. one of them is stanford infectious disease expert who joins us today. >> thanks for having me. kristen: president biden was asked if the pandemic is over. he said the pandemic is over, we solve a problem with covid, but the pandemic is over. you take issue with that. tell us why. guest: as we learned over the past two years, the way we have communicated about this is important in the framing is important. when statements like this are made by political leaders that the pandemic is over, it can send the wrong message. right now, we have an average of about 400 people dying daily. some have pushed back, saying

can some of those deaths be people who just had covid but it wasn't from covid? even if you cut the number in half, you are still talking about a few thousand per week. it is the third leading cause of death in the united states. a recent study showed millions of people in europe over the last few years have developed long covid, which is a debilitating condition we are still learning about. the booster rate is still very, very low, in the 30% range. even among people above 65, that booster range goes from 40% to 60% if you look at different states. there's so much left to do, we need congress to push funding forward for antivirals and vaccines, for testing. with all this work remaining in summary people still dying, it does not make any sense to say the pandemic is over. that will send a message that's not accurate if you look at the data. kristen: but it shouldn't be a matter of opinion what those

numbers need to be for a pandemic to be declared over. there should be some set metric, some set protocol for the way you look at the data to have a concrete answer. a percentage of the population or this number over this amount of time or this reduction -- is there nothing set? is that part of the problem? guest: that is part of the problem. a lot of this is beyond data and statistics. a lot of people have been analyzing this is more cultural, social and clinical. some people say it's over when people decide it's over or when things return to "normal." you have officials like anthony fauci saying if you have hundreds of deaths a day and thousands per week and it still one of the leading causes of death and there are many things we can still do to reduce transmission, then it is calling into question the critical push versus the scientific community. even within the scientific

community, there have been disagreements. some infectious disease experts have said in our hospital, we are not seeing as many patients hospitalized for covid pneumonia, so for them it's over. but it is tough because if you are looking at it just from what is going on locally, you may be getting a biased view of the pandemic for the whole country. when the president makes a statement like that for the whole country, then look at the data for the whole country. look at what still needs to be done and what we are heading into. we've seen as we head into the colder months that we have much higher caseloads. we know there are other variants starting to take over, even though it is dominantly ba.5. as somebody researching and studying covid, i'm setting up a trial looking at air filtration to reduce transmission and homes. i don't think the pandemic is over. they're still so much work that needs to be done. kristen: i want to touch on this because you say within the scientific community, there are

differences. some would point to the fact it is much better, as in a lot fewer deaths. maybe that the most vulnerable people are the ones who constitute the serious cases, that means it is getting better. you disagree with saying we are successful because only the most vulnerable are dying? guest: again, what you pointed out is true. we are better off now than we were in 2020. antivirals work, the death rate is lower. my background is in global health. for many of us that work in public health in global health, when you have epidemics, if you don't focus on equity, the most vulnerable people are going to end up dying and continuing today. when you have new infections that come into play, they will start from front-line workers who are not well protected and spread more broadly. absolutely, if you don't focus on equity in your epidemic response, you cannot consider that a success.

if you are going to focus on the average person or say it's better than two years ago, sure, it's better than two years ago, but does that mean that pandemic is over? there are differences of opinion here and for me, it will be over when we achieve a higher level of equity and when we put infiltration mechanisms to reduce transmission in schools and workplaces, when we close that booster gap and ensure there's more equity and access to antivirals and when we better understand long covid. there are a lot of things we still need to do, so i personally don't feel it's over. if others disagree, they may point to statistics saying it's better than 2020. a lot of people are going to be analyzing this data. kristen: i'm wondering if he just meant the acute phase of the pandemic is over. but he put it out there that pandemic -- you are saying it's not over but if he were to say it isn't, what would that mean to you policy wise?

are you suggesting people should still be wearing masks? should people not hold conventions like the dream force one that's happening? what difference does it make? guest: it makes a big difference. what he could say is, instead of saying the pandemic is over or it's not over, maybe he should use that platform he has to focus on what needs to get done. we have very low booster rates, everyone needs to go get boosted. we will be expecting potentially more variants and surges this winter, that many americans are still dying, that we are still trying to understand long covid. these are serious matters, not just minor things going on. to make a broad statement like that, many people view it as a political move than a scientific one. we need to be careful in terms of how we are communicating to the public. saying it's over is not going to help close the gap on boosters. we need people to get bivalent boosters, particularly those

above 65. in some states, that's as low as in the 40%. people in the position of president should be cognizant of what it means to the general public when you make statements like that. kristen: what is your advice to the public right now? i know you have been pushing people to get the bivalent booster. looking at what's ahead this fall and winter, how can we best protect ourselves? guest: the best way to protect yourself if you have not gotten your i valent and it has been more than three months since your last booster or infection, go out and do that. in crowded public transit settings where there will be a lot of people moving around and people are immunocompromised, those settings, it does make sense to her high quality masks. there are places people voluntarily go where i guess societally, that's what we have decided. and i agree, at some point -- i would think what does it mean?

who's going to be around me? are there going to be people who are immuno compromised in pharmacies or grocery stores are places certain people just have to go and what does it mean for those people when there's so much infection going around and what can i do to play my individual part to mark if you go into a big, crowded bar where nobody is wearing a mask, i don't think many people will be going -- many immunocompromised people will be going there right now. protect people around us to the best of our abilities and if we all do that utter, we will be in a better place. kristen: thank you so much for your time today. coming up next, san francisco mayor london breed is going to join us. we will ask about the return of dream force and what the city is doing to address ongoing concerns about publi

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kristen: welcome back. san francisco is welcoming dream force, it's biggest conventions and scope it started. at the same time, there are ongoing issues the city continues to grapple with -- public safety and crime remain hot topics, getting control of massive illegal vending, especially the mission district is another pressing issue. in just one minute, san francisco mayor london breed will be joining us. we will talk about her new five point economic recovery plan she just unveiled a few days ago. here are the five points -- one, filling vacancies and diversifying industries. there are a lot of real estate office buildings that are vacant. number two, enhancing downtown vibrancy. number three, maintaining a clean and safe city -- public safety has been an issue for the city. and number four, increasing and

improving access to downtown. the central subway is getting very close to open, the long-awaited one. that's going to be a piece of improving access. and number five, growing our labor force, which has been a challenge throughout the pandemic and as people leave, that the bigger issue. we are going to dive into each of these with the mayor. we're going to check in to see if the mayor has joined us. she's busy. she is going to join us soon, but since we probably can't keep you on for a long time, we're going to see if our next guest is available with the san francisco standard. that's a piece of their upbringing, that looks at dream force today and that convention is happening. that is the big salesforce event, being tens of thousands of people into the city. tell me if san francisco standard is ready to roll.

it's just you and me right now. i do want to let you know with regard to san francisco, there are few issues we are looking at today. there's going to be about by the san francisco board of supervisors talking about a plan to increase police camera surveillance by tapping into the 1000 is this district private cameras where they get permission and police would be able to use that. some people have concerns about civil rights and accountability, police accountability, and don't want this expansion of camera use and big brother state is what they call it. we will talk to the mayor about that as well but that is something the board of supervisors will be voting on. in the meantime, dream force convention is bringing 50,000 visitors back, but what about the company's regular workforce? is the ceos long-term commitment to the city unwavering? our media partner at the san francisco standard look into the numbers and joining us live now is the standards data editor.

thank you for coming on the show today. 50,000 is pretty good but it's nowhere near the pre-pandemic days for dream force, right? guest: that is correct. according to staff, and pre-pandemic days, there would sometimes be over 200,000 folks coming in person. kristen: but it is a good start and no doubt welcome. but a convention is still a one-week event. what about the day today? salesforce is one of the biggest employees in the city. is that happening? what is their back to work plan? guest: salesforce is the city's largest private employer and their ceo -- you cannot overstate how important a role he has played in the business community. in terms of their workers coming back to downtown, they have not

made any office mandates. they said in march they were committed to doing so but it seems like they have migrated a way from that. there employees are still not required to come back. he said we are not going to have any in office mandates and they have shed a ton of san francisco office real estate while also getting other real estate. they bought -- they leased a corporate retreat center in santa cruz for employees to stay overnight and do stuff like yoga and bonding, that sort of thing. kristen: looking at where they are picking up office space or real estate, if i were a city leader, i might little concern. one other place to learn that you look for clues is in his tweets. i know you look at that. can you explain what you are gleaning from this? guest: he's very famous and very voluble on her. he says what he thinks. there's no pr person playing the

strings for his twitter account. you can tell what's on his mind based on how often he mentions certain things on twitter. in 2015, 16, 17, 18 and 19, he mentions san francisco a lot. especially in 2018 because he was promoting prop c which was a homelessness tax that he essentially got past. you can see his interest in san francisco has waned a little bit and has been replaced by other interests. he loves hawaii and has spent a lot of time there during covid. he's also really interested in climate, interested in saving the ocean and he super interested in trees. if you look at his twitter, you can see, maybe make the conclusion he's less interested in san francisco and more interested in climate change and hawaii. kristen: perhaps time spent in hawaii is not unique among ceos in tech. i'm sure zuckerberg has spent a

lot of time there and is very committed to growing facebook here. bottom line, what's the take away? guest: i think he has said this himself in interviews -- i'm moving on to another quadrant in my life. i'm thinking about bigger problems, i'm thinking about climate change a lot. you talk to some folks who knew him and what they are saying is perhaps he has not so much abandoned sf, but he's thinking about bigger, broader issues then focusing specifically on san francisco. he maybe he feels like his work in san francisco is done. he has salesforce's name on the tall skyscraper in the city and has done so much philanthropy. at the same time, in sf, we are facing one of the biggest crises we've ever faced, which is office workers are not returning

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kristen: we are happy to be joined by san francisco mayor, london breed, who welcomed the dream force convention back to town. i know you were there earlier today. i was at? mayor breed: i'm still in the area and it is wonderful. just so many people out here enjoying the great weather of san francisco, so this city is shining bright today. i'm really excited about dream force and what it's going to do for our economy. kristen: roll out the red carpet

for the 50,000 or so attendees. i know it is something of concern to get people back permanently, not but office wor. we just had our partner on at the san francisco standards and how even salesforce is only 40% of people returning back to the office. what are you doing to work with mark benioff to up the commitment level of workers being back? mayor breed: it's not just salesforce. i've been visiting a lot of companies, talking to the ceos and their employees, trying to understand what their plans are and how they are going to get their workers excited about being back. but let's be honest -- we are going to be dealing with some level of work from home. life as we know it after the pandemic has changed. people want that flexible schedule and the same is happening with workers in the city and county of san francisco. it's going to continue to be an uphill battle but from my perspective, there's nothing like being in person.

the interaction, the creativity, what comes out of the work production of being in the same room and working with one another, there's nothing like it. my hope is we can convince businesses and others to think about more incentives to get people back into the office and back downtown. kristen: i just want to throw up your five point plan you just unveiled, your economic recovery plan. i can see you are addressing the issues like diversifying come out to be more vibrant and attract people. we probably don't have time in the three minutes we have remaining but give us a couple of concrete ideas, highlights to help us understand how you might approach these goals. mayor breed: part of it is trying to make sure people feel safe when they come down, activating the space and making it more vibrant, having music, arts and entertainment. we started with a number of programs. our ambassadors are on the

streets. the big issues to make showing people come to the city, whether they are visiting or coming to work, that they feel safe. we are unrolling some of those initiatives and they have been effective but we've got a lot more work to do. every single city in the country is struggling with the same issue and we have to get innovative because things are not going to be what they used to be before the pandemic. kristen: one thing on the table in front of the board of supervisors is to vote on the plan to increase police surveillance capability by tapping into some business district cameras. i think there are some 1000 in the city. some people have concerned from both the accountability and civil-rights standpoints. what do you think? mayor breed: it is my legislation. it's part of my plan to increase public safety. i got my budget through the board of supervisors to increase our police force. we are dealing with illegal vending and the pending legislation was passed and it has proven very effective.

a big part of surveillance. we remember with a lot of the looting downtown we have sadly, people have been attacked violently on our street and we want to be able to have a tool if we are aware of something and can use this tool as effective as we know we can. but there are a lot of safeguards, restrictions, reporting and a number of things that go into place that make this a good policy for the city. that's why i have such broad support. we've got to make the city safe, so there are trade-offs in doing so. kristen: the new d.a. you appointed said she would consider charging 16 and 17-year-olds as a else in the most serious crimes. there was a protest today about this potential policy. would you support it and what would you say about it? mayor breed: i want to be clear -- in juvenile call -- in juvenile hall, we used to have more kids and we could hold and a lot of those kids were in

juvenile hall for things that were not related to violence. right now, the population is less then about 15 and sadly, the majority of those kids are in juvenile hall because they are awaiting trial for murder. so we have to think about -- i don't think the da should be limited as to the tools she needs in order to keep the public safe, and sadly, in some cases, it involves making sure we are able to make sure the punishment it's the crime. because we are talking about situations where violent acts are performed i know she does not want to limit herself in order to not only deal with public safety, but provide justice to the families suffering as a result of sadly some of these crimes that have been committed. kristen: that is another conversation we can have more extensively another day, but i want to end with something i know you are excited about and that's the central subway. it's going to open on november

19 in terms of weekend shells and full service in january. are you going to take it to the chinatown rose pack state -- station? mayor breed: i've already done it twice, trying to see how it's going to run and how people are going to feel. this was a visionary idea when we made the decision to create this great networking system underground, which if i had my way, all of our public transportation system would be underground. but this was a huge undertaking like nothing we've ever experienced before. san francisco is earthquake territory, so we had to be mindful of that. we can't just rush and get development and i'm excited to

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tonight, the major hurricane gaining strength. a trail of destruction in puerto rico. where it's hitting now, and the potential affects for the east coast. hurricane fiona now a category 3 storm. winds up to 115 miles per hour. 80% of puerto rico still without power tonight. now heading toward bermuda, possibly growing to a cat 4 storm by tomorrow. and how this could be felt from florida up to maine. and another new system we're tracking tonight. that could impact the gulf. ginger zee tracking it all. the explosion at an apartment building in chicago. several people hurt. some in serious and critical condition. parts of the building collapsing into rubble. police and atf agents on the scene tonight. the battle over immigration in this country. a record high, more than 2 million abpprehensions at the southern bde