life has never been the same since coronavirus hit. >> development in the coronavirus pandemic are changing by the hour and really having an impact on all of our lives. >> exactly. obviously right here, things are going to look a little bit different from here on out on "today in the bay." but remember, we're here for you. we're just practicing some social distancing of our own. so marcus is in our newsroom, i'm in the studio, high five, too, buddy. we're going to get through it together. >> it's been one year since our lives and the world was thrown into a crisis. we have never faced anything like this before. we want to you know that we are here for you and we want to be

your resource to help you and your family. major moments postponed or canceled. ♪ happy birthday to you ♪ >> it was surprising. yes, it was fun. >> reporter: families have been separated by glass to save lives. while doctors and nurses worked until exhaustion. >> i go and doing the job of two nurses. >> reporter: now there is hope that the worst is behind us. >> a live look outside, downtown san francisco, on this monday morning, city by the bay, city put to the test certainly as well as the entire bay area over the last year. tens of thousands of people told to stay away, forced to work from home. much more on the impact 365 days have had on all of us, all coming up this monday morning. first, good morning to you. hope you had a good weekend. i'm laura garcia.

>> and i'm marcus washington. wish clued a microclimate weather alert. let's get to that with meteorologist kari hall. >> we've seen rain moving through the past 24 hours but now it's the wind really starting to kick up and that's the reason why we're issuing this microclimate weather alert as we are seeing some of the rain taper off. for the most part a fairly quiet start to our morning but take a look at the snow coming down on mt. hamilton this morning. we'll see that in the distance as the sun rises this morning, but once again, the storm system still bringing in some gusty winds so we'll be watching that. good morning, mike. what are you seeing for the morning commute? >> we'll check in with mike in a moment. new this morning, a deal in place for oakland students to return to the classroom. that deal announced by the district late yesterday. the union still has to sign off on the plan. if approved, the students will return in phases starting in 15 days. children up to second grade will start march 30th.

for students third through at least sixth grade, the plan return date is april 19th. pete suratos is hour. happening today, students in alameda's ten elementary schools return to the classroom. they pushed back the start date from last week to this week, to be better prepared. there's still no return date set for secondary schools. coming back from covid coverage, this year, living under covid restrictions felt longer for a lot of us and required us to be flexible, things really seemed to change day by day. >> this morning "today in the bay's" kris sanchez takes a look back at how we got here. >> when the diamond princess sailed into the san francisco bay on a beautiful, bright, blue day, coronavirus entered our lives. >> reporter: you can see the cruise ship behind me, we're

seeing more cabin lights turned on this morning. >> reporter: within a week governor gavin newsom declared a state of emergency in california and bay area counties canceled large gatherings. the warriors became the first team to ban fans before the nba canceled the season outright. >> today i have signed a mandatory order prohibiting public or private gatherings of more than 100 people. >> reporter: and on friday, march 13th, 2020, the bay area declared the first stay-at-home order, nonessential workers were sent home, schools were closed. >> the safety and well-being of our students and staff are our top priority. >> reporter: by march 19th, the stay-at-home order went statewide as hospitals filled with covid patients, some setting up surge tents and ordering cold storage trailers to meet a devastating need. in april, 2020, we learned that a 57-year-old san jose mother, patricia dowd, who died february 6th, was the first victim of the coronavirus in the united states. >> she was my best friend.

we did a lot of things together. like i went to her for everything, just like all my problems, if i needed a hug, she gave the best hugs. >> reporter: between then and now, more than 55,000 californians died of covid-19. 3.6 million were infected. we lived under strict restrictions that tested small businesses, cost our kids almost a whole year of school and kept us from celebrating holidays with family and friends. with growing supply of three covid vaccines, there's light at the end of the tunnel. and one thing remains as true today as it was a year ago. >> we're really truly in this together. >> reporter: kris sanchez, "nbc bay area news." >> isn't that true. a live look at los angeles this morning, where there's finally some relief for some indoor businesses this morning. l.a. county waking up in the red tier after administering 2 million doses of the covid-19 vaccine to low income communities. a requirement in order to

achieve that less restrictive status. on sunday, county health leaders reported more than 600 new cases, 28 deaths, compare that with an average of 250 deaths during january's surge. renters and landlords struggling to make it in the bay can stand into new federal assistance. $2.5 billion stimulus statewide. the bay area will receive about a half a billion of that money. california is expected to receive similar assistance from the new covid relief package. sonoma and contra costa counties are now in the red tier and this means all bay area countiesor limited indoor operations for an array of businesses. "today in the bay's" sergio quintana reports from petaluma, the rain made indoor dining even more inviting.

>> reporter: on the first night of indoor dining in sonoma county in months, customers enjoyed plenty of space. in the red tier separations indoors can operate at 25% capacity. sonoma county is the only one in the entire bay area that has been in the purple tier, the state's most restrictive, since the color-coded system was initiated in august so a return to indoor dining even at a limited basis is a big deal for restaurant operators. >> i was able to seat 12 people inside and with the rain and the weather, people were really happy about sitting inside, indoors. >> reporter: luis flores opened his restaurant during the lockdown so he's looking forward to ramping up business as restrictions ease. sonoma and contra costa counties were both moved into the red tier sooner than expected. california hit a goal of vaccinating 2 million people in the state's most vulnerable communities. as some celebrate the easing of restrictions, others prefer eating al fresco.

>> it's a nice ambience, it's dry. >> not crowded. >> not crowded. and do feel a little safer. >> reporter: susan and karen are both nurses and both vaccinated but still enjoy sitting outside to deet. across the street a boisterous group of friends enjoyed a post meal round of drinks. >> we had lunch earlier inside, it was amazing, everyone was positive, felt totally safe. >> reporter: not all businesses will be able to resume limited indoor service. adobe winery serves only wine but they're doing fine thanks to an expanded outdoor patio. >> our capacity outdoors is greater than indoor. when we move to the orange tier tastings today, bay area tourist hot spot reopens to the public. san francisco's famed alcatraz welcomes back visitors today.

sitting in the red tier allows museums to operate at 25% capacity. indoor tours have been closed for about a year. some indoor parts of the old prison including the iconic cell house will open. masks are required. 4:39, and this morning, new york governor andrew cuomo is facing more calls to step aside from members of his own democratic party. still ahead on "today in the bay" this morning, president joe biden breaks his silence on the controversy. plus, the cruise industry ready to set sail again, but the recovery process for many businesses said to be a long haul. what one ceo is saying about the journey ahead. you're watching "today in the bay."

good monday morning. right now at 4:41, we are under a wind advisory for the coast and the bay, all of these areas shaded in yellow will possibly have some of the gusts reaching up to 55 miles per hour. we'll keep an eye on that and talk about the rain moving out and what else is in the forecast coming up. and things are pretty quiet. remember, we're getting back to work after that monday time change. not our favorite. looking at fremont, though, things are moving nicely. take a while for folks to adjust perhaps. one thing we don't hate it, we love this. adjust to a view of frank. >> could definitely take some adjustments.

good morning. i am frank holland from cnbc. wall street is set for kind of a mixed open this morning, following last week's rally that saw the dow and the s&p 500 hit record highs. the dow gaining 4%, the s&p 500 more than 12.5% and the nasdaq gained 3% despite a sell-off on friday spurred by rising bond yields and interest rates. the jump challenged tech and growth stocks in recent weeks. the tech heavy nasdaq index is up less than 1% and the dow is up 6%, a reversal from the trends we saw during most of the pandemic. focus reports on retail sales, import prices, industrial production, housing and employment and the fed begins a two-day policy meeting that begins tomorrow. the ceo of carnival sees at least two more tough years in the cruise industry. arnold donald tells "the financial times" the full fleet might be sailing by the end of

the year but take longer to recover to pre-pandemic bookings. every destination has its own level of comfort and regulation. the industry will have to work harder to attract customers who have not been on a cruise before. apple discontinued the original home pod after four years. the company telling tech crunch it will focus on the home pod mini that launched last year. the mini is a hit with consumers with the intelligent assistant and smart home control for 99 bucks. the original home pod will be available while supplies last and owners get support and after through apple care. i don't know if you own a home pod, back over to you. >> i'll stick to my pete's. >> he's too cool for school. >> i didn't know what it was. >> like alexa. >> looks like, sounds like, yeah, thanks, frank. >> that's how excited everybody is. >> it's always good to hear from

you, frank, thank you. time to check our bank accounts. stimulus checks are starting to arrive this morning. next on "today in the bay," the cross-country trip it the joe biden and vp kamala harris are starting today, and the message they plan to share with voters about the covid relief bill. we'll talk about t and we'll be right back.

a very good monday morning to you. tracking some rain across the

bay area. lulled me to sle look at san rm this morning. this whole daylight savings time thing and my coffee maker didn't get the message that the time changed. >> same here, laura. same here. >> all right. but that rain was much needed, kari. it was nice last night. >> yes, most of us had about a quarter inch of rain, so it was a nice little soaking and now it's already starting to move out but it's going to be windy today, and that's what we're watching for this morning, even as the rain starts to taper off and there's still a few showers. you can see it near san francisco, along the coastline but we're also watching some rain moving through san jose around the milpitas area and then some snow over toward mt. hamilton. still some activity going on here as we get started on this monday morning. you can see the larger view of this storm system covering a good chunk of the state, at least the northern half and we

are going to still see some times of some rain possible, even a slight chance of some thunders along with this very cold air, napa right now only at 34 degrees, and it's 37 in santa rosa. los gatos at 35 and morgan hill right now at 38 degrees, so bundle up. you'll need that today as winds continue to gust. right now the winds for most of us are at about 10 to 15 miles per hour. some of the stronger winds are off the coast. novato getting in on some gusty winds and temperatures in the tri-valley as you head out for that commute in the east bay starting out in the low 40s this morning, and will slowly warm up today, only heading up to the mid-50s for our highs today. as we go through the forecast, we'll have a couple of days of some dry weather, then it starts to get a little bit milder. we'll have another chance of rain coming in between thursday, friday and saturday. it does show that we'll see some off and on showers toward the end of the week, but it will clear out for the rest of the

weekend, as our temperatures remain very seasonable reaching into the low to mid-60s. mike, how is it looking right now for the early morning commute? >> looking pretty good, kari. the note you had about a little bit of stragglers left over from the weekend storm, you got to keep that in mind. for the roadways as well as we look out to the maps, we do see the pink and the white, what kari is talking about the colder conditions and possibly snowfall, watch the conditions and don't go to the mountain peaks that you don't need to. as we zoom over here drive to the bay bridge and westbound 24 around fish ranch road, heard about a new crash over there in your commute direction. caldecott tunnel, everything sounds like fine. antioch bridge toward vista there may be a disabled vehicle. i'll check and get back to you. the murder trial continues in minneapolis for former police

officer derek chauvin. a third-degree murder charge was reinstated last week. 7 of the 14 jurors needed have been seated and opening statements are expected to begin in two weeks. developing now, there are growing calls for new york governor andrew cuomo to resign and president joe biden now weighing in, when asked by reporters if cuomo should resign, biden says he wants to see what comes out of an stigation into the sexual harassment claims against him. allegations have been made by multiple women, ranging from sexual harassment to inappropriate behavior. cuomo has denied those claims. one of america's top doctors is urging former president trump to go public supporting the coronavirus vaccine. "today in the bay's" tracie potts has more on that, plus how many americans are now protected. >> reporter: public health officials are pushing the coronavirus vaccine on conservative media, after an npr/pbs marist poll found nearly

half of trump supporters don't plan to take it. >> i don't think it's 100% safe and effective. >> reporter: america's top infectious disease expert is urging the former president to speak up. >> how such a large proportion of a certain group of people would not want to make, would not want to get vaccinated merely because of political consideration. it makes absolutely no sense. >> reporter: as former presidents roll out a new public service announcement -- >> it's important for our fello. ♪♪ >> reporter: more people are getting shots. the governor says more than aar dose and 15% of the population is fully protected. the relief bill provides money for vaccine distribution and $422 billion in direct payments. >> there will be $1,400 checks going out to 85, members of 85%

of american households. >> reporter: those payments started hitting bank accounts over the weekend. >> i knew immediately, i would be able to get cataract surgery finally. >> reporter: republicans point out billions approved for pensions, libraries and the arts that they say have nothing to do with the virus. >> to call this a covid relief is really false advertising. >> reporter: this week the biden administration hits the road to convince the public otherwise. seven stops in five days, starting with vice president harris today in las vegas. tracie potts, nbc news. >> thanks, tracie. 4:53 right now. making music history. ♪ i knew you'd come back to me, you'd come back to me ♪ >> the swift takeover at the grammy awards and other female artist that stole the show winning big.

we're breaking it down including the local bay area winners. happening now, china's capitol in a wide area of the country's northern region covered in the worst standstorm in a decade. this is leading to the cancellation of hundreds of flights. skyscrapers in the center of beijing appeared to drop from sight, amid the dust and sand. traffic was snarled, and more than 400 flights out of the capital's two main airports canceled before noon. such storms occur regularly in the springtime, this is as sand from western deserts blow eastward. we'll be right back. 4:54.

welcome back. 4:56. music's biggest night looked

different this year like so many award shows. it went virtual after it was postponed due to covid-19. beyonce proving she reigns supreme. >> the grammy goes to beyonce! >> she took home four awards last night, with 28, she has the most grammy wins of any woman in history. taylor swift taking home the big prize for album of the year for "folklore." bay area musicians fared well, h.e.r. won twice, including son people across the state can now rocce. next here on "today in the bay," a live report on who is next ta weeks to get an appointment booked. plus a disturbing discovery at a south bay school, how local activists are responding and the conversations about rac the

incident is sparking.

the world and life as we knew it changed in molts. >> we have never faced anything like this before. masks and supermarket supplies.

if you need supplies you should be able to get them. >> reporter: the lines between school, work and home blurred. >> students across the bay area are starting to begin that new school year with distance learning. >> reporter: while health care workers express their exhaustion. >> a surgeon there is really sharing a heartbreaking message. she shared a note that she the disease. >> reporter: and now, there's hope as the first vaccines are given out. a shot of hope during the pandemic's darkest days, the first vaccine is here. >> boy, how far we've come. right now a live look at the golden gate bridge, a symbol of bay area strength for the nearly 8 million of us who call this part of california home. as this morning we're looking back at how one year in lockdown has certainly impacted us all. >> that it has. much more of that in just a moment. but good morning to you. thanks so much for joining us. i'm marcus washington. >> and i'm laura garcia. we've i