two tonight on kqed newsroom we speak with california's surgeon general about the statesstooming lockdown ctions and how to ensure the vaccine is distributed fairly. we speak with california church leaders about the fight to be able to worship indoors nd during the ic. a question they are asking the u.s. supreme court to weigh in on. we take into unique architecture of myron's county civic center. welcome to ed newsroom. >> the death toll from the coronavirus keeps climbing. more han 19,000 people ha died in california and more than 276,000 have died nationwide. in a move to curb the rapid

riseomn cases governor ne announce strict new rules for the state. in regions where intensive care units are more than 85% of all private others will be prohibited and many businesses will have to shut down again which is expected to occur throughout california this month. meanwhile there is a lot op mism about two vaccines. start shipping before the end of the year. er for now the cefor disease control anprevention has recommended residents and employees of nursing on be the first to get vaccinated along the front line have her work with. our first gases hereto talk about how to manage through this pandemic as we h help to make sure their and is distributed in an bl equimanager. joining me now is dr. your nadine e burris. dr. thank you so much for joining us. compared to other state california has had a pretty strong culture of wearing masks

and shows chilly distancing from oth. how do we nd ourselves here at the break of hospital overruns? >> is we are saying there is a nationwide surge that is ar happening. yoabsolutely right. californians have worked really hard to keep the coronavirus at bay but we are seeing thwith increased mixing as we have kind of opened up a bit more that the surge is not spreading california. we are exriencing record high rates of coronavirus. so, we need to come together to do which is to , wear that ma watch our distance, wash our hands and stay home during this time so that we can reduce the spread. >> as you just mentioned one of the guidelines is to not gather with outside our households for

the foreseeable . futu frankly, able are tired and they see some of ours date leaders as social gatherings as well. do you think it is realistic ct ex that they will travel and that hospitals have done all they can to maximize our surge capaisty? >> it no surprise that people are tired go we are all tired of this is beena really difficult and challenging experience and i want acknowledge that. , at the same time, we recognize that these protective measures, they are what we do for our friends, our mily, our community. they are our way of ensuring that our hospital system does not overwhelmed because what we heard in the governor's press conference on thursday was that we are weeks away from overwhelming our icu capacity.

is a to the california blic, it iup to each of us to be part of preventing that from happening. >> turning to the light at the end of the tunnel here, the distbution of vaccine, you are the chair of california's community advisory vaccine committee. that is focused on equitable distribution of this vaccine. who is on this committee and ca you tell me about the concerns you are hang from them? >> we have a wide range of workers, advocates, community representatives that are part of this process of weighing in on our vaccine distribution strategy. th entire process is grounded in the three principles of safety, equity and transparency. these are public meetings, members of the public can call and listen in on how these conversations are happening. what we are hearing is, as you mention first and foremost,

issues of eqty. that is what we have been there are strong voices in nt. that. we are also hearing from our advocates around disability rights, around labor, around advocates for our seniors. so, we really have icthis chorus of voices that are informing our decisions around vaccine distribution in california. >> i just want to get into the details of that a little bit. specifically in the black and brown counity there has en a lot of suspicion of the medical community because of hiorical experiments. what are you hearing from n bla and brcommunities about their willingness to trust this vaccine and to take it? >> what we are hearing is that there are issues of trust.

fo is critically importan us to be utilizing our trusted thmessengers. we kno vulnerable communities, some of that this trust is well-byfounde historical harms that have taken place and so it is important to be not only mindful of that but to be making effort to recognize and respond e impact of those past harms on current ep peve. that is part of the reason why it is so important for us to reach out through trush d messengers, thrommunity networks to be able to ensure that our vulnerable counities, our black and brown communities can be protected by this vaccine. >> unfortunately access to testing has not been as evenly distributed as we might have wanted it. oftenpe le with power and money have been able to get tested more frequently.

>> you are absolutelyright. that ispart of the reason why as california has implemented our equitric, as we are holding counties accountable for addressingincreased vulnerability of certain communities we are also pairing that with resources. so, we are not just ying hey you guys have got to do it but we are not going to give you any resources to do it. the california department of in health is provresources for our local county departments of health to be ve the greatest the areas that vulnerability. >> dr. birx cares where you cc take the e as soon as it is available to you? >> the moment it will be available, you. no>> you do have any concerns about it safety or efficacy? >> i think we are looking at the data. currently is still under review. california is doing its own say deeply trust in that safety

review process. the folks who are part of that safety review process are experts, they are extremely well-versed in reviewing the safety of vaccines and the minute they say that it is safe not only will i sign up to take it out when it is available i will make sure that my entire you are on pointed as ll. california's very first surgeon general just about a year ago and then the kpandemic str. how have your goals been impacted by the pandemic? >> it is a great question. comito office when a my signature initiatives that i g have been work since starting was something called asis aware initiative. it is initiative to raise awareness and train our p healthcaviders to understand how stress and trauma impacts house health and how to respond ewidence- based inform trauma care. while we have beall hands on deck with the cronut

coronavirus pandemic it turns th initiative has been more important than ever. because so many californians in our rinsing the to get levels of trauma and adversity. and responding with trauma inrmed care, having a trauma informed healthcare workforce it turns out has never been more important. ai so, we have d since january of 2020 more than 15,000 healthcare providers on how to recognize the signs of how trauma is affecting health and how to reese with evidence-based care. all of this in the middle of a global pandemic. >> you are up pediatrician by ading a much of your work has been with childhood kitrauma. are not impacted in the same way physically in terms of the coronavirus as adults. he what ewhat are your concerns about their physical, psychological have question rk >> well, there are significant concerns. what we are seeing is that the

reports for child maltreatment declined amatically after the shelter in place order early in the pandemic. while that may sound like good news we know child dimaltreatmentnot go away, it is likely just being unreported. we thinabout children's social and emotional development and how that is impacted by gnot be with peers, not being in school. these are rtainly big concerns. you know, some of the things that we know make a big difference is that weas parents and caregivers, s as foo care for young folks. my husband and i have four boys. we have a really important role in providing a safe, able and nurturing relationip for kids.

that connection is actually the most important thing to help kids thrive during this time. >> we have learned the wa of natural disasters there is also a broader health toll with an increase in things like strokeand heart attacks. as the surgeon general of california how are you using that knowledge toprevent those outcomes? we recognize when we have a or other natural disathat demic folks have more limited access to disruption and access to their usual healthcare channels. they mahave disruption to some of the resources that we used to keep ourselves healthy. like our ability to go outside and havesafe places to play, employment aod and all of those things. and, this is why the office of the surgeon general has partred across health and human services to work to not only communicate to healthcare

system, healthcare providers. we issued an all plan a letter to all of the health plans across all of california to help raise awareness about this as an issue and inalrm our care providers on how we can connect patients to the resources that they neep to themselves healthy. >> how have you personally been impacted bythe coronavirus ? have you or any of your family members tested positive? >> unfortunately none of my family members and i, myself and i have never tested positive. i am affected in the way that many of us are affected. my mom has been, is not in gray had to spend severaweeks in the intensive care unit and i th was really grateful there was a bed for her. , just as any californian, just as you or anyone watching us tonight would want to make sure that if their own motherhe

or for grandmother were ill that they would be able to receive the lifesaving care in the care that my mom received in the icu earlier this year did save her life. i am grateful at that was available. the reason that was available was because of the work of all the californians who stayed home, her who warm us, who wash their hands. even when it is hard. >> california surgeon general. o thank you r joining us. stomach turning now to religion. the bate is escalating cher whether es should be allowed to hold indoor services during the pandemic. back in may agrippa california churches went before the u.s. supreme court with a plea lito allow ous services to resume ago they argued that the governor's limits on how many during the pandemic violated their freedom of religion. at the cold at the time the roles. oted to uphold the saying es should be

treated in the same fashion as the secular government go with the addition of y comey barrett and that new court just overturned new york restrictions on indoor worshist saying those ctions do violate it does violate religious liberty. >> there taking catheir to the supreme court again. number bishop hodges and archbishop of san francisco. gentlemen, thank you both for joining. before we get into the allenge before the brain court. arwould you please with us what changes you would like to see to the current restrictions wi. archbishop i begin with you. >> yes, we have been trying to sustain our people during the time of pathis emic. we have about one half million catholics in the archdiocese of san francisco and 90 parishes

codering the west of the bay. we would like to see basically quality. we have been unjustly discriminated against while being locked out of our church as well secular activities have been allowed to continue it does protect religious practice. we will look for a quality we saindoor retail. we have shown that we can r celebrate ss safely, we have safetyll rethat a been scientifically proven to be effective. they prevent outbreaks. when we have been able to worship d insist our priest follow them so we can keep our people safe and we can worship indoors we do not understand why large department stores are able to operate at this certain percentage of capacity and people can be inside fotwo or three hours and employees are inside all day. we an keep our services to about an hour and keep ou people say. >> what about south bay

pentecostal, are you seeking a 25% capacity allows? >> we are asking for no instructions o be imposed regarding numbers percentages. allowed to operate withe es be least restrictions placed on any other operations allowed indoors. churches are the only enterprise in california that is being regulated, actually has this constitutional guarantee, the exception clause we are not going to ask that there be no restrictions at all. if this pandemic is such an restrictive than the least restrictions apply to any other enterprise allowed to operate should be applied to churches. if tlere is a co shutdown churches should be the last to close on the first to open. churches are the most essential operation enterprise in the li state of rnia. >> archbishop archbishop whitey

went people together person crismark >> the church is an assembly appeared will. it is in our nature together as the body of christ. in addition to that catholics are a sacramental trip. an sacramentst be live stream. you cannot receive communion virtually. it has to be in person. this is a horrible we are. i do accept that the government has some authority to regulate our worship. i agree with the shiphodges it should be least restrictive unchurched. but government has no authority tell us we cannot worship. th is not the government's business. the government's business is to protect public health. we build a church decode but that government does not tell ace. w to arrange our worship we need to gather together, we can gather together safely. the government has no authority we been and during this unjust discrimination for a

long time. we want to be cooperative, we have reduced safetyprotocols that work and we should be allowed to use them. op >> arch bii understand you have safety measures in place but when it comes to communion is not that a hand tomorrow sort of contact that would be ripe for an infection to spread? >> it tois possibl give communion without touching the person receiving communion whether it is in the hand or in the mouth. so, we ask our communion ministers to be very careful. if they had do make contact they are told ndto have sanitizer nearby so they can sanitize their hands before they give communion to the deck. it is only a few seconds. the peopletoare not close one another for an extended period of time. study thatwas done the 14 million masses that found no outbreaks in any of those masksp e with two of those naturalist to conduct that research.

they said there was no danger of spreading the virus if communion is given correctly. >> bishop hodges you have taken your challenge to the supreme court not oncebut twice. there has been positive news for you in the past week and that the supreme court throughout the restrictions in new york and they sent the case back in california saying to the judge that they should look at it again and look at it li t of their decision in new york. you take as a message from these judicial decisions. this is a game changer. gathis is a changer for churches all across america. while these are nearly tailored and specific to the cases involved and specifically they injunction and that what we y forced lit decision was also on

our injunction. the supreme court yehas not heard any church case on its merits. way right now have assert for just that. eme court asking our full case resides right now at the ninth circuit but they are waiting on the supreme court to decide whllher they take our server or not. it is a game changer. basically it signals the only signifant difference between the merits or the data in car and the case from nevada in july and the case in new york last week and the case this week in pasadena, california, the only significant difference is the reflection of the court. now that justice barrett has replaced justice ginsburg the complexion of e court has changed and it is a signal that the war is now going to come down more on the side of religious libertyin favoring our chargers and allowing worshipers to go back to their house of worship. >> so bishop hodges which you thpe that the supreme

court would revisit other conservative causes such as right to life, row versus wade >> certainlat is part of our moral conviction of biblical conviction. noc all of these conjoined together necessarily pick i think one step at a time. honestly the fight we are fighting right now for religious liberty strikes at e very heart all liberties in america. everyone in america whetheyou in god or not, believe in the bible or not really you should leave in the guarantee of the constitution for religious liberty. that is why our nation s founded. we are celebrating the b,400 the mayflower compact. it was thfirst governing document in america and they specifically mentioned god four times in state a are coming orhere to the of god and the advancement of the christian faith. of course our constitution allows peoplto worship freely. that is the first of all guaranteed freedoms in the constitution. everything follows alg with

that. it is kind of like i domino effect. if we use our rhenish liberties next will be the free assemble, the freedom of press, freedom to redress grievances, every thing hangs on the freedom of religion. will you also be filing legal action? >> it is not something i would want to do. and i nt to way and see what the district court does now that they have to re-issue their decision for this injunction. i would not takeup thtable but it is not really in our ininct to do that. we need to be responsible netizens and good hbors. we do not want anadversarial relationship. i am hoping this cannot be worked out in a more amicable way. we are beginning to lose patien with this unjust discrimination and oppression

of us. yes, i agree totally with what biop hodges said and was thinking of a letter that the dertment of justice sent the mayor here in san francisco that had even more restrictive limitations in the state guidelines buthad a lot of gems of wisdomin there. one in particular that stands out is worth they made the point precisely what they do hodges was making was said the constitutions on wielding protection of believers distinguishes the united states from places dominated by tyranny and despotism. this important to everyoic in am >> why do you think your patients might come to an end and you might file legal action quench mye >>ve christmas coming up. i cannot see has been shut out of our children churches at christmas. i want to explore erwhatheir what other options there are as well. itndwill all deon what the district court decides with this injunction decision. at >> bishop hodges is your general response to the ending t

restrictionsinto place by governor newsom this week? >> we all need to be part of the solution, not partof the problem. we need to practice cdc recommendations and protocols. our possession is these have be generally applied to they cannot specific and discriminatory as they have been. our churches would protocols in place. i argue that our churches have the safest protocols of any institution in the county come in the city come in the state. the issue is allow people to go to church under the same or we think that are protocols and protections that what they are allowed to do in any other facet of society. let people go to cheer. if you are going to shut justin down everything has got to be shut down. if anything is going to be allowed to be open churches have to be allowed to be open but we ll practice safe

practices. >> archbishop do you see this debate is a classic conflict between church and state or faith in science? >> i see it as an unnecessary colict between church and state. there is no conflict between faith and science if both are understood correctly. there should not be this conflict. again, if the state treated us equally, digit highs hodges is feeding thinking about safety protocols. san francisco asked faith communities to submit safety plans back in may looking forward to en they weregoing to reopen for worship in the meantime the city approved safety operation foplans stores and they went back in operation. we still have not heard anything back from our safety plans for our faith communities. is protocols were come up peek will are kept safe, we can worship safely. there is no reason fothis conflict >> we have a few moments left. committee what want to say

to californians? >> keep your faith in god. keep going tier house of worship . let us believe in god that this pandemic is going to and that we willthsucceed in and. >> stay strong and fit, stray strong in hope, stay connected with your faith community. access your faith community and sacraments says you can. ep prayer alive inyour home. thank you both gentlemen. >> thank you. let us take a look now at something you do for. the civic center and marion county is an unusual building just signed by frank load right in the 1950s. h received the honor of being both a california anna national historical landmark.

you can find more of our news coverage on kqed/newsroom. >> from all of us here at kqed newsroom. thank you for joining us. good night. captiong sponsored by wnet

>> sreenivasan: on this edition for sunday, cember 6: officials say f.d.a. authorization for a covid-19 vaccine could come this week. and the doors drummer jo densmore: seeking the origins of creativity. next" "pbs newshour weekend." >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: sue and edgar wachenheim iii. the anderson family fund. bernard and denise schwartz. the cheryl and philip milstein family. barbara hope zuckerberg. the leonard and norma klorfine foundation.

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