umrs for your parents, siblings and neighbors. captioning sponsored by wnet >> sreenivasan: on this edition for sunday, march 14: with vaccinations on the rise and relief checks on the way, our "roads to recovery" series returns to fairfield county, connecticut, to see how the restaurant industry there is faring. and a look at what post-pandemic workspaces might look when workers start returning to the office. next on “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. the jpb foundation. barbara hope zuckerberg.

thleonard and norma klorfine foundation. the peter g. peterson and joan ganz cooney fund. we try to live in the moment, to not miss what's right in front of us. at mutual of america, we believe taking care of tomorrow can help you make the most of today. mutual of america financial group, retirement services and investments. >> for 25 years, consumer cellular has been offering no-contract wireless plans, designed to help people do more of what they like. our u.s.-based customer service team can help find a plan that fits you. to learn more, visit www.consumercellular.tv. additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the american people. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> sreenivasan: good evening and thank you for joining us.

the biden administration is adding resources from the federal emergency management agency to help with a gwing number of unaccompanied children crossing into the u.s. at the southern border with mexico. in a statement issued last night, homelansecurity secretary alejandro mayorkas announced that fema will help ”" support a gornment-wide effort over the next 90 days to safely receive, shelter, and transfer unaccompanied children who make the dangerous journey to the u.s. southwest border.“ "the washington post" reports there are currently 8,500 teens and children living in shelters run by the department of health and human services. officials say they are struggling to process and place children with sponsors, putting pressure on already crowded facilities. the increase in the number of children comes after president biden reversed the controversial trump policy of turning back unaccompanied minors who had crossed the u.s. border without their parents. house speaker nancy peolosi called the current crisis a humanitarian challenge.

>> what the administration has inherited is a broken system at the border, and they are working to correct that in the children's interest. so this, again, is a transition from what was wrong before to what is right. >> sreenivasan: in the united states, the number of covid -19 vaccinations being administered every day is averaging more than 2.5 million per day. the "new york times" vaccine data tracker shows most states have now fully vaccinated close to 10% of their populations-- with some states nearing 20%. confirmed cases and deaths continue to decline, but in some areas the numbers have plateaued. dr. anthony fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert, warned this morning that there could be another surge. >> when you plateau at a high level, there's enough viral activity in the community that when you pull back on things like masking and not paying attention to things like congregant settings, it is very risky to get another surge. if you wait just a bit longer to

give the vaccine program a chance to increase protection in the community, then it makes pulling back much less risky. but if you do it premately, there really is a danger of triggering another surge. >> sreenivasan: the head of the london metropolitan police is facing calls to step down after clashes broke out at a vigil last night. hundreds gathered at a park in south london where 33 year old sarah everard was last seen before she went missing while walking home almost two weeks ago. earlier in the day, wayne couzens, a police officer, had been charged with the kidnapping and murder of everard. the event was broken up by the police, who refused to grant a permit saying the gathering violated covid lockdown rules. london mayor sadiq khan released a statement today calling for an investigation into the actions of the police at the vigil. everard's disappearance has spurred a nationwide discussion about violence againswomen, especially while streets are emptier due to lockdowns.

the boxer known as “marvelous” marvin hagler died yesterday at the age of 66. the southpaw from newark, new jersey, was known as onof the“ four kings” of boxing in the 1980's along with sugar ray leonard, roberto duran, and tommy hearns. hagler was the reigning middleweight champion for seven years, defending his title 12 times before losing in a controversial split decision to sugar ray leonard in 1987. he retired from boxing with a career record of 62 wins, three losses and two ties. hagler was inducted into the boxing hall of fame in 1993. for updates on the latest national and international news visit pbs.org/newshour. >> sreenivasan: continuing our "roads to recovery" series, we turn to food and jobs. president joe biden's covid-19 relief plan includes $28.6 billion in grants to restaurants, an industry hit hard by extended coronavirus shutdowns. before the pandemic, 10% of connecticut's workforce was tied

to the restaurant industry, but in the last year, hundreds of restaurants have closed and tens of thousands remain unemployed. and even with relief on the way, the ad ahead for those who have managed to hold on is still uncertain. christopher booker visits three fairfield county restaurants with three very different stories. this story is part of our ongoing series: "chasi the drea poverty and opportunity in america." >> reporter: when this is all said and done, john nealon and his business partner/wife mgan nealon, could well be a case study in how a restaurant-- and a marriage-- survives a pandemic. maybe. >> it's been crazy, man. we had a baby in march, the restaurants went into full, you know, shut down, take out only about a week and a half later. >> reporter: in rch, when the shutdowns arrived, the nealon's business was just five months old. they were forced to furlough much of their staff and quickly move taco daddy from a place where people gathered for food and drinks to a takeout

restaurant. it didn't work very well. >> it was bad for us. >> reporter: takeout was? >> horrible, horrible. >> reporter: but a year later, taco daddy is still standing through a combination of government support, luck and ingenuity. the paycheck protection program, p.p.p., which was part of the bailout bill passed in may of last year, provided the young restaurant a $225,000 life line. >> the first p.p.p. saved everybody. yeah. including us. >> we opened this with our literal last dime. so, it was like we had no extra capital to push back into this if we didn't get that. >> reporter: but they did have a large space and a flexible landlord. with a relief on rent and the p.p. loan, the nealons were able to transform their 5,500 square foot dining area, giving taco daddy an enviable amount of social distance wiggle room. >> we're lucky we have 5,500 that we can spreadables out and then we got the dividers going into the fall, but you know, a lot of restaurants when you think about it, what is 50%

capacity when you're 1,000 square feet? right. there's four tables like two tables. and what do you got? >> reporter: while taco daddy is still standing, many restaurants in c.t. and around the country - are not. scott dolsch is the executive director of the connecticut restaurant association. he says at least 600 restaurants have closed in connecticut, and tens of thousands remain unemployed. >> we had 160,000 employees pre- covid, 10% of our state's workforce. we know about 85,000+ of those went on unemployment in those first two weeks. it was a dark time, and we've been working so hard to gethem back, i think we got up to about 125, and 27 in the height of september of outdoor dining, but then we saw another dip. >> reporter: like other places, through the summer, connecticut state and local officials allowed for the expansion of outdoor dining, giving many restaurants, particularly those in downtown locations, much needed social distance space, but then of course the winter

came. according to connecticut's department of labor, between october and december, connecticut lost 6,700 jobs in leisure and hospitality, putting total employment 20% below where it was one year earlier. >> these winter months have been some of the toughest times for them. our industryorks off of very thin margins. the national average for a restaurant is a 4-6% profit margin. so, when you're down 30, 40% for an extended period of time, like, that's bleeding money out. >> reporter: but some connecticut restaurants didn't even get an outdoor bump. >> for us, because we're not downtown, we're on the outskirts of town, it's a little different. >> reporter: corey falcone runs sunny and frankie's on the edge of stamford with wife and brother-in-law. on the very day that we visited they had just gotten their first p.p.p. loan-- almost a year into the crisis. for falcone, this influx of cash will hopefully be enough to get them to the finish line, which he says will only happen when he sees people crowded around his bar.

>> it's all about getting people back to the restaurants and drinking, and i don't mean drinking to excess. i mean just drinking, congregating, watching games, talking to each other. that's what it's all about, but until they do that, it's still going to be difficult. >> reporter: there are indications that this might not be far off. at columbus park trattoria in downtown stamford, owner and manager michael marchetti is seeing a return of some familiar faces. >> i'm seeing customers that have gotten their second vaccine and they're coming out and they're coming out in droves. >> reporter: that must feel like even more than a glimmer of hope when you're seeing now the vaccine. >> not just for me, but for my staff, you know. they get discouraged. i've cut hours, i've cut so many hours, i don't know how, how much more i could cut.

and the staff has been wonderful and understanding that they know this is not this is not me trying to be cheap, but it's, it's about survival. >> reporter: but despite the return of some of his regulars, there are indications the economic damage from the pandemic and the trickle down impact on marchetti's restaurant, might be permanent. work has changed, people are working from home more and more. and obviously there's a lot of white collar jobs here. do you anticipate those corporate customers will come back or, don't know? >> they have to come back, please? i mean, we've had p.p.p. twice. all things equal, we're just covering our expenses-- barely, barely. >> reporter: but just down the road at taco daddy, even without the promise of corporate offices filing back up, hope seems to spring eternal. john and morgan nealon have opted to open a second restaurant right next door to taco daddy. opened in september, the lila rose cocktails and tapas bar has both indoor and outdoor space and covid-specific protections

in the lease. if there's a restriction on indoor seating, they don't have to pay the full rent. >> we're in this business to be creative. we're in this business, like, keep doing something to keep pushing and figuring out what we're capable of and what people like and we never stop doing that. im not trying to sound like a hero here or anything like that, but it's, it really was just, like, keep doing what you're good at, stay focused. >> like, eventually this thing has got to wrap up. and then where you, like, what you've done during this time is either going to put you ahead or leave you dead in the water. >> reporter: the nealon's may find out if their gamble pays off soon. connecticut's governor recently announced that restaurants would be able to return to full capacity this coming friday. >> sreenivasan: it's been a year since covid-19 concerns forced many americans to shift from commuting to an office to working from home. and while about a quarter of workers have since returned to their offices, many still work

remotely. but as we look to the future and a return to the office, what will those spaces look like and how will they be safer for employees? again, here's christopher oker, who recently spoke with design professionals to see how they are planning for the post- pandemic future of work space design. >> reporter: there are some who say that even before the pandemic, we were doing it wrong. >> we've been moving denser and denser every year to the point where you're literally, it's like a starbucks bar. you walk in and then there is just a high work surface and shoulder to shoulder people in an office environment. >> reporter: vivian loftness is an architecture professor. she co-directs the center for building performance and diagnostics at carnegie mellon university, along with architect erica cochran hameen. >> we're going to start spacing our desks so that people are six feet apart. we're not, we're going to have to think about how we pass each other in the corridors and looking at what those corridor widths are. and some places might need some

plastic shielding. >> reporter: some argue that >> reporter: yongyeon cho is a professor of interior design at iowa state university. he partnered with pennsylvania state university graphics design professor, huiwon lim, to compete in the "work design magazine" 2020 new work environment competition. their winning prototype re-imagined what collaborative spaces like this conference room might look like. >> we thought some of, like, the largest space of meetinrooms will no longer exist in the post covid-19. >> reporter: their design used hands-free technology to avoid repeated touching of shared surfaces. this door can slide open via a foot pedal. and instead of a whiteboard, this digital board can be controlled from these desks. and in response to the airborne nature of coronavirus transmission, the designers recommended a displaced ventilation system. a relatively common feature in european buildings, fsh air is supplied near floor level which then pushes potentially contaminated air upwards and out of the room through exhaust panels. the team also redesigned

furniture. these large desks provide six feet buffers between workers. and the material is meant to withstand frequent cleanings. >> we also need to start thinking about how we can create a better classroom, the studio for our students. in this competition, the meeting room can be transformed to the classroom for our students. >> reporter: ohio based architect, william eberhard, thinks some of the changes designers are envisioning don't go far enough. >> i think the pandemic gives us both an opportunity and an obligation to recognize that the office paradigm we've been using for the last 20 or so years in america is dysfunctional. >> reporter: he points to the open office plan and studies that suggest the goal of this design, increased meaningful interactions, has failed. >> it has increased absenteeism and sickness. and, of course, if you want to return and deal with the pandemic issues and a greater sensitivity to airborne contaminants, trying to move that car down the road when it

already has no wheels, it's not a useful exercise. i think those circumstances require a complete reset. >> reporter: this is a conversation that is basically coming to every space in which we exist, from hospitals to schools and to the office. the change in the design of all of this will have to assume profound if we decide to take those steps. >> the post-pandemic world, to be effective and stay safe, we probably need to go back to looking like a bit more like what we did in the 90's with physical dividers between people, mixed with the right number of huddle rooms where people can go for higher acoustical privacy when needed in collaboration spaces that allow people to maintain safe distancing while still being able to share ideas and display thinking. >> reporter: for erica cochran hameen, redesigning the workspace will require looking beyond the boundaries of indoor spaces. >> you know, you've got unused, untapped spaces like roofs that could be turned into green roofs, patios that may not be used. there's no reason that your conference room has to be in a

glass box in the middle of your building. >> and i'm hoping that this sets a new trend in office environments where people say, "i want to work in a place where all the windows are open and i feel like i'm in a fresh air environment." >> reporter: that trend may already be taking shape in warmer climates like california. >> for us in our current office, we're lucky enough to have the ability to control opening up the perimeters so we have sliders, we have garage doors. and what that does is it really allows a healthy airflow. >> reporter: andy lantz is the creative director of rios, a design firm based in los angeles. in march, when the pandemic forced their staff to work remotely, they took the opportunity to redesign their office space to meet their new needs. >> and so, we kind of shook aside all of the noise in the industry of what suggestions were and recommendations were for the workplace and built an approach that utilized surveys aninformation from our own staff. >> reporter: what emerged from the surveys, like many other offices around the country, was a desire for a hybrid model--

part-time at home, part-time in the office. this, along with public health guidelines, became the principles rios used to redesign its office. there were several changes, including eliminating permanent desks. workers can use an app to reserve a space when they want to be in the office. rios is also experimenting with how to connect remote employees to those in the office. this materials lab has an overhead camera that allows workers at home to collaborate with their colleagues in the office. lantz says some of the changes, both to his office and client projects, may seem small, but they are effective. take the b.a.f.'s. >> you can kind of see behind me we also installed here at our office, these giant big ass fans is the name of them. >> reporter: that's the technical name? >> it's literally the product name. >> reporter: according to the manufacturers, these large fans can kill 99.99% of pathogens. but are elements like fans the

most forward thinking designs? my mind goes to "jetson" type solutions. i'm envisioning pods and, that were in these very interesting chairs that are self-cleaning and all kinds of new desks and screens. but speaking with you, it doesn't necessarily sound like that's in the future. >> i think it could be. but we're a few months into what will become a significant awakening in the vaccinated future of covid. and i think right now, for us, we're looking at this as sort of a revolution in what work can be. so, thinking a year from now, thinking two years from now, i think it would be awesome to imagine the "jetsons" future. we may be scattered in big roaming fields or in some really interesting collection of pods and unique situations. i think that's where we're heading, is to a new future that's not bound by the tradition of a convention. so, to "the jetsons" and beyond.

>> sreenivasan: the pandemic for many, particularly students, s meant multiple hours a day on video conference calls. student reporting labs and john barnes of arlington, virginia, explored what's been coined“ zoom fatigue” in this short excerpt. for the full video, go to pbs.org/newshour. >> hi guys, good to see you today, thanks for having cameras on, bye, everyone, bye, john. >> it's not just you. we're all exhausted. >> zoom fatigue. >> zoom fatigue. >> high schoolers have it worse than everyone. on classes in zoom all day long, for years it has been a constant struggle for me and other students. >> we all know spending hours on a computer is exhausting but why, and what can we do about

it. >> in our brain rewards can increase alertness, energy and motivation which reduce dueces fatigue. >> our brains also love to reward us when we socialize. >> so many of our interactions are social interactions, what makes it rewarding isn't based on what we are seeing but nonverbal cues. >> on video we can't see the cues so we have to put in more effort in our calls thrk sound familiar? anyone, anyone out there? >> hi hi hilyo. >> how can we fix this? >> get off the screens, that is the first one. >> unfortunately, scrolling on tiktok for hours is not superhelpful. sorry, you are still hire. she recommends doing something not work related even if just for a few minutes, to test the expert advice i received i enlisted my friends to try it out with an emphasis on moving around between classes, taking breaks and spending a lot less time on our phones.

>> went and worked out. >> printed out my math work instead of look on the computer screen. >> i'm feeling pretty good about it. >> i honestly feal like so much better. >> pandemic is not something we're designed to work through, even though we may be expected to work at 100 percent productivity. taking breaks. changing environments and making our interactions as rewarding as possible are all ways that we can make alleviate some of our fatigue, at least for now. >> sreenivasan: that's all for this edition of “pbs newshour weekend.” for the latest news updates visit pbs.org/newshour. i'm hari sreenivasan. thanks for watching. stay healthy and have a good night. captioning sponsored by wnet captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> 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. the jpb foundation. barbara hope zuckerberg. the leonard and norma klorfine foundation. the peter g. peterson and joan ganz cooney fund. we try to live in the moment, to not miss what's right in front of us. at mutual of america, we believe taking care of tomorrow can help you make the most of today. mutual of america financial group, retirement services and investments. additional support has been provided by: consumer cellular. and by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the

american people. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. you're watching pbs. show is brought to you

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