nbc bay area's sharon katsuda is in contra costa county to show us how county employees are handling the mandate. >> reporter: i spoke with the public information officer with contra costa fire and he tells me front line workers are complying in two ways. the mandate is geared towards those who work in or may respond to emergency calls in high risk facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes, and jails. employees who are part of this mandate have submitted confirmation of boosters or if they aren't yet boosted, will have to go through weekly covid testing. pio steve hill says many of the employees who are part of this mandate are paramedics and they see how devastating the omicron surge is today. >> i don't think there's any lack of understanding as to how significant this is. right now we're experiencing quite a surge. we're getting more than a hundred more calls for emergent medical services a day across contra costa county. that's put a bit of a strain on our ems capabilities. >> reporter: the rise in omicron has led to staffing shortages among front line workers across the country

in contra costa county have received the booster shot. rting live in contra costa county, i'm sharon katsuda, "today in the bay." >> thank you very much, sharon. >>> well, just in, moderna's ceo says the omicron specific booster will enter clinical trials soon. ceo stephanie says moderna can supply 2 billion to 3 billion booster doses this year. moderna is discussing whether the shot needs to contain any other components to fight the virus. according to a study by uk health security agency, boosters are up to 75% effective at protecting against symptomatic infection from the omicron variant. >>> if you're looking to find a covid test in san francisco today, you may be out of luck. city's health department is reducing hours of certain testing sites. health leaders say testing providers are encountering -- are encountering similar challenges as businesses, schools, and hospitals. sick calls are impacting staffing levels as well. supervisor matt haney says many needs to be done. >> we are meeting the demand right now. i'm glad that we have be

a dense fog advisory is in effect for alameda, contra costa county, and solano county, areas like danvilleore, even antioch impacted by dense fog. for contra costa county this is until 10:00 a.m., 11:00 for contra costa. in fairfield, visibility down to less than a quarter of a mile so highway four impacted, highway 80 in solano impacted. add some extra distance from the car in front of you. the day shaping up like this, areas of dense fog first thing, mostly cloudy, temperatures in the upper 50's and low 60's. rain does return tomorrow morning. kumasi: president biden set to address the nation one year after the capitol insurrection. jobina is live with a preview of the events. jobina: president biden is expected to arrive inside the capitol at about 30 minutes to deliver his speech. the president plans to talk about the "singular responsibility" president trump had. vice-president kamala harris is also expected to speak. congress is also planning to address the anniversary, starting with a moment of silence on the house floor. on gma, jonathan carl reflects on the insurrection. jonathan:

. >> in the east bay health officials in contra costa county are now requiring first responders to receiveer shot run for charles clifford has details. >> well, here in contra costa county covid-19 cases continue to surge. health services says the omicron variant of covid-19 is mainly to blame amongst the people who are getting sick. the unvaccinated make up the majority. people who are vaccinated also falling ill, but people who are vaccinated and boosted make up the smallest percentage of new cases. now for that reason, health services has decided to booster mandate for many of its first responders as of monday, january law enforcement, firefighters and emergency medical responders and people who work in hospitals, jails and nursing homes across contra costa county must prove they are fully vaccinated and have received a booster shot against covid-19. the new rules also apply to non-emergency ambulance workers, county health services says the new requirement is necessary to slow the spread of the omicron variant of coronavirus and keep hospitals and emergency services from being overwhel

. >> east bay health officials in contra costa county are now requiring first responders to receive a booster shot. kron four's. charles clifford has the story. well, here in contra costa county covid-19 cases continue to surge. health services says the omicron variant of covid-19 is mainly to blame amongst the people who are getting sick. the unvaccinated make up the majority. >> people who are vaccinated also falling ill, but people who are vaccinated and boosted make up the smallest percentage of new cases. now for that reason, health services has decided to booster mandate for many of its first responders as of monday, january law enforcement, firefighters and emergency medical responders and people who work in hospitals, jails and nursing homes across contra costa county must prove they are fully vaccinated and have received a booster shot against covid-19. the new rules also apply to non-emergency ambulance workers, county health services says the new requirement is necessary to slow the spread of the omicron variant of coronavirus and keep hospitals and emergency services from

now it's contra costa county. hundreds of teachers are threatening to go on strike unless the west contra costa county school district addresses their covid safety concerns by this friday. in a letter, the united teachers of richmond are demanding masks and weekly testing for all teachers. if a class has more than three covid cases, they want the tests to be bumped up to twice a week. we've reached out to west contra costa unified but have not heard back. >>> more unsettling schoolness. more than a dozen east bay schools are on the chocking block. they're considering closing up to 13 schools. the district has a budget deficit of $40 million. the final list of schools that could be closed will be released at the end of the week. on monday, the board will then get a proposal with details on those possible closures. they are set to vote on that plan february 8th. >>> up next, reopening campus. the bay area universities prepping to welcome back students for in-person class. >>> and here's a look inside 30 rock. you see

will continue for students in one part of contra costa county. says will ensure student and staff safety, as other schools are still in limbo county-wide. >> we hope you're safe and okay. >> gone missing. the desperate search for a young woman in the east bay. what we've learned from police about who they believe she was last seen with. >> and we are getting ready for some high winds in the forecast for today, and i'm watching one particular area where those winds may be highest. we'll have more on that in the forecast. this is "today in the bay." >>> good morning to you on this monday. thanks for taking us a part of your morning. i'm marcus washington. >> i'm kris sanchez. laura garcia has the day off. we are broadcasting to your tv, but you can watch us live on roku, amazon fire, apple tv and online. >>> we want to get you started with an agreement on one east bay school district. this is over how to handle covid, but elsewhere in the same county another deal is ready to expire. >> "today in the bay's" bob redell is live in walnut creek to talk

kron four's charles clifford joins us live from contra costa county with the details. charles. >> yeah, well, here in contra costa county covid current cases have been surging. health services says that's mainly due to the omicron variant among the new cases. most of those people are unvaccinated, but quite a few breakthrough kicks it cases among unvaccinated people are happening as well. but people are vaccinated and have a booster. that is a much smaller percentage of the new positive cases. and for that reason, health services is adding a booster mandate to its existing vaccine mandate. >> as of monday, january law enforcement, firefighters and emergency medical responders and people who work in hospitals, jails and nursing homes across contra costa county must prove they are fully vaccinated and have received a booster shot against covid-19. the new rules also apply to non-emergency ambulance workers, county health services says the new requirement is necessary to slow the spread of the omicron variant of coronavirus and keep hospitals and emergency services from be

our charles clifford joining us live from contra costa county this afternoon with details on that new requirement. charles. >>yeah, well, here in contra costa county covid-19 cases continues to people who are unvaccinated make up the majority of those new cases. people are vaccinated. also make up quite a few new cases. people are getting sick, but people who are vaccinated and boosted they make up the smallest number of percentage of those new cases of the county now wants to expand on existing mandate to require booster shots for many of its first responders. let's go and take a look at some video now as of today, january 10th, all law enforcement, firefighters and emergency medical responders and people who work in hospitals, jails and nursing homes across contra costa county must prove they are fully vaccinated and have received a booster shot against covid-19. the new rules also apply to non-emergency ambulance workers, county health services says the new requirement is necessary in order to slow the spread of the omicron variant of coronavirus and keep hospitals an emergency ser

i'm actually probably cause more transmission and then being in school contra costa county, public health director doctor or ease of illy. >> said despite hundreds of new covid cases being reported at schools daily and the county averaging nearly 2000 new cases in the past week. he says in person learning is better for kids and families and our workforce. >> right now is really suffering with a lot of absenteeism related to people getting covid-19 are quarantining from exposure to covid-19. said. >> cervelli says the county has one of the highest vaccination rates in the bay area. lynn mackey is superintendent of the contra costa county board of education. we are funded for in-person ce learning this year. are required to keep schools open and require 2. >> offer an option for those families who want to independent study. >> teachers across the bay area have raised concerns over safety. a lack of personal protective equipment in schools and the lack of testing available. some have even staged protest. mackey says the county is dealing with a shortage of teachers because of the surge and i

i'm actually probably cause more transmission and then being in school contra costa county, public health director doctor or ease of illy. >> said despite hundreds of new covid cases being reported at schools daily and the county averaging nearly 2000 new cases in the past week. he says in person learning is better for kids and families and our workforce. >> right now is really suffering with a lot of absenteeism related to people getting covid-19 are quarantining from exposure to covid-19. said. >> cervelli says the county has one of the highest vaccination rates in the bay area. lynn mackey is superintendent of the contra costa county board of education. we are funded for in-person ce. >> learning this year are required to keep schools open and require 2 offer an option for those families who want to independent study. >> teachers across the bay area have raised concerns over safety. a lack of personal protective equipment in schools and the lack of testing available. some have even staged protest. mackey says the county is dealing with a shortage of teachers because of the surge and is

well forcefully to go reached out to districts in contra costa county for a look at staffing levels. >> we reached out to the 3 largest school districts in contra costa county and learned that 2 out of 3 are reporting a high number of teachers. absent since resumed from winter break. we did not experience a large number of staff absences. so that was good news for us. the san ramon valley unified school district returned to class tuesday. on that day, 128 teachers were absent. >> and on wednesday, 134 teachers called out sick superintendent doctor john malloy says >> those numbers fall within the normal range of teacher absences. >> but says his staff is preparing for those numbers to possibly our goal is to stay in school. >> safely and effectively. and that's what all of our contingency plans are focusing on an increase in covid-19 cases and staffing shortages led the west contra costa unified school district to cancel classes this past friday and monday, 284 teachers were absent this tuesday, 249 called out sick wednesday and on average 265 teachers have called out on a daily basis

call 877.only.att. >> in the east bay health officials in contra costa county are now requiring firsters to receive a booster shot run for charles clifford has details. >> well, here in contra costa county covid-19 cases continue to surge. health services says the omicron variant of covid-19 is

well forcefully to go all reached out to school districts in contra costa county for look at staffingels. >> we reached out to the 3 largest school districts in contra costa county and learned that 2 out of 3 are reporting a high number of teachers. absent since resumed from winter break. we did not experience a large number of staff absences. so that was good news for us. the san ramon valley unified school district returned to class tuesday on that day, 128 teachers were absent. >> and on wednesday, 134 teachers called out sick superintendent doctor john malloy says >> those numbers fall within the normal range of teacher absences. >> but says his staff is preparing for those numbers to possibly our goal is to stay in school. >> safely and effectively. and that's what all of our contingency plans are focusing on. any increase in covid-19 cases and staffing shortages led the west contra costa unified school district to cancel classes this past friday and monday, 284 teachers were absent this tuesday, 249 called out sick wednesday and on average 265 teachers have called out on a daily

. >>> in contra costa county, today is a new day to boost those covid shots where the mandate will kick in. sharon katsuda live to explain who must show proof of a booster and what happens if they don't have one yet. sharon? >> reporter: well, laura, i just spoke with the contra costa fire public information officer and he tells me the front line workers are complying in two ways. the mandate is geared towards those who work in or may respond to emergency calls in high-risk facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes and jails. employees who are part of this mandate have submitted confirmation of the boosters and those who aren't yet boosted will have to go through weekly covid testing. they say many employees who are part of this mandate are paramedics and see how devastating the omicron surge is today. >> i don't think there's any lack of understanding as to how significant this is. right now we're experiencing quite a surge. we are getting more than 100 more calls for emergency medical services a day across contra costa county. that's put a bit of a strain on our ems capabilities. >>

also it was back to campus for students in west contra costa county.rs were on board. so how is the district responding and stricter? covid rules go into effect in the north? big in just a matter of hours. what this means, if you have any plans over the next month and good evening to you. i'm andre senior and i'm julie julie haener. starting tomorrow, the palo alto unified school district will get reinforcements on the front lines of its workforce. this all comes while districts around the bay area are deciding whether to keep kids in class because of the rise in covid cases, we have team coverage on all the questions swirling around school , we begin with ktvu south bay reporter jesse gary, who is live in palo alto, with details, jesse the superintendent tells me the volunteers are needed to keep the schools open. he sees the massive response he's gotten so far as a positive i'm really happy. that we have parents that are willing to help. so i'm thankful to have a community that i know i can reach out to covid pandemic fueled workers shortage has forc

all over contra costa county, the only issue in tri-valley off of 680.we will talk about those coming up. back to you. >> thank you, mike. >>> maybe trying to figure out a day trip destination for your mlk day. a list of environmentally friendly places to visit, two of which you do not have to travel far to see. >>> and a rise in prices for peloton. >>> one major retail chain get into the met averse. walmart's plans to create its own virtual marketplace. stay with us. you're watching "today in the bay." when you have xfinity, you have entertainment built in. which is kind of nice. ah, what is happening. binge-watching is in the bag, when you find all your apps, all in one place. find live sports faster just by using your voice... sports on now. touchdown irish! [cheering] that was awesome. and, the hits won't quit, with peacock premium included at no additional cost. all that entertainment built in. xfinity. a way better way to watch. >>> it's 6:14. it's monday. we are starting out in the 40s and 50s in some spots. 51 degrees right now in san francisco.

currently there are 29,000 active cases and contra costa county. up in sonoma county. there's going to be a large scale vaccine clinics starting this saturday. they say it's part of an effort to expand access to vaccines and booster shots. those clinics will be held in the garrett building at the sonoma county fairgrounds. going to be held every saturday and sunday, each for the next for the next 4 weekends. it will be from 09:00am until 04:00pm county says appointments are required but they do suggest making want to guarantee a spot you can sign up on that website list on your screen might turn dot ca dot gov. beginning this friday. walgreens is going to start giving away free and 95 masks. there's going to be a 3 masked limit per person. while the official start of the program is this friday. while greene says it's a rolling start, so some stores may take a few extra days actually get their supplies in. we are checking with other drugstores like cvs and rite aid to see when they'll start handing out. and 95 masks haven't heard any details back from them. a large grou

looking at the north bay, highway 37 and contra costa county, your typical spots showing your typical light friday traffic build. the rest of the bay shows a nice, smooth, easy drive. a quick look at freemont, not a major issue. the taillights heading south past tesla and toward milpitas. back to you. >> looks good. thanks, mike. >>> next on "today in the bay," nbc bay area responds. >> today we have two cases, one for a couple grand and another for $0. but it's not for nothing. i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. nbc bay area responds next. >>> 6:23 this morning. we're not even a month, at least a full month into the new year, and you know what, our consumer team already delivered some wins for viewers. >> consumer investigator chris chmura shows us some recent cases. >> let's start with a viewer in the north bay whose name we're not going to use. i'll explain why in a second. he said his new $3,000 wood floor started to self-destruct within a month of installation. luckily, the floor had a lifetime warranty. he expected the store to replace it or refund. they couldn't agree, so

playoffs. >>> contra costa leaders are requiring electricity be the sole energy source for all retail and hotel and other buildings. the board will debate the changes tomorrow. contra costa countyffers are recommending the new rules take effect as early as july. we'll be right back. >>> welcome back. boy, that was closer than i think we wanted it to be. >> 49ers sure ended up making things a lot more tense as fans thought the game would be. >> the niners beat the cowboys in the wildcard playoff game, and you probably know this already, right? but the game might have felt like a roller coaster ride. >> good morning, everybody. i am anthony flores. what a game. the 49ers are moving on to the divisional round after a wild finish against the dallas cowboys. check out the rush just to get into at&t stadium. i see a lot of red there. mitchell caps a seven-play 75 yard drive. it was a 26 yard touchdown run putting the niners up by 16 points. they were cruising in the fourth quarter, and then the oh, no, jimmy throw picked off by brown giving the momentum back to the dallas cowboys. that would lead to dak prescott calling his own number from five yards out and scores a touchdown and th

in contra costa county there are 61 covid-19 cases in icu down from the peak it hit last week. con-fire had to reach out to outside agencies for help. >> you have contracted with private ambulance companies to provide us additional ambulances in our fleet during this time of additional stress on the system. >> dispatchers have been key in determining each case over the phone. even with the stress on the system they assure the public every call will be answered with the appropriate resources. it encourages the public, though, to make the right call if it is to your primary physician, going to urgent care or calling 911. >> we don't want anyone to be discouraged from 911 but in many cases it may not be the best first choice for health care. >> reporter: back to you. >>> looking live out at the state capitol tonight, a covid-19 vaccine could soon be mandatory for california public school students no matter what. governor newsom is already mandated them once the vaccine is fully approved for kids. now a state senator wants to eliminate the personal belief. >>> tonight, pg&e is set

i'm actually probably cause more transmission and then being in school contra costa county, public health or ease of illy. >> said despite hundreds of new covid cases being reported at schools daily. >> and the county averaging nearly 2000 new cases in the past week. he says in person learning is better for kids and families and our workforce. >> right now is really suffering with a lot of absenteeism related to people getting covid-19 are quarantining from exposure to covid-19. said. >> cervelli says the county has one of the highest vaccination rates in the bay area. lynn mackey is superintendent of the contra costa county board of education. we are funded for in-person ce. >> learning this year are required to keep schools open and require 2 offer an option for those families who want to independent study. >> teachers across the bay area have raised concerns over safety. a lack of personal protective equipment in schools and the lack of testing available. some have even staged protest. mackey says the county is dealing with a shortage of teachers because of the surge and is now asking

really all that's going on, peninsula side and all around the bay, contra costa county has an easy longve starting out of antioch and the altamont pass where there is a note from the altamont and that's about it from the chp reports right now. >> thank you very much, mike. >>> today, some bay area students are heading back to school under a cloud of uncertainty. some districts are already switching back to distance learning, others, giving parents a choice but not necessarily by design. >> reporter: he is deciding whether to send his daughter to class at mabel mattis elementary at milpitas. >> we are thinking of going remote this week because of the overall surge in cases. >> reporter: what does his first grader think of returning to remote learning? families in the district have learned to adapt to changes. on friday, the school district told its 10,000 students it would switch entirely to remote learning for the week of january 10th because of a high number of covid cases and staffing shortages. but the district didn't have the authority to make that quarantine call. it's up to the sa

also happening today, one contra costa county supervisors will be distributing at home covid test for anyone who has struggled to find them supervisor. diane burgess is holding a drive-thru event tomorrow from 1 o'clock until 4 at the oakley recreation center. the address is there on your screen. each car can receive to test kits while supplies last. 10 days before it was set to expire in california. the indoor mask mandate is now here to stay at least until february. 15th. state health officials say that the rule will be reevaluated as the day gets closer, but they're not using a specific metric to decide when to drop it. the announcement comes amid concerns over the number of hospital admissions, which is increased 8.4% overnight to more than 8,000 people. 1800 out of state medical professionals are being brought in right now to help hospitals deal with the current search. >> omicron is here here now and you can abandon the tools that we've used to achieve our collective success. >> yeah, doctor galley added that for now closing or putting limits on businesses is not being discussed

. >> in the east bay health officials in contra costa county say they believe the omicron variant has peaked in their county. they say the case rate actually peaked back on january 9th and that the hospitalizations peaked at the end of last week. however. >> they are still warning that hospitals are very full. the county currently has 281 covid patients in the hospital. although the county expects fewer hospitalizations in the coming weeks. currently, there are 29,000 active covid cases in contra costa county. the cvs pharmacy stores inside target and will begin distributing free. n 95 masks tomorrow. >> the company says masks are limited to 3 per person while supplies last all the stores will post signs to indicate n 95 mask availability. this is part of the federal retail pharmacy program. all the masks are provided by the federal government. the california department of public health confirmed there are 11 cases of the new omicron subvariant in the state with at least 2 cases in santa clara county. >> health experts do not believe it is causing a more severe disease. the world heal

one man is in custody in contra costa county tonight on suspicion of robbing a bank. brentwood police released this photo of the arrest. they say 26 year old brandon elder of any yeah, graham, the tri counties bank at about 1 30 yesterday afternoon. he's currently being held on $150,000 bail for robbery as well as several outstanding arrest warrants. the west contra costa unified school district is now facing a teacher strike if they do not have a covid safety plan in place. by tomorrow. teachers took part in the public comment period during last night school board meeting they won daily and 95 kn 95 facemask for students and staff knew covid testing plans as well as a formal plan to handle covid outbreaks in the future. the teachers union authorized a strike if their demands are not met. next week, san francisco will loosen some restrictions put into place as the macron variants swept the bay area starting tuesday, february 1st, office workers, gym members and other so called stable cohorts will once again be able to gather without mass in indoor settings provided tha

. >>> teachers in contra costa county could be ready to strike over covid safety. what they are demanding. >>> more bay area counties are easing up on covid restrictions as omicron cases decline. is it too soon? good evening. i'm juliette goodrich and for elizabeth. >>> i am ryan yamamoto. san francisco announced today it will soften mask rules starting february 1. people in stable cohorts like offices and gyms won't have to wear a mask if they are up-to-date on vaccinations. marin county is also lifting restrictions. the county now says students and staff don't have to wear masks outdoors at school and endorsed at sporting events will no longer be limited to 50 people. i had a chance to speak to dr. george rutherford, an expert on infectious diseases at ucsf. he believes it's okay for cities and counties to slowly ease the mandates. >> reporter: thank you for joining us. san francisco just announced it is easing the indoor mask role for offices and gyms. marin county is also using their restrictions. is this a good sign that we are headed in the right direction, a

ashes, how a community is coming together to rebuild a south bay synagogue. >>> teachers in contra costa countyld be ready to strike over covid safety. what they are demanding. >>> more bay area counties are easing up on covid restrictions as omicron cases decline. is it too soon? good evening. i'm juliette goodrich and for elizabeth. >>> i am ryan yamamoto. san francisco announced today it will soften mask rules starting february 1. people in stable cohorts like offices and gyms won't have to wear a mask if they are up-to-date on vaccinations. marin county is also lifting restrictions. the county now says students and staff don't have to wear masks outdoors at school and endorsed at sporting events will no longer be limited to 50 people. i had a chance to speak to dr. george rutherford, an expert on infectious diseases at ucsf. he believes it's okay for cities and counties to slowly ease the mandates. >> reporter: thank you for joining us. san francisco just announced it is easing the indoor mask role

currently, there are 29,000 active covid cases in contra costa county. well, as the number of positive covid cases decreases questions about mandates are still on the rise. we're now past the peak of omicron but the state's mask mandate is in place until february. 15th kron four's rob nesbitt spoke with health officers in moran and alameda counties and reports on what they're saying when it comes to lifting mask mandates early. omicron spread quickly at first quadrupling in a week in some places. >> now that we're finally seeing a decline. health experts don't want to slow that process down by easing restrictions. there have been a lot of positive cases the last 2 months, but not a lot of positive outlook when it comes to omicron in marin county, the berrien finally started to trend downward after january. 4th, but it's not a fast process. according to health officer doctor matt willis, our case rates are going down more slowly than you know, we're now seeing about 200, 50 cases on average per day in marin county. >> that's been the stable number for the

. >> how a new mandate is in effect in contra costa county. it requires all first responders to get their covid booster shot. this includes all law enforcement firefighters, emergency medical responders, along with people working in hospitals, jails and nursing homes, workers who do not get the booster shot are going to have to get tested for the virus every week, even if they have already gotten their original doses. there is an ever-increasing number of breakthrough cases occurring among those who are fully vaccinated and boosted. here's a look at the current covid-19 cases across the state right now. it's not just breakthrough cases, but overall you can see the positivity rate has been trending upward and there's an average of nearly 57,000 new cases per day. so what does that tell us? is there nothing that we can do to protect ourselves? kron four's dan kerman pose that question to a bay area, infectious disease expert. here's what they had to say. >> breakthrough covid cases are becoming more and more common. even among those baxton boost

well, as we mentioned earlier, classes are resuming today in west contra costa county school district. that is a close. all the schools last friday yesterday to clean and sanitize the facilities. the district is also requiring employees and students to take covid test monday report. those results before school today. this is because a large number of staff absences and an increasing number of covid cases in the school district. meantime, in san francisco, it appears that parents, teachers and city leaders and school board members are all struggling to get on the same page as far as covid safety. this after more than 600 educators called out sick last week. the san francisco board of education, president gabriela lopez tweet that city health officials are refusing to a 10 an upcoming school board meeting to take questions from the public officials with the city's department of health confirmed they are not taking up her request. fellow board member allison collins is blaming the district and city leaders are creating what she calls an educational emergency >> we have schools that are,

classes, by the way, are resuming today in the west contra costa county school district. the district closed all of schools last friday and yesterday so they can deep, clean and sanitize all the campuses. the district also required employees and students to take covid tests yesterday and report those results before coming to school today. this is because a large number staff absences and an increased number of covid cases in the school district are causing concerns. and also starting today, all staff members are going to be required to wear medical grade kn 95 masks while on campus. and another big story this morning, the palo alto unified school district is desperate to have students learn inside the classroom and now they're asking parents to volunteer to help keep the schools open. kron four's will tran live in palo alto with this urgent message for parents will. good morning. >> good morning, james. you see those lights right behind me. the goal is to keep those lights on. they don't want to move the classes from face to face learning, too online, learning believe it'

classes are resuming today in the west contra costa county school district district officials had to close all schools last friday and yesterday so they could clean and sanitize all the buildings. the district also required employees and students to take covid tests yesterday and report those results before school today. this is all because of a large number of staff absences and an increasing number of covid cases spotted throughout the district and also starting today, all staff members will be required to wear medical grade kn 95 masks while on campus. another big story, the palo alto unified school district is desperate to have students learn inside the classroom and now they're turning to parents to make that happen, asking them to volunteer to help keep the schools open. kron four's will tran live out there in palo alto to explain. good morning. well. >> good morning, james. the parents, the dropping off their elementary school kids right now and some parents after they drop off the kids. they will go to park because they have the endorsement of the school district. you know, o

overall, the north bay, east bay, contra costa county, everything looks great. we have this area in south bay, north 101, the overnight road work still in place. should be cleared any second there. we're looking at a slow drive for that one little stretch. down here in san martin, a lighter volume of traffic. back to you. >> thank you, mike. >>> a new setback for an agency. next here on "today in the bay," the backlog preventing the edd from verifying who actually qualifies for benefits. >> the russians are citing what they call rational elements in an american proposal. boring words that may have very exciting meanings coming up. >> and check out levi's stadium this morning. nothing like a good old rivalry to spice things up. we place our bets on the nfc championship game with some of our best friends from down south. first, let's check in with abby fernandez. >> we're talking about the olympics because we're just a week away and some of the athletes are getting real about the dangers of their sport. you can watch the episode on our instagram page at nbc bay ar

i'm actually probably cause more transmission and then being in school contra costa county, public health director or ease of illy. >> said despite hundreds of new covid cases being reported at schools daily. >> and the county averaging nearly 2000 new cases in the past week. he says in person learning is better for kids and families and our workforce. >> right now is really suffering with a lot of absenteeism related to people getting covid-19 are quarantining from exposure to covid-19. said. >> cervelli says the county has one of the highest vaccination rates in the bay area. lynn mackey is superintendent of the contra costa county board of education. we are funded for in-person ce. >> learning this year are required to keep schools open and require 2 offer an option for those families who want to independent study. >> teachers across the bay area have raised concerns over safety. a lack of personal protective equipment in schools and the lack of testing available. some have even staged protest. mackey says the county is dealing with a shortage of teachers because of the surge and is no

classes are resuming today in the west contra costa county school district. the district closed all the schools last friday and yesterday to clean and sanitize the facilities. the district is also required employees and students to take covid test monday and report the results before school today. this is because a large number of staff absences and an increasing number of covid cases in the school district and also starting today, all staff members are going to be required to wear medical grade n 95 mask while on campus. another big story, the palo alto unified school district is desperate to have students learn inside the classroom. now they are asking parents to volunteer to keep those schools open. kron four's will tran. he's been tracking this story in palo alto with the urgent message for parents. good morning. well, >> great. i they sent this message out on sunday night and within 12 hours, 300, 60 parents either e-mail back saying that they would like to help or they're interested in helping will try to get updated numbers. and that was from 09:00pm o

car linked to the theft was spotted in san pablo by a contra costa county sheriff's deputy.ut police say they don't believe that driver was responsible for stealing the dog. alright pretty darn cloudy out there today. dense fog advisories this morning as you got out and about in the early morning hours and just cloudy all day temperatures generally in the fifties, so just not a real warm day and speaking of warmth across the country. it's pretty cool. he's that purple area. obviously this ice author map. these are current temperatures. butte montana comes in at 23 degrees. this trough look at the dallas 34 degrees. in in atlanta, just 47 . but look at those numbers in like detroit at 19, chicago's at 10, that type of cold in minneapolis, minus eight. minus 16. bismarck. you'll get flight delays just based on de icing, airplanes and things like that. so if you have travel plans, chicago's a big hub. i think that's something to think about. dallas not so much, but still something to think about. but i think chicago and new york's got a little bit of cold on it as well. so it's

a new mandate took effect in contra costa county today ordering all first responders to get their covid booster or get tested. this includes all law enforcement, firefighters, emergency medical responders, along with people working in hospitals, jails and nursing homes, workers who do not get the boost. we'll have to get tested for covid every week. even if they have gotten there. original doses. that's because breakthrough covid cases are becoming more common. even among those who are vaccinated and boosted. >> health experts say that the omicron variant course is to blame, meaning everyone, even the fully vaccinated should double down in protecting themselves over the next few weeks. that means wearing top tier and 95 or kn 95 masks and limiting the number of people you're around. >> be careful about about the kinds of situations you get into. especially indoors, especially people without masks, especially people. you don't know who may or may not be vaccinated, who may or may not have been careful in the past. we might have going on bart. >> but it wasn't so crowded. you know, think

now, meantime, contra costa county, the numbers have gone up.t week it was 36% who have received a booster shot who are eligible and now that number has gone up to 45%, probably a lot due to this new mandate. reporting live in contra costa county, i'm sharon katsuda, >>> if you're looking to find a covid test in san francisco today, you may actually be out of luck. the city's health department is reducing hours of certain testing sites. health leaders say testing providers are encountering some similar challenges as businesses, schools, and hospitals. sick calls are impacting staffing levels. supervisor matt haney says more needs to be done. >> we aren't meeting the demand right now. i'm glad that we have been expanding, but we have to expand further. we are in the midst of an unprecedented surge right now, and testing is one of the most important tools that we have to confront it. >> in the meantime, san francisco's schools recently expanded the testing program that it has for students and staff through the end of the month. those seeking a tes

in west contra costa county, they will hand out testing kits at 10:00 a.m.y san josÉ usc will hand out tests at their district office just after 8:00 a.m. on lenzen avenue, and then mountain view and los altos high will hand out tests as well. and then children's discovery museum will be a vaccination site. pfizer, moderna and johnson & johnson will be available and the museum will offer free admission to those families that get vaccinated. that starts at 9:30 this morning and is on a first come first serve basis. >>> grocery shopping is expected to have a 6% rise in prices. here's an explanation. >> it's not your imagination. prices at the register keep going up. >> i have seen inflation, of course, in my 45 years. i have seen some supply chain issues and what we call out of stocks, and getting product on the shelf issues, but i don't believe i have seen it all come together at once like it has, say, even in the last six months. >> and there's an employee shortage that requires employers to pay more over time, along with increased fuel costs. >> not only is

the contra costa county district to supervisor let the effort. the county hopes to have more events like this to give out test kits as they become available. to be notified, you can sign up for the mailing list for contra costa county's website. larry: in the north bay, anger and confusion in the business community over sonoma county's order prohibiting large public gatherings. cornell barnard tells us the order has taken some businesses by surprise. >> everybody was really excited about the way things are going, and then this was a kick in the teeth, really. >> it has been a frustrating week for the chamber of commerce ceo who says he was caught off guard i sonoma county's recent public-health order banning large public indoor and outdoor events to help slow the spread of new covid cases. >> it was a complete surprise, and if the county took the time to actually talk to those impacted by the policy, we could probably have mitigated a lot of the negative impact that is coming. quincy worries the order, which does not impact other bay area counties

contra costa county, traffic highway smooth.ssue in that area, i circled the crash, it's at 680 and it's out of the lanes but there's slowing because of the distraction and the closure from overnight wires down on the frontage road. for transit today, not as many opportunities to ride because they are on holiday service. back to you. >> thank you, mike. >>> 5:52. happening now, contra costa leaders considering requiring electricity to be the sole energy source for all new residential, hotel, office and retail buildings. some buildings already have been natural gas. the board will debate the changes tomorrow. the recommendations is the new rules take effect in july. >>> and then coming up on "today in the bay," we will show you how good samaritans help reunite this cat. >>> and then picketing on mlk day. you're watching "today in the bay." >>> welcome back. you're watching "today in the bay." an american hero decorated airman charles mcgee passed away. he died at his home in maryland yesterday. this was shot in december in texas

over in contra costa county, all county and state testing sites are closed today. at home covid test kits are still hard to find. the cvs in oakland was out of them. the pharmacy at this walgreens at san leandro closed for the day. >> in the interest of taking care of ourselves. >> reporter: in oakland, melissa colorado, nbc bay area news. >>> the children's museum in san jose is doing its part to make vaccinations fun and easy. tomorrow, the museum is giving out free tickets to children and adults who come by and get a dose of the covid-19 vaccine. five community partners stepped up to help the museum make that happen. at least two more vaccine clinics are planned for this winter. take a live look right now at sfo. it's a new year, but ongoing flight cancellations have not stopped. there have been more than 100 delays and 50 cancellations at sfo today. that's according to flight tracking site flight aware. across the country, more than 13,000 flights have been cancelled since christmas eve. we are told harsh weather and omicron infections are to blame. the issues

two bridges on i-680 in contra costa county. and a bridge on highway u.s. 101 in san mateo county. while the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that was mentioned in alice's piece, that was just passed by congress and signed into law by president biden late-last year will help, the experts tell me we will need to spend three times more than that just to fix all these problems with our infrastructure. we will stay on this story. >> wow. that is a lot of money. >> that is a lot of money. >> uh-huh. all right. steven, thanks so much. >> today, the large covid-19 testing company at the center of an nbc bay area investigation announced that it will wind down its operations. center for covid control operated more than 300 test sites around the country. our team has been detailing patient complaints over test results failures that inspectors found at its partner lab and an fbi search that took place at its illinois headquarters this-past weekend. today, the company's founder said they are laying off 150 workers -- almost the entire staff. founders say they are gonna refocus on cooperating

it's a light traffic flow in contra costa county. at no problems getting to the richmond bridge or the bay bridge toll plaza, and a live look shows you traffic starting to build a tad bit. back to you. >> thank you, mike. >>> happening now, you have four weeks left to sign up for insurance through the covered california marketplace. the open enrollment period runs through january 31st, and it comes as the new omicron variant continues to spread. a covered california spokesperson said those uninsured will get stuck with huge hospital bills if they have to go to the hospital. >>> and then the concerning spill that has contaminated waters in southern california, plus, at 6:00, starting the new year with a surge in covid cases. while the omicron variant might land you in the hospital. the reason hospitals are preparing for the worst. you're watching "today in the bay." >>> welcome back. you're watching "today in the bay." developing in colorado, three people remain missing after the wildfire that destroyed hundreds of homes. the sheriff

parts of the north bay from napa and solano counties and down to san francisco and parts of contra costa county this morning waking up to showers. as we get a closer look at concord right now, between concord, richmond and oakland, we are seeing light showers moving through, and showers continuing in san francisco and up and down peninsula where we are seeing light rain moving through, and we will also continue to see some of the rain moving through throughout the morning as well as a chance for this afternoon. we're not done with this wet weather yet. we are going to see more as we go throughout the week. the good news is it's beneficial rain and not causing any problems. we will continue to monitor that and another look at the forecast, coming up in a few minutes. >>> today president biden meets with his response team as the omicron variant wreaks havoc across the country. >> we have live team coverage. first, today in the bay's alice barr is in washington with the push to rollout more booster shots. >> yeah, president biden expected to speak today about boosters, and he will get an update ab

this graph shows case rates in san francisco, santa clara and contra costa county. you can see cases sharply increased through last week, peaked and now appear to be dropping. >> so this is actually right on target in a way a week after the sewage levels stopped, the cases dropped. basically after that the cases will continue to drop and it will take between three and four weeks. february 15th is when he thinks we'll be in the endemic stage. i think that could be right or around that time, maybe one week after that. >> the number of people testing positive for covid across the state has dropped by 2% in the last week. if you have not ordered your free at-home test, it's not too late to place that order. go to nbcbayarea.com and click on the link in the trending bar. >>> after changing the entire world of online shopping, amazon is going to open a new clothing store. next, where the online giant will open it and when you'll be able to shop in person. >>> plus, measure problems for long time santa clara county sheriff lori smith. the new civil rights investigation jus

. >>> tonight contra costa county fire urging people to pause before calling 911 for a nonemergency. they are taking about more than 100 calls per day most of them covid related and that is putting a big strain on ambulances and paramedics. >> first of all we want them to call 911 when they need to. we encourage them when it comes to symptoms for covid to consider other alternatives if it is not a life-threatening situation going to urgent care and calling their physician. >> as for hospitals, the subject was said to have been planning for the surge and are prepared for it. >>> ac transit warning writers to prepare for delays starting tomorrow due to staffing shortages. that announcement prompted us to check in and we are told about 1% of the workforce have tested positive since mid december but there are still plenty of people to keep the trains running on time. >>> mount your top headlines. one year ago today that an angry mob descended on our nation's capital in an attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 election results. five people died and more than 700 have been charged

reporting in contra costa county. i'm james torres, ktvu fox two news. we did reach out to west contra costa unified about the school day. today the district has yet to respond for comment will have much more on the story for you. of course today on the four, the nation's top infectious disease expert and the head of the centers for disease control and prevention is facing no shortage of questions and criticism. from u . s senators today. as lauren blanchard reports, some are questioning how things are being handled as the us recorded nearly 1.5 million new positive cases just yesterday. boosters will play a major role in protecting our population, at least from severe disease. doctor anthony fauci of the national institutes of health and head of the cdc doctor rochelle wolinski, facing the senate health committee over the quickly spreading a macron variant has covid hospitalizations reach a new pandemic high. we're all alarmed. by how quickly i macron has spread lawmakers laying out where they believe the federal government has missed up during the pande