long covid and — covid, or patients that had long covid and got better. out what — trying to do, we are trying to find out what is — trying to do, we are trying to find out what is going on with these poor patients _ out what is going on with these poor patients it— out what is going on with these poor atients. , ., ., ., patients. it is worth elaborating that xenon _ patients. it is worth elaborating that xenon is _ patients. it is worth elaborating that xenon is an _ patients. it is worth elaborating that xenon is an odourless, - that xenon is an odourless, tasteless gas?— that xenon is an odourless, tasteless gas? just a gas, you breathe it. — tasteless gas? just a gas, you breathe it, it _ tasteless gas? just a gas, you breathe it, it is _ tasteless gas? just a gas, you breathe it, it is perfectly - tasteless gas? just a gas, you - breathe it, it is perfectly harmless and the _ breathe it, it is perfectly harmless and the doses we use. it makes you sound _ and the doses we use. it makes you sound like _ and the doses we use. it makes you sound like ba

did they have covid? suspected covid. that's what happening, isn't it, across the board.has had impact on the waiting list. this is the hospital's intensive care unit. these beds are needed for patients following major surgery as well as those with serious illnesses. how many covid patients are there in here at the moment? so, the numbers have been dropping over the last few weeks, happily. so we're down to five i think today, which is the lowest we've been for months. dr billyard's seen a big difference here in covid numbers since the start of the pandemic. so most of your patients are in critical care for other reasons? yes, absolutely. and what sort of numbers are we talking? so we have about 30 non—covid patients in critical care at the moment. the vaccine and new treatments have helped reduce the number of covid patients needing these beds. but there are some and they appear to be getting younger. what sort of people are ending up in, err, the covid critical care area? the key headline is unvaccinated. the vast majority have have the patients that needed critical car

amy tested positive for covid. she _ survived covid. amy tested positive for covid. positive for covid. she was one of around i for covid. she was one of around 1500 people in wales who have now taken the antiviral. thea;r 1500 people in wales who have now taken the antiviral.— taken the antiviral. they made such a hue taken the antiviral. they made such a huge difference. _ taken the antiviral. they made such a huge difference. i— taken the antiviral. they made such a huge difference. i started - taken the antiviral. they made such a huge difference. i started to - taken the antiviral. they made such a huge difference. i started to feell a huge difference. i started to feel better within 2a and was of starting them, and i genuinely think if i hadn't taken them, i would have ended up being hospitalised. shim? hadn't taken them, i would have ended up being hospitalised. amy was civen the ended up being hospitalised. amy was given the tablets _ ended up being hospitalised. amy was given the tablets due _ ended up being hospitalised. amy was given the tablets due to _ e

of covid. the washington post also reports that biden administration plans to set up a website where people can request at home test kits, several university of california schools and cal state university has announced plans to delay in person courses. due to the covid-19 surge. i think that is a really good move from the university, and it really makes us get relief, but on the other hand is a little sad that we cannot see. our friends again at class. ahead of 10 30 elissa harrington will have a full report on students uncertain return from winter break. new at tennessee. hp says it has recovered dozens of items believed to be stolen from the home depot. it started with the traffic stop by san ramon. police on new year's day. officers suspected of possible retail theft connection and say chp took over the case. chp says the person arrested is a known booster or shoplifter. the suspect allegedly stole all 93 items you see here from home depot, the merchandise is valued at more than $3000, also

our rare access inside the covid icu in a hospital that's seen a 900% jump in covid cases since thanksgiving >>> and new information tonight on getting those free covid tests promised by president biden. >>> also tonight, the supreme court hearing arguments over the president's vaccine mandates the signal that the justices gave on how they may rule. >>> the three men convicted in the murder of ahmaud arbery sentenced how long they will spend behind bars, and the emotional words in court today from arbery's mother. >>> the major winter storm slamming the east coast up to a foot of snow, dangerous road conditions and next the bitter cold moving in the deadly crackdown kazakhstan's president issuing a shoot-to-kill order. to quell violent protesters the new crisis spilling out on to the world stage. >>> a second tennis star joining the world's number one player in detention in australia over their vaccination status. >>> and the tributes pouring in for a legendary oscar-winning trailblazer. >>> this is nbc "nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening many of us have taken some comfort in t

plea to the public. >> we may be all done with covid, covid is not done with us. due to the omicron variant, our case rates have never been higher and hospitalizations beginning to climb. widespread transmission with unvaccinated groups and some transmission among vaccinated individuals. >> county's positivity rate reached high of 16.5% this week, all-time high. when it comes to schools, the order does not apply to normal classroom or recess activities. bay area hospitals are make changes. ian cull has the new protocols and talked with the head of emergency department. >> reporter: valley medical center in san jose putting a pause on adult elective surgeries that require a patient to stay overnight. goal to keep the beds open for patients as covid infections rise. stanford is also delaying some elective surgeries. >> we're reviewing every patient case by case, to see who could be delayed, taking into effect their medical urgency and individualized condition. >> reporter: in the south bay, number of patients doubled from 36 to 66 but far fewer than the winter surge

and that has led to high demand for covid testing.is not just sick people. >> who are looking for the tests. you have students going back to school. people going back to work after the holidays, folks who have been traveling some internationally. they're all driving up demand. and since take on tests have become almost impossible to find testing sites are often the only option. >> well, it was hard. this month because of the surge that usually it's not. but it's definitely gotten worse. so it's hard to get an appointment. i luckily this is guest this week. >> the cdc has also updated its guidance regarding rapid test today. they're now suggesting if you've tested positive for covid and are using rapid tests to see if you're still infected, you should wait towards the end of the 5 day isolation period to do so. if your test result is negative, you canendure isolation but continue to wear a well-fitting high quality mask around other people at home and in public until day 10. if you test positive, it is being recommended that you contin

had zero symptoms of covid, zero.s in the medical literature. throughout the spring of 2020, except while i was in the white house in the summer, late summer, early fall of 2020, we knew this because we were defining covid differently on the basis of simply a positive test. so there was a complicated system of reimbursement and other incentives of these people were called covid hospitalizations. ten symptoms of a disease, that's not the reason obviously for being hospitalized. he just happened to test positive. this is always a remembrance for me of how it was. when i was talking about the risk factors to the task force, the people on the task force didn't understand, didn't know or simply deny the facts. we know now it's two-thirds of deaths of americans from covid are people with six or more comorbidities. yet the message was out there that anybody with hypertension, high blood pressure, was at high risk for covid. that was false. we knew that. i showed the peepers to the people and task force back in the summer of

without covid symptoms and are just looking for a covid test we really recommend that they go to another location in the county. we have many different locations for testing. >> joining us now nbc bay area's robert hannah. it takes us back to last year and the year before when there was so much pressure on the hospitals. the hospital says it has the staff right now but what happens if the outbreak continues to get worse? >> it is a little bit tough. some of the graphs you were showing are encouraging but they have doubled admissions since new year's day. so it is a tough situation. they don't have a lot of options. one interesting thing was that santa clara valley medical center right now is not following the state plan of allowing nurses who test positive but are asymptomatic to come back to work. right now they are telling them to stay home and isolate. i would think if the outbreak were to get much worse they probably don't have many options and would probably have to back off on that. that would be very telling. >> that is good informing. what are the patients and staff members telli

it is embedded with the way it is handling covid.f the spread is not limited, if it is not contained, what impact do you think that will have on china's global image, when it has been so adamant it is going to maintain a covid zero policy? >> china is facing this dilemma because it has been closing the border for so long. now it allows more athletes and relevant personnel to come in, but it is still a very close country compared to what we had two years ago. the policy is the central government in china are making will have a different image from before because miscommunication happens in this situation. we have seen the words of some of my foreign friends, the exodus of foreigners from china because either they have not been seeing their family for two years, they just have to, and the cost of that would be they need to leave their job in china, or they stay, but they have to endure this long time of loneliness and the potential change of visa policies and things have become quite difficult for china. the olympics is only a small pa

it is covid safer. you won't catch covid from us. what you can catch those a shower or 2 and it looks folks up in santa rosa points in the far north bay beginning to see a few sprinkles. just a straight ahead promise. so we are and the commute this morning. i can attest it was easy. it was quiet friday light. i didn't have any raindrops. i didn't need to the wipers. now at all. and hopefully you can get through your morning ride without either depending on how quick or slow that rain is moving. >> let's find out. good morning right now. good morning. and that's right. we've been tracking your forecast today. >> we did have a few drizzles this morning. so certain parts of the bay area. we're a little wet. we're looking at the tarmac here at sfo. just a few damp spots out there. but we're tracking that storm system right now. you can see to the north of us starting to ride through into santa rosa at this hour. we're going to be tracking that. it's not going to stay there. it's going to quickly continue to move southward throughout the

. >> getting covid on purpose? warnings from doctors about troubling trend in the omicron surge. >>> is your testing site legit? a private company doing tests in the bay area. what happened when we started asking questions. good evening. >>> uncertainty and anxiety continues for so many people as we navigate through the surge, a lot of changes made. >> sobering milestone, u.s. surpassed 63 million cases of covid, prompted bay area university to make a tough decision, going remote at least another month. it's not only change for students but there is optimism from governor newsom, predicting this will be the last surge. talking about the future. so are our doctors. >> schools, it's getting messier in oakland. the school district and parents bracing for another teacher sick out tomorrow. several classes might be canceled, here's a twist, the students also planning a walkout next week. nbc bay area news' cheryl hurd. >> one day in school, next day you're not, in limbo. >> reporter: the mother of montero middle schoole

to covid, heading into a period of deeper— to covid, heading into a period of deeper restrictions. period of deeper restrictions.— to covid, heading into a period of deeper restrictions. take your pick of national parallels. _ deeper restrictions. take your pick of national parallels. he _ deeper restrictions. take your pick of national parallels. he makes . deeper restrictions. take your pick of national parallels. he makes a i of national parallels. he makes a very good point, but i suspect a lot of people will have an emotional response to this and say, if she is obeying the rules, our prime minister didn't. such is life, she said, noting that thousands of new zealanders have had far more devastating disruption. thank you both. in europe, there are millions of cases of covid every week. in china, there are very few. and china's commitment to its zero covid strategy remains as strong as ever. translation: china's overall situation remains stable - and regional clusters of locally transmitted cases can be effectively controlled within a short period of time. and this is what effec

to covid-19.is formally an assistant federal defender who served the united states district for the eastern district of washington and idaho. she received her law degree from the university of iowa, college of law or she editor-in-chief of the iowa law review. i'm just a scene with the u.s. government accountability office where she leads the work on justice and law enforcement issues. her portfolio includes federal prison systems, federal law enforcement oversight and training, civil liberties and civil rights in the federal judiciary. twenty plus years she also worked on issues related to social security reform, disabilities, k-12 and higher education. doctor gooden received her phd and masters degree in economics from the university of nebraska lincoln and a bachelors degree in economics at the university of houston. kelly is a political commentator and senior contributor at america's greatness. ms. kelly covers a political and policy issues. she is an author and former political to officeholde

reporter: 20 teachers are out with covid or out having been exposed to covid. >> our teacher was gone the whole last week. the math teacher was gone and the english teacher was gone. reporter: they say we are unable to provide person-to-person instruction and need to institute emergency school closer. -- closure. mike says they are able to offer distance learning and that is why they've made the decision to close for the next week. >> i have been here every day and i've had to cover a few other people's classes. >> it is unclear if they will make up the days by the end of the year. dozens of students at the six-12th grade school or out. >> a wonder if they got covid from the school. i don't want to be here if they got covid from the school. and if they can't find a test, they will be able to get one before school on that return day. they don't know what to expect with this covid surge. district is going back to school for a week. and there are fewer teachers available. chromebook's yesterday. reggie: not appear to be impacting high school sports. they have not heard of any schools pau

the surgeon covid cases is being felt at covid test sites and it labs that process the pcr tests .yama got a tour of a covid testing lab in berkeley to show us how they process thousands of tests every day. u c. berkeley's innovative genomics institute. we met the covid testing lab director dr petros giannakopoulos. we can process over 4000 samples a day, he says. they've seen a big increase in demand for pcr covid tests. he took us inside the i g lab, which analyzes those pcr tests that are considered the gold standard, but take more time to process than at home antigen tests. so what arrives is like literally hundreds and hundreds of samples all at once. and these machines that do all the work. they're called liquid handlers. they basically process these hundreds of samples that are on these plates, pcr or polymerase chain reaction test can detect even small amounts of the coronavirus by amplifying the samples as many as 35 times . we have a fully automated laboratory that has robots that do all of the work. most pcr test can be analyzed within a day or average turnaround times a

with someone with covid. people who do not develop symptoms should get tested. if you test positive you should begin isolation. people who test negative might and quarantine and continue to wear well fitting mask when around others for an additional five days. these recommendations are consistent with over 100 studies collected over the past two years indicating people are most infectious during the first few days of infection and significantly less infectious six to ten days after infection. icore part of cdc's mission iso translate signs into recommendations for best practices and real-world circumstances. over the holidays, we saw growing surge of omicron and took swift science -based action to address a very real possibility of staffing shortages and hospitals and other essential areas of the workforce.to public safety, public, grocery stores and others. shortages could have an proven to have dire public health consequences. the guidance for what we currently know about transmission and real-world circums

to all of america during the covid surge. >> you can still get covid. it's highly unlikely that you become seriously ill. president biden continuing his push to get people to wear masks and get fully vaccinated. the president says unvaccinated people are needlessly filling hospital beds and emergency rooms across the country. here's nbc's chris pollone. >> because what we know is this. >> president biden meeting with the white house covid response team for the first time in the new year. urging americans to wear masks and get vaccinated to head off the worst of the omicron variant surge. >> you can still get covid, but it's highly unlikely, very unlikely that you'll become seriously ill. >> the administration doubling the order of pfizer's antiviral pills to treat 20 million people. 4 million treatments expected by the end of the month. >> they're a game changer. they have the potential to dramatically alter the impact of covid-19. >> monday, the nation tallied 1 million new covid cases. the cdc says omicron accounts for 95%. >> the next four to six wee

deaths from covid or deaths from covid versus with covid.ch this response. >> do you know how many of the 836,000 deaths in the u.s. linked to covid are from covid, or with covid but they had other issues you have that breakdown? >> yes of course with alma curran we are following that very carefully, our deaf registry takes a few weeks, takes a few weeks to collect across omicron just been with us a few weeks but that data will be forthcoming. >> laura: she completely avoids the question again. he wasn't talking about omicron is relatively new. we have almost two years of data. and they still can't tell us what deaths are really covid cause deaths versus. >> that is true and a chance to go over this with scott, another one of your contributors on the medical scientific side and scott believes that our officials, the cdc officials, that they are just not confident in managing this rapid flow of data. but we know from sources actually on the cdc website but also -- it is clearly, basically 10% or fewer of all of the deaths is purely driven by

our covid school dashboard. head to nbcbayarea.com. to go your home page. it will tell you the information for your child's school. >>> stuck on a shipment with a possible outbreak on board. can you imagine? we did it a couple years ago, now it's happening again. the cdc is telling people to avoid cruise ships because of omicron. what about those already at sea? a princess cruise ship will dock tomorrow in san francisco and some say there's an outbreak on board. this couple tells us they've been isolating in their room on the ship for the past several days. they separated themselves after learning the shipment's enter teenagers were quarantining because of an outbreak. the couple from mountain view said the view hasn't followed promised precautions. he even called the cdc to warn them. said he finally got help from a public health worker. >> he finally found something called a mega event. he was able to take a report and give me a tracking member so that's the only thing i have. especially now that they're denyi

loud and clear — covid is serious.of the shifts that i have had are the toughtest i've ever had. and the race to vaccinate the public. i got the letter yesterday, and i'm booked in today. i three, two, one! welcome back, everyone! cheering lockdown ends. i can literally not stress how much i missed being able to go out. but there's the threat of a new variant. there is a tidal wave of omicron coming. the year began with intensifying pressure on the nhs. covid infections were rising, and there was a worrying increase in hospital admissions. the second wave of the virus was going to prove more deadly than the first. with covid cases rising, the new school term began with confusion. some teachers and children stayed at home. there's 21 members of staff that have opted not come into school, because they would consider it to be an unsafe environment. in my school, that's led to nursery, year 3—4 not coming to school. the empty classrooms were a warning of what was coming. another lockdown announced in the uk's nations. the

also they were generally in the hospital for. >> a primary diagnosis of covid of the 185 covid-19. tests administered at john years. emergency departments in concord and walnut creek monday. >> more than 33% were for people with mild symptoms. testing is recommended. if you have a high risk condition and covid-19 symptoms or you have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for the virus. if somebody has. >> a mile cold like symptoms and they live alone and they're vaccinated and boosted. they probably don't need to be tested. they can isolate themselves for 5 is ask for additional 5 is others. doctor, rodriguez says unlike in the past supply is not the issue. the health system has enough tests. in fact, everyone who was admitted to an emergency room is tested for covid-19. >> phillipe djegal all kron. 4 news. >> the cdc is now weighing an update to its mask. in the middle of the surge of the omicron variant. it is reported that the cdc is considering formally encouraging n 95 masks over cloth masks. the wall street journal reported yesterday that they can take ab

they have had covid and no cognitive changes. we did have dry sessions of these people and studies and cognitive tests. we asked these individuals if they were willing to do a spinal tap. over the half of the people did yes, we compared the spinal fluid. compared it to those who had cognitive changes and those who did not. what we found was that there was a lot of abnormality. 37% who had cognitive cages after covid had abnormalities in their spinal fluid compared to -- 77 percent who had cognitive changes after covid had abnormalities in their spinal fluid. what we are noticing is that general signs in the brain fluid are pointing to abnormalities in the immune system or inflammatory response. some abnormalities that suggest elevated inflammation in the brain, other abnormalities that may suggest systemic immune activation. or maybe even inflammation within the brain compartment. we need to do more research. >> is it a relationship or a direct causal line? between the changes and impairments that people are reporting? >> it is a

we'll explain. >> and as covid cases surge, the u.s. supreme court takes up a case focused on the biden administration's effort to slow the spread vaccine mandates. new year, new start. and now comcast business is making it easy to get going with the ready. set. save. sale. get started with fast and reliable internet and voice for $64.99 a month with a 2-year price guarantee. it's easy... with flexible installation and backing from an expert team, 24/7. and for even more value, ask how to get up to a $500 prepaid card. get a great deal for your business with the ready. set. save. sale today. comcast business. powering possibilities. >> vaccine requirements that affect. more than 80 million americans were discussed before the nation's highest court. today, the supreme court justices will decide whether to allow the biden administration to enforce a vaccine or testing requirement for large employers and a separate vaccine mandate for most health care workers. our washington, dc correspondent jessi tenure has details. good get is the first

in fact, there hasn't been a covid death in china for months and supporters of zero covid say that thatt to the chinese economy. official data shows that china's gdp grew by over 8% last year — that exceeded most expectations. there are, though, caveats. my colleague mariko oi explains. now, china's strict zero covid policy has meant that some major cities started to go back into lockdown from last month, due to the omicron variant, and we have yet to see the full impact of that. for now, though, china believes its zero covid strategy has worked, for the economy and for public health. but sooner, rather than later, it faces a decision — how long to stick with zero covid? and it may have its hand forced. we know omicron is highly transmissible and variants pose a challenge to zero covid policies. we've seen that in australia. the arrival of the delta variant forced the government to change tack. prime minister scott morrison abandoned zero covid last year, saying that australia would now live with the virus. or there's new zealand. while visiting from overseas remains limited, prime mini

positive workers only will be in contact with covid patients.he professor of epidemiology said the state's move is surprising but not unprecedented. >> yeah, so this is about cohorting, right? this is about having people already infected taking care of infected people. we did this with ebola in west africa and we have done it before. it's not one of the first things you put in the playbook but it's in the playbook and it's toward the end, and i think the staffing issues are such that it led the state to put this guidance out. >> loosening the precautions only make the spread easier. >> but redding says instead of increasing the number of health care workers, lifting the isolation requirements will only increase the chances of nurses getting other nurses sick. >> if we're going to set up for the surge, let's set up some protocols to have the transmission reduced. what that means is we should not be having covid positive people come to work. >> in san josÉ, marianne favro, nbc bay area news. >>> and then first responders are saying people are call

i have gotten covid and gotten over covid.earing a mask, washing hands constantly, you know, where my mask out in public. when i was my taste or smell, i smoke marijuana and i'm cured. host: let's go to chuck in dolores, colorado. hello. caller: good morning, pedro. thank you for c-span. i came down with the virus in 2019, december of 2019. i went to visit my mother. she was ill. my mom and dad worked over the world. people would stop in and visit from all over the world, so they were probably patient -- he was probably patient 1, or one of them. anyway, i brought it back to colorado, isolated myself, but my wife still came down with it. we both came down with long-haulers. she. still has memory problems. -- she still has memory problems. i could barely breathe. i was on methadone for pain management for my back. and i took a blood oxygen count and my blood oxygen was down to 74, so i titrated off the methadone. and i can equate that with having covid. every joint in my body ached. i went through methadone withdrawals because

y hasta hoy me dieron la cita para hacerme la de covid 19.ontramos pepitas hasta la prÓxima semana, tambiÉn se reporta casos de pruebas caseras en las tiendas. por lo que el condado tanta cara va a recibir pruebas caseras diarias a los que la soliciten. >> a partir de morena vamos a estar proveyendo estas pruebas caseras y esperamos que nos ayuden y que la gente de salir positiva, se quede en casa y mantenga el aislamiento. reportera: el con para va a estar otorgando hasta cuatro pruebas por persona. , luego entras a la secciÓn que dice que hagas una cita para recoger las pruebas y ahÍ te las llenar informaciÓn bÁsica de por quÉ estÁs pidiendo cita. vas a recibir un correo electrÓnico de vuelta, presiona el botÓn naranja y te va a dirigir a la pÁgina web para que pongas la hora y el lugar de tu cita y listo, vas a recibir una confirmaciÓn y de no tener acceso a internet, no te preocupes ya que Únicamente debe llamar al 211, allÍ alguien va a tenerte en espaÑol y podrÁs hacer la cita. >> es importante que la gente y en el comprobante de la cit

of covid. >> tucker: so it turns out it wasn't covid after all.s didn't really have covid. in a bad way, covid isn't really a threat to kids. it looks like the conspiracy theorists who are now banned from twitter were right all along. the official numbers were fake. those kids were in the hospital for broken bones and appendicitis, not covid. tony fauci, for his own political reasons, has finally admitted this, but it's too late. he spent two years crushing the weakest among us and they are indeed crushed. imagine wearing a mask to second grade. imagine never seeing your teacher 'a space or watching your friends laugh. imagine being older, imagine spending junior year of high school alone in your room with only the internet for company. what would happen to you? you be badly damaged. kids in america have been badly damaged. the numbers show it clearly. this is a crime. no one has been prosecuted for that crime, no one ever likely will be. but once again we have saved the tape if only so the reality of what frauds like tony fauci have done to young

it is covid safer. you won't catch covid from us.can catch those a shower or 2 and it looks folks up in santa rosa points in the far north bay beginning to see a few sprinkles. just a straight ahead promise. so we are and the commute this morning. i can attest it was easy. it was quiet friday light. i didn't have any raindrops. i didn't need to the wipers. now at all. and hopefully you can get through your morning ride without either depending on how quick or slow that rain is moving. >> let's find out. good morning right now. good morning. and that's right. we've been tracking your forecast today. >> we did have a few drizzles this morning. so certain parts of the bay area. we're a little wet. we're looking at the tarmac here at sfo. just a few damp spots out there. but we're tracking that storm system right now. you can see to the north of

out of the 20 listed as covid hospitalizations last week ten were admitted for covid out of the 20 cases reported to the cdc as covid-19 hospitalizations, three of them were women that were asymptomatic that were delivering babies? >> that's right. if we don't understand the distinction between the people who might be in icu on a ventilator truly there because of covid-19 we might over estimate the burden of omicron. >> reporter: now doctors are calling on the cdc to specify how patients who test positive should actually be counted. >> we have simply been reporting patients who test positive for covid in one big bucket and those numbers go to the cdc. that's what we've really got to change >> it is fascinating but given everything you just said, there are still hospitals very much overwhelmed, right? >> absolutely. the experts we talked to said there is still a significant crisis still happening within hospitals but so much of that crisis has more to do with the staffing shortage and health care workers testing positive for omicron than it does with the severity of the disease. >> intere

infecting our non covid patients. our non-covid co workers for some people. the cold. that's well and good. but we never know what else will develop after that home. >> the guidance from the cdph does say that before facilities implement those temporary changes, they must have made every attempt to bring in additional staff and considered modifications to staffing. california has put in tough new restrictions on nursing homes in response to the omicron variant under the state's health orders, visitors must now show a negative test. in addition to prove that their vaccinated with a booster, the new rules are in place to february 7th at that could be extended. well, as covid cases continue to surge across the country. the white house says help is on the way. administration officials say they're working to provide free rapid test as well as numerous testing numerous treatments for covid in the weeks to come. but as anna wiernicki reports, some fears that the help is too late. house returns on monday from winter recess and already lawmakers say as the start the n

new additional funding for the state emergency covid relief plan.s details now on how much funding california hospitals and testing sites will soon be getting and when that could happen, emma christina and andre governor, newsom will be asking the state state legislature to approve some of the funding very quickly. the goal is to add an additional $1.4 billion to the budget for this fiscal year. with more than 10,000. californians hospitalized with covid 19 on saturday and thousands more isolated at home with the omicron variantmediates covid-19 emergency response package to the tune of $1.4 billion that includes more than 4.7 million assisting hospitals strained by surging cases of the virus. and another 4.1 million to continue and expand testing capacity and staffing. the money for vaccine distribution. also funds efforts to combat disinformation, particularly in communities of color. u c s f dr monica gandhi is confident that investment will lead to increased vaccinations and vulnerable communities. we need to combat that misinformation and they

>> california covid numbers, moving in the wrong direction. how the state and bay area cities are trying to stop the spread and fast. plus. >> i had to talk to a lot of layers before anything really started happening. >> we hear from the fairness whistleblower after the jury handed down a guilty verdict for the ceo, elizabeth holmes. what he says he would have detailed on the witness stand if called. and what a difference a month makes. a new look at the snow pack from space. good afternoon, i'm alan. our top story at 3:00. streaming on cbs and bay area. california recording its highest covid case and positivity rates since the start of the pandemic. within 20% of test came back positive as of yesterday's count. that is almost 10% higher than a week ago. even with an 81% vaccination rate, san francisco is seeing a surgeon cases. an average of 829 per day as of december 27. he is a look at the omicron increase compared to the summer delta surge. and last winter surge. a much sharper rise now with omicron much more contagious. but, hospitalizati

overall there are at least 1,700 patients with covid in the region. santa clara county, the number one spot with the highest number, 461. >> well garvin, leaders in santa clara have had enough one one day after we showed how much more testing that that the county is doing that health care providers. county leaders issued a warning, kizer and sutter need to step up testing efforts or else. damian trujillo sflans in the update to his exclusive report. >> reporter: if you've tried booking a test in santa clara county the last couple weeks you're likely one of the frustrated ones. appointments are booked up for days if not weeks. and the numbers we obtained hint that's because kaiser patients like linda can't seem to get a test through kaiser. they lean on county. >> reresorted to the county going to the fair grounds. >> leaders say cases like hers are strange the county system. >> it's not reasonable for the county health system to provide such a disproportionate share of the testing and vaccinations. >> county leaders used this news conference today to

calls and er visits for covid tests and minor cold flu or covid symptoms. we've been. >> having about over 400 m s calls. >> a day in the city for the past several days. typically that number hovers around 300 or 330, that's about a 20 to 25% increase in calls. doctor susan ehrlich chief executive officer at zuckerberg, general hospital. >> says as the only level one trauma center in the city, there are always extremely busy, but they've never seen anything like this. people are coming to emergency departments seeking testing. >> because i think the demand is high in some cave in some circumstances, the supply is both ems and zuckerberg general hospital are seeing about 10% of their staff out with covid or quarantining because of a close encounter. they also have other people out on vacation personal time or other illnesses. she jeanine nicholson with the san francisco fire department says they're struggling to keep up with the extra demand for one-third of our staff today is on mandatory overtime. health officials want to remind people that most covid case

calls and er visits for covid tests and minor cold flu or covid symptoms. >> having about over 400 m s calls a day in the city for the past several days. typically that number hovers around 300 or 330, that's about a 20 to 25% increase in calls. doctor susan ehrlich chief executive officer at zuckerberg, general hospital. >> says as the only level one trauma center in the city, there are always extremely busy, but they've never seen anything like this. people are coming to emergency departments seeking testing. >> because i think the demand is high in some cave in some circumstances, the supply is both ems and zuckerberg general hospital are seeing about 10% of their staff out with covid or quarantining because of a close encounter. they also have other people out on vacation personal time or other illnesses. she jeanine nicholson with the san francisco fire department says they're struggling to keep up with the extra demand for one-third of our staff today is on mandatory overtime. health officials want to remind people that most covid cases are mild and c

the covid vaccine pop up site in san leandro. parents brought their children to get the pediatric covid shots. at first, i had concerns because of the after effects of the vaccine. but when they had their first vaccine, they had no issues. pediatric shots for children ages five through 11 have been available since november. but as of tuesday, only about 17% of those children are fully vaccinated nationwide only about 19% in california, a concern for many pediatricians. in the 5 to 11 year old age group. but covid-19 is actually in the top 10 causes of death in that age group in the united states, and we're seeing a lot more children come in with covid like symptoms were cough and runny nose and feet, variance or throat. dr rajesh staff tree director of pediatric emergency medicine at sf general says. fortunately most of the cases are mild. in the bay area . pediatric vaccination rates are topping 50% in some counties at oakland's la clinica. demand has been increasing. right when it first came out. we saw more hesitancy around it

the website is covid test dot gov. white house says orders will be accepted starting on wednesday, january 19 supplies will be limited to just 4 test for home. the tests are free, including there's no shipping fee but do not expect a rapid turnaround on the orders. the white house says tests will typically ship within 7 to 12 days of ordering starting tomorrow. private health insurance companies will be required to cover the costs of at home covid tests. the biden administration announced this change in order to lower the costs and make testing more convenient health insurance providers will be required to cover the costs of up to 8 at home tests per person per month. >> meanwhile, open enrollment for covered. california is open through january 31st. experts say with covid cases surging, it's important to make sure you have health insurance because while vaccines are free, hospitalizations are not. if you sign up this month, coverage begins on february. 1st in the south bay, health officials say that with covid cases s

there's a lot of investment, not only in improving the vaccines that we have for covid, for saars covid 2, but a lot of work, i mentioned in my opening statement is looking at the tools of basic and applied science to develop the next generation of vaccines, particularly universal coronavirus vaccines, or at least universal sars covid 2 vaccines so we won't be chasing after the next variant. that we'll be able to have a vaccine with the capability of responding to every iteration of a variant and there's a lot of work going on with that right now but again when you're doing basic research as you can appreciate more than anyone, that usually isn't very well rick uginized by the public. >> point well made. in terms of testing and parallel thought and dr. woodcock, maybe you can address it. testing, at retail, maybe as high as 22 or $23 in some places. i keep reading about different approaches to testing. that we might find a way to do reduce the cost of testing down to -- instead of $15, could be 15 cents. at least for the chemical side of it. i realize you have to put in packaging. >> su

and this comes as the nation grapples with another surge in covid cases and covid-related hospitalizations. the average number of new u.s. covid cases per day is now back above the 1 million mark. >> school districts in the bay area statewide scrambling to try to keep the covid numbers down by using at-home testing kits. and offering new test sites. sharon is live at one of those test sites for us. busy there this morning, sharon? >> reporter: yes, laura. you can really sense the urgency out here. 28,000 students went back to school yesterday here in the west contra costa unified school district. still this morning, after 8:00, during school hours we saw a steady stream of parents bringing in their children to get tested for covid. the school district has opened up several new test sites this week for students and staff. the district says just last thursday, it received 15,000 at-home test kits that they quickly distributed over new year's weekend on sunday. the idea was for students to do the rapid at-home test to see if they caught covid during winter break and quarantine if so instead o

government monday dates for covid vaccines.ll discuss the pushback we're seeing on covid restrictions. >>> as we count down to the beijing olympic games, we'll look back on the two years since the chinese authorities locked down the city of wuhan . >>> thanks for joining us. we are following developments in ukraine this hour as fears mount over a possible russian invasion. the u.s. state department says it will be reducing staff levels at the embassy in kyiv starting with nonessential staff and family members out of an abundance of caution. ukraine says russia has now deployed more than 127,000 troops in the region. amid the heightens restrictions, antony blinken is set to meet with eu foreign ministers virtually today and brief him on his meetings with russia's foreign minister. ahead of that, u.s.'s top diplomat issued this warning. >> if a single additional russian force goes into ukraine in an aggressive way, as i said, that would trigger a swift, aer is vee and a united response from us and from europe. and, again, there a

no hay que olvidar que todavÍa tenemos encima el covid.encer deberÁn pagar hasta $600,000. esto afecta a mÉxico y el sindicato reporta mÁs de 200 trabajadores infectados. en cancÚn se presentÓ el semÁforo amarillo afectando la economÍa del estado. patricia: al regresar de la pausa, el rÉgimen de maduro y la oposiciÓn se enfrentan en uno de los bastiones del chavismo. una de las estrellas del manchester city logra salir de prisiÓn, a pesar de las graves acusaciones en su contra. fÉlix: este domingo en "al punto", el presidente biden afronta la dificultad para enfrentar la nueva variante del coronavirus. destacado experto nos indica cÓmo mantenernos a salvo. un aÑo despuÉs del asalto al capitolio, quÉ sigue para los estados unidos. hablaremos con una autora que explica cÓmo mujeres como emma coronel operan en el mundo del narcotrÁfico. tambiÉn conversamos con una ex profesora y periodista que quiere ser la prÓxima gobernadora de texas. todo ♪ ♪ patricia: en venezuela, los candidatos que representan el partido gobernante y a la oposiciÓn fina

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christmas i got covid. so i went through the procedures and got tested again, it was a home test that my wife gave me and i was covid positive and i went to the i.c.c. and they said absolutely, you have covid. so now we're giving you antibodies. i have the antibiotics and now they tell me the mask isn't worth a darn and the biden administration is talking about getting k-95 masks, how come they don't already have them? nobody knows what's going on in this country. host: congressman, to that caller, in response to that caller, is it because the virus is unknown and things evolve and people learn more and more studies come out and more research comes out so then officials are bound to change as they know more. guest: the problem is it's sort of the old story of ready, fire, aim. everybody wants to be an expert in this including dr. fauci and quite frankly he's never seen anything like it so he was getting out on the tip of the spear a year ago saying we should wear masks and we shouldn't wear a mask -- it's t

the headlines: an easing of covid testing rules in england — as people without symptoms, will no longereed to confirm a positive lateral test with a pcr test. the nhs is under strain from coronavirus — two hospitals in bristol declare �*critical incidents" due to rising pressures on services — and 17 hospitals in greater manchester put some non urgent surgery on hold. in scotland, the government considers a reduction in the time people have to isolate from ten to seven days. we're expecting an update by first minister nicola sturgeon to the scottish parliament in the next hour. i will report on the continuing rise in covid cases and i will outline our approach to managing the pandemic at this stage and i will set out the changes to self isolation and testing and while we are not proposing any additional measures at this stage, i will confirm that existing protections and guidance will remain in place for the coming week pending further review. finally given that omicron may not be the last new covid variant that we face, i will also signal some longer term work to consider the adaptatio

delivering humanitarian aid under covid conditions - aid under covid conditions means you how to abidequirements, so it does make the whole situation a bit challenging, but we have identified a way in which we can provide aid within 72 hours with contactless consideration. we are also mindful that tonga doesn't have any active covid cases right now, so they are being quite vigilant as they respond domestically, and as they deal with countries like australia, new zealand, the us, the uk and france, who are helping in their humanitarian aid effort. . helping in their humanitarian aid effort-— helping in their humanitarian aideffort. . , , ., ., aid effort. that must be a real challenge. _ aid effort. that must be a real challenge. i — aid effort. that must be a real challenge, i can _ aid effort. that must be a real challenge, i can imagine, - aid effort. that must be a reall challenge, i can imagine, while you have the clock ticking, basically, because so many people have been affected. water, one of the big aspects, trying to get people clean water. i know there is a desalination effor