in san francisco luz pena, abc7 news. >>> well, a new indoor mask mandate for san francisco and muchthe bay area is all but certain tonight. the city is seeing a fourth surge of covid-19 cases largely due to the delta variant health officials say. an announcement will likely come next week. >> we are definitely close to a mandate of wearing masks and i know people are tired of being told what to do, but the fact is this is where we are. >> this surge is going faster than even the surge we saw in the fall or winter. >> dr. colfax says we're here again because not enough people have gotten the vaccine and yet the city's health department says 77% of san francisco citizens over age 12 are fully vaccinated. >>> in contra costa jails health officials report 96 inmates and staff members have tested positive across three facilities. martinez detention facility, marsh creek detention facility and west county detention facility. no one has required hospitalization. officials say as of this week, facility staff have to be vaccinated or undergoesting. all inmates have been offered vaccines. >>>

abc7 news reporter luz pena explains it's just one part of the city's long term solution. >> reporterst violent weekends in oakland's history with illegal fireworks, shootings and sideshows tonight city workers finished installing pavement markers. their goal? >> to discourage the sideshow activity that we have and at the same time it reduces traffic speed. so it's an example of what we're trying to implement. >> reporter: last sunday a massive sideshow involving 300 cars left one man with critical injuries after getting struck by a moving vehicle. now in the intersection of 35th avenue and macarthur boulevard the first cluster of. members. it took six he's had a sideshow to macarthur boulevard. >> it is damaging the streets and all, but it's better off than people wandering off and doing worse things. it's getting the community all together. >> reporter: we met sterling, an oakland resident, right before he crossed this intersection. >> i think probably it was a waste of money. >> reporter: according to council member gallo the city is working on installing several pavement markers l

abc7 news reporter luz pena explains it's just one part of the city's long term solution. >> reporterter one of the most violent weekends in oakland's history with illegal fireworks, shootings and sideshows tonight city workers finished installing pavement markers. their goal? >> to discourage the sideshow activity that we have and at the same time it reduces we're trying to implement. >> reporter: last sunday a massive sideshow involving 300 cars left one man with critical injuries after getting struck by a moving vehicle. now in the intersection of 35th avenue and macarthur boulevard the first members. it took six he's had a sideshow to macarthur boulevard. >> it is damaging the streets and all, but it's better off than people wandering off and doing worse things. it's getting the community all together. >> reporter: we met sterling, an oakland resident, right before he crossed this intersection. >> i think probably it was a waste of money. >> reporter: according to council member gallo the city is working on installing several pavement markers like the ones behind me in at least te

abc7 news reporter luz pena is in oakland where law enforcement and firefighters are gearing up for a busy weekend. >> reporter: it only takes a spark for fireworks to turn from lighting up the sky to someone's house. >> the fireworks make me nervous. i can't tell people what to do, but i prefer they use some common sense and courtesy and didn't put others at risk. >> reporter: oakland resident carl rose says that because he lived it. in 1991 he looked out his window and saw this, the oakland hills on fire, a product of a small grassfire. >> it just makethe dry conditions and wind plus potential sparks by illegal fireworks are keeping firefighters on high alert this weekend. >> the fire danger is very, very high right now. fuel moisture is very, very low along with higher temperatures and the drought all combine to make this a very high concern for us. >> reporter: on july 4th this intersection near grizzly peak will close for 24 hours. also 20 additional firefighters will be deployed throughout the city to respond to potential fires. >> the oakland fire department will be in all of t

in san francisco luz pena, abc7 news. >>> well, a new indoor mask mandate for san francisco and muchthe bay area is all but certain tonight. the city is seeing a fourth surge of covid-19 cases cases due to the delta variant health officials say. an announcement will likely come next week. >> we are definitely close to a mandate of wearing masks and i know people are tired of being told what to do, but the fact is this is where we are. >> this surge is going faster than even the surge we saw in the fall or winter. >> dr. colfax says we're here again because not enough people have gotten the vaccine and yet the city's health department says 77% of san francisco citizens over age 12 are fully vaccinated. >>> in contra costa jails health officials report 96 inmates and staff members have tested positive across three facilities. martinez detention facility, marsh creek detention facility and west county detention facility. no one has required hospitalization. officials say as of this week, facility staff have to be vaccinated or undergoesting. all inmates have been offered vaccines. >>> c

luz pena is part of our vaccine team and spoke to people in marin and sonoma county on how they will boost vaccinated numbers. >> reporter: it is the tale of two highly vaccinated counties. both seeing a fast up tick in covid cases. >> it is about 85% now of our residents who are infected with the delta variant. >> we started to notice an increase in our hospital census. >> reporter: sonoma county reporting a thousand active reporting cases for the first time since march. in sonoma county, 22% of the population is unvaccinated. that is about 120,000 people. and according to the state's latest projection, by august 21st, there could be about 50 people in the hospital with covid. and, 14 deaths. they say all this is preventable. >> we have a mobile health van reaching out to places where some of our homeless patients are at to get vaccinated. last but not least. in our hospitals across providence we are providing vaccinations for patients at the time of discharge. >> reporter: marin county has one of the highest vaccination rates in the state with more than 85% of the population fully

abc7 news reporter and vaccine team member luz pena spoke to a ucsf infectious disease specialist that says a vaccine mandate may be in our future. >> reporter: as covid-19 cases surge across the country. the cdc reports multiple concerning trends with outbreaks in low vaccination states, high levels of community transmission and the unvaccinated making up 99% of deaths. all this pointing to the delta variant. is it safe to say you are trying to keep up with these variants? >> yes, absolutely. it seems like the virus is always a couple steps ahead of us and we are trying to get one step ahead of it. >> reporter: in april only.06 cases were from the delta variant. now it is 87% of the cases. doctors say we need to vaccine fast before a new variant emerges. >> they mutate and try to evade the defense mechanisms we have in ourselves, so almost certainly there is going to be new variants. >> reporter: the latest national model projects a peak in mid-october, with deaths potentially more than tripling what they are now. >> this is really a new beast, so when i see this model that is extreme

. >> it got the attention of our vaccine team and reporter luz pena is a key part of the team. she joins us with live team coverage. >> she joins reporters stephanie sierra, who interviewed an expert and says a mask mandate is eminent. >> reporter: today we director, rochelle walensky, saying once again we are in a pandemic of the unvaccinated. citing the vast majority of infections and hospitalizations almost exclusively happening among the unvaccinated. experts tell me today's change is a step that is telling of what we are faced with in the u.s. with the delta variant. officially, the cdc reverses its indoor mask policy, citing the latest data. eight of 10 samples contained the highly transmissible delta variant. >> in areas with substantial and high transmission, cdc recommends fully vaccinated people wear masks in public, indoor settings. >> reporter: the cdc recommendation applies to places with substantial or high transmission. defined as more seven days. you can see the southeast covered in red. that is high transmission. california is barely below that, in the orange c

in the newsroom i'm luz pena abc 7 news. >>> all right, thank you. there are concerns about a growing outdoor market at fisherman's wharf. vendors selling goods and in some cases alcohol without regulation. melanie has the story. >> reporter: bacon wrapped hot dogs stored in a cardboard box under a shrub. this is somewhat of what was seen around fisherman's wharf in san francisco. >> no refrigeration for thinking they are selling. alcohol is being served without id checks. >> he is ceo of pier 39. >> during the pandemic it kind of exploded. >> the problem is especially troubling for restaurant owners. simco has five restaurants, two carts and a coffee shop on the pier. >> we are paying all of our taxes and permit fees and licensing fees and we get inspected by the health department or local organizations. and these people come and set up shop and are able to sell without having any of the things that a business is supposed to have. >> reporter: rodney fong is president and ceo of the san francisco chamber of commerce. >> when a illegal vendors come o

in the newsroom, luz pena, abc7 news . >> can you talk about some of the exemptions for employees thatdon't want to get vaccinated? >> reporter: there are two reasons, religious or for health reasons. the employee will need to show proof from their medical provider explaining why they now you need to get tested once to twice a week depending on their job and exposure. >> thank you so much. >>> meanwhile new york city is requiring employees to get vaccinated weekly testing. they recommend employers require all health care and long-term care workers to get vaccinated. >>> the department of veterans affairs will require frontline healthcare workers to be vaccinated within the next two months. >>> masks are masks are masks anyone working or visiting in county buildings in san mateo even if they are vaccinated. alameda county has already reinstated mandatory masking in some buildings. a major request today from the san francisco bar owners alliance, the group is calling on all bars in the city to require customers show proof of vaccination or a 72 hour negative covid test kit it inside esta

. >> reporter: in san francisco, luz pena, abc7 news. >>> a newly released poll of unvaccinated americans found 80% will either definitely not or probably not get the shot. just 3% of those polled say they definitely will get vaccinated. >>> in the north bay marin 19eae mimay.peonwhdied wednesda admitted to the hospital with respiratory symptoms. 186 marin county residents all unvaccinated have died of covid. the county says it's seeing a surge in cases fueled by the delta variant. >> despite the surge in cases state superintendent of public instruction, tony thurman, says schools are still on course to reopen for in-person learning. >> the cdc and the california department of public health have already provided guidance that even as case rates increase if everyone's wearing a mask and everyone who can get a vaccine gets one, we can keep our schools open safely. >> thurman ys the state will continue to monitor case rates daily. >>> keep driving, baby. you're doing very, very good. >> now to developing news, a couple from oregon said it was like driving through armageddon as they raced thr

. >> reporter: in san francisco, luz pena, abc7 news. >>> a newly released poll of unvaccinated americansnd 80% will either definitely not or probably not get the shot. just 3% of those polled say they definitely will get vaccinated. >>> in the north bay marin county reported its first covid- 19 death since mid-may. health officials say the person who died wednesday had been admitted to the hospital with respiratory symptoms. 186 marin county residents all unvaccinated have died of covid. the county says it's seeing a surge in cases fueled by the delta variant. >> despite the surge in cases state superintendent of public instruction, tony thurman, says schools are still on course to reopen for in-person learning. >> the cdc and the california department of public health have already provided guidance that even as case rates increase if everyone's wearing a mask and everyone who can get a vaccine gets one, we can keep our schools open safely. >> thurman says the state will continue to monitor case rates daily. >>> keep driving, baby. you're doing very, very good. >> now to developing news,

abc7 news reporter luz pena is in oakland where law enforcement and firefighters are gearing up for ausy weekend. >> reporter: it only takes a spark for fireworks to turn from lighting up the sky to someone's house. >> the fireworks make me nervous. i can't tell people what to do, but i prefer they use some common sense and courtesy and didn't put others at risk. >> reporter: oakland resident carl rose says that because he lived it. in 1991 he looked out his window and saw this, the oakland hills on fire, a product of a small grassfire. >> it just makes you cringe a little bit. >> reporter: the dry conditions and wind plus potential sparks by illegal fireworks are keeping firefighters on high alert this weekend. >> the fire danger is very, very high right now. fuel moisture is very, very low along with higher temperatures and the drought all combine to make this a very high concern for us. >> reporter: on july 4th this intersection near grizzly peak will close for 24 hours. also 20 additional firefighters will be deployed throughout the city to respond to potential fires. >> the oakla

we're tackling both top sglieks and with phil will help us but let's here from luz pena. >> we heardrence speaking about 9 high vaccination rates of san francisco. tourists can come to the city and know they are visiting one of the safest cities regarding covid. but are they safe with belongings? are they safe leaving bags in vehicles or even

luz pena have a look because this is a part of building a better bay area. >> if you suffer from allergiesolicies and could be the most uncomfortable time of the year. what if that season suddenly stuck around? >> we know with climate change in the increase in temperature, the pollen season is getting longer. >> the colleagues set out to measure the change. they found the polling season has increased about half a week per year. over the past two decades driven by differences in the heat and rain patterns. >> we are looking at a pollen season that is about two months longer than it was 20 years ago. >> to make matters worse, the stanford dean found evidence that they are getting more allergenic. why? because of the heat. for allergy patients, that could mean significant adjustments in their treatment regimen and lifestyle. >> people are probably going to have to stay on them longer than traditionally. >> the trend is similar to what we have come to see with california's wired fire season. it has become nearly year-round adding more evidence and urgency to the fight against climate change. >

luz pena spoke to a epidemiologist who explained why you should keep it on in some cases. >> reporter: pier 39 was packed with people lining up to watch the fourth of july fireworks. city officials this year are expecting thousands together on sunday. >> we are the only county in the bay area hosting a big fireworks celebration, and it is due to the vaccine success. >> reporter: data show since the states reopening, covid cases have gone up more than 20% in the bay area. the epidemiologist said an event of this size could put many at-risk who are unvaccinated. >> for those and vaccinated if they come into contact with someone else who was unvaccinated and infectious. >> reporter: he is attributing the risk to the delta variant. first detected in india and now accounting for 36% of covid cases in california. >> with the original set of variants, if you had a case in your household, you had a 20% chance of getting infected. now it is closer to 50% because it's more transmissible. >> reporter: san francisco will have covid-19 safety guidelines in place for the fourth of july celebrations

. >> reporter: in san francisco, luz pena, abc7 news. >>> a newly released poll of unvaccinated americansfound 80% will either definitely not or probably not get the shot. just 3% of those polled said they will definitely get vaccinated. >>> in the meantime, in the north bay, morin county residents reported its first covid-19 deaths since mid-may. health officials say the person that died wednesday had been admitted to the hospital with upper respiratory systems. the county is seeing a surge in cases fueled by the variant. and the school superintendent tony thurmond says schools are still on the course to reopen. >> california guidance shows even if case rates increase, if everyone is wearing a mask and everyone who can get a vaccine gets one, we can keep our schools opened safely. >> thurmond says the it is a will continue to monitor case rates everyday. >>> and happening today a pop up vaccination clinic and community resource fair in contra costa county is partnering with the health services department for the clinic. it runs from 11:00 to 2:00. the first 50 people that get their vacci

abc7 news reporter luz pena is on our vaccine team and she spoke with city officials about what this means. >> reporter: san francisco has one of the highest vaccination rates in the country. 75% of the population is fully vaccinated. as the delta variant becomes the dominant strain across the state, san francisco is updating its health order for those in high risk workplaces. >> skilled nursing facilities in residential care facilities for the elderly and acute-care hospitals and jails. >> reporter: san francisco was mandating for workers in high risk settings to get vaccinated. once vaccines were fully approved by the fda. now, those in high risk settings need to be vaccinated by september 15. >> we expect the vaccines will be fully approved by the time that september 15 date comes around. >> reporter: the deputy sheriff work with inmates in jails and responded to the order in part. the sf pdsa values and respects the right to choice. we have protective options in place with face masks and testing already. forcing vaccines is not a san francisco value. health order highlights that

. >> reporter: in san francisco, luz pena, abc7 news. >>> a vaccination clinic in san jose today focused on the deaf community. the deaf counseling advocacy and referral agency hosted the event, one of the first deaf run nonprofits in the country. the pfizer and johnson & johnson vaccines were available today. organizes say many in the deaf community found states website confusing, so the pop- up tto pele face-to-face, and the deaf community feels a lot more of a connection to be able to come in and ask questions, and kind of touch base, talk about some frustrations . we can always call in on video in this, but in person is a great way for deaf people to communicate. >> a second clinic for the deaf community will take place july 24th in santa rosa. >>> if you're interested in making a vaccine appointment, head to our website. abc7news.com/vaccine. >>> in the east bay, hundreds of people came out to stand up for safe oakland. oakland police chief remembered those lost to gun violence but also called on the community to act as partners. abc7 news reporter cornell bernard brings us this rep

abc7 reporter luz pena spoke to experts about how they plan to boost vaccination numbers. >> reporter: it is the tale of two highly vaccinated counties, marin and sonoma, both seeing an uptick in covid cases. >> we are seeing about 85% of our residents who are being affected with the delta variant. >> we noticed two weeks ago. >> reporter: sonoma county reporting 1000 active covid cases for the first time since march. and sonoma county, 20% of the population is unvaccinated. that's about 120,000 people. according to the latest projection, by august 21, there could be 50 people in the hospital with covid and 14 deaths. they say all of this is preventable. >> we have a mow the lawn the health fan that reaching out to places where some of the homeless paces are at to get vaccinated. and in hospitals across providence, we are providing the vaccinations for vet patients at the time of discharge. >> reporter: martin county has one of the highest vaccination rates with more than 85% of the population fully vaccinated. as the delta variant takes hold, what they anticipated happen. this week a

luz pena is part of our vaccine team and spoke to eight epidemiologist two explains why you should keep it on in some cases. >> reporter: in past years, pier 39 was packed with people lining up to watch the fourth of july fireworks. city officials this year are expecting thousands to gather on sunday. >> we are the only county in the bay area hosting a fireworks celebration, and it is due to the vaccine success. >> reporter: data shows since the state's reopening, covid cases have gone up more than 20% in the bay area. epidemiologist dr. rutherford set an event of this size could put many at risk who are unvaccinated. >> the risk is for people unvaccinated if they come into contact with someone else unvaccinated and is infectious. >> reporter: he is attributing the risk to the delta variant. first detected in india and accounting for 36% of covid cases in california. >> with the original set of variants, a case in your holds household, a 20% chance of getting infected. now closer to 50%. >> reporter: keeping that in mind, san francisco will have covid-19 safety guidelines in place for t

abc7 news reporter luz pena spoke to a epidemiologist who explains why you should keep it on in someases. >> reporter: pier 39 was packed with people lining up to watch the fourth of july fireworks. city officials this year are expecting thousands together on sunday. >> we are the only county in the bay area that's hosting a fireworks celebration, and it is due to our vaccine success. >> reporter: data shows since the stapler is reopening, covid cases have gone up more than 20% in the bay area, and the epidemiologist dr. rutherford said an event of this size could put many at risk who are unvaccinated. >> the risks and uncertainties for those in vaccinated if they come in contact with someone else in vaccinated and infectious. >> reporter: he is attributing the risk to the delta variant. first detected in india and now accounting for 36% of covid cases in california. >> in the old days with the set of variants, if you had a case in your household, you had a 20% chance of getting infected. now it is closer to 50%. >> reporter: keeping that in mind, san francisco will have covid-19 saf

in san francisco, luz pena, abc7 news. >>> a new indoor mask mandate for san francisco and much of the bay area is now all but certain. the city is seeing a fourth surge of covid cases, public health officials say it is largely due to the delta variant . >> both maryland and breed and health director dr. colfax say an announcement could come next week. >> we are definitely close to a mandate of wearing masks and i know people are tired of being told what to do but that's where we are. >> this surge is going faster than the surge we saw in the fall or winter. >> dr. colfax said we are here again because not enough people have gotten vaccinated yet the city's health department says 77% of san franciscans over the age of 12 are fully vaccinated. >>> in the east bay and outbreak of covid-19 is unfolding at contra costa county jails, health officials report 96 inmates and staff member's have tested positive across three facilities, martinez detention facility, arch creek detention facility and west county detention facility. no one has required hospitalization, officials say as of this week

in san francisco, luz pena, abc7 news. >>> a new indoor mask mandate for san francisco and much of theay area is now all but certain. the city is seeing a fourth surge of covid-19 cases, public health officials say it's largely due to the delta variant. both mayor london breed and health director dr. greg colfax say an announcement will likely come next week. >> we are definitely close to a mandate of wearing masks and i know people are tired of being told what to do but the fact is this is where we are . >> this surge is going faster than even the surge we saw in the fall or winter. >> dr. colfax says we are here again because and not people -- >>> outbreak of covid-19 is unfolding at contra costa county jails. health officials report 96 inmates and staff members have tested positive across three facilities. martinez detention facility, marsh creek attention facility and west county detention facility. no one has required hospitalization. officials say as of this week facility staff have to be vaccinated or undergo testing. all inmates have been offered vaccines. >>> happening today w

in the newsroom, luz pena, abc7 news. >> before you go, as we see the number of people getting sick with if they decide to get the shot afterwards, they won't be able to for a long time. is that right? what is the suggestion? >> reporter: that's correct. according to the cdc, if you are infected with covid-19, you should wait 90 days to get a vaccine and that lapse of time, depending on the person's antibodies, they could be exposing themselves to a second round of infection. >>> today on our 3:00 p.m. show, getting answers, i talked with an infectious disease specialist at uc berkeley. he says not knowing who is vaccinated and who is not leads to tremendous confusion and he is in favor of everyone masking up indoors. i asked him why he thinks people who are fully vaccinated should have to put a mask on if they are protected from severe illness. >> vaccine people like me and hopefully you are paying for the fact that unvaccinated people are going into public places, indoors, not wearing masks. this is a way to get everybody who potentially could be a superspreader, to have a mask on and

in the newsroom, luz pena, abc7 news. >> according to the cdc, we are in a high transmission area right now. >> substantial or high, both of which fall into the category. >> what are the chances of a breakthrough case indoors? >> reporter: vaccines continue to be highly effective against the covid-19 virus. according to the cdc, in a place of high transmission, where you are in contact with lots of people, 10 to 20 contacts, that could lead to a breakthrough infection. doctors are recommending for those who are vaccinated to wear a surgical mask or to masks if you are wearing a cloth mask, when walking around the office or outdoors or inside, as we are mentioning now. >>> the california state university system announcing today that most everybody who comes onto its campuses will be required to be vaccinated against covid-19. that requireme include faculty, staff, and students going for in-person classes at all 23 csu campuses. the chancellor issued a statement saying the requirement is to ensure the health and well-being of all students and employees. all vaccinations must be completed

. >> luz pena, reporting live. thank you. >>> 50 medical organizations are calling for mandatory vaccinations for everyone in the healthcare industry. the group includes the american medical and the american nurses association's. coalition cites the rising case rate and the delta variant as reasons for their demand. they say, requiring the shots is, quote, illogical fulfillment of the ethical commitment to all patients. pati and a major request from the san francisco bar owners alliance, the group is calling on all bars in the city request they show proof of vaccination or a 72 hour negative covid test to get inside establishments as it takes 72 hours before you try to get in. effective on thursday, patrons without proof will be gone in outdoor spaces only. the alliance represents more than 300 bars in san francisco. >>> meanwhile, pfizer and moderna are working to get preteens eligible for the covid- 19 shot. the new york times reports both vaccine makers are expanding the size of their trials in children ages 5 t